The Smart Customs Clearance Revolution at the US-Mexico Border​

The Smart Customs Clearance Revolution at the US-Mexico Border​

In an era of increasingly frequent global trade and personnel mobility, the efficiency of border customs clearance and security control have become crucial issues. The US-Mexico border, one of the busiest borders in the world, sees a huge number of goods and people passing through every day. For a long time, the traditional customs clearance model has faced many difficulties, while the smart customs clearance revolution is bringing unprecedented changes to this complex border management.​

Difficulties in Traditional Customs Clearance at the US-Mexico Border​

The US-Mexico border stretches for nearly 3,200 kilometers, connecting two countries with large economies and close trade ties. The United States is the world’s largest economy, and Mexico is an important emerging economy. The two sides have a high degree of trade dependence in many fields such as automobiles, electronics, and agricultural products. The value of goods passing through the US-Mexico border each year reaches hundreds of billions of dollars, and the number of people traveling back and forth is also hundreds of millions. However, the traditional customs clearance model has exposed serious problems under such a huge flow of traffic.​

In terms of goods customs clearance, the procedures are extremely complicated. Shippers need to prepare a large number of paper documents, including commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, transport documents, etc. These documents not only have strict filling requirements, but also any errors or omissions may lead to the detention of goods. Customs officers need to manually check each of these documents one by one, from cargo information to trade terms, without missing any details. According to statistics, in the traditional model, the average time for document review of each batch of goods is as long as several hours. Coupled with manual unpacking and inspection of goods, this process is random and inefficient. During peak inspection periods, goods may wait for customs clearance at the border for several days, which is undoubtedly a huge loss for some time-sensitive commodities, such as fresh agricultural products and new electronic products. For example, a large number of avocados from Mexico are exported to the United States. Under the traditional customs clearance model, due to long waiting times for customs clearance, some avocados often start to deteriorate during transportation, causing economic losses to exporters and importers.​

Personnel customs clearance also faces difficulties. A large number of commuters, tourists, business people, etc., travel through the US-Mexico border every day. In the traditional customs clearance process, people need to queue at border ports and present passports, visas and other documents to customs officers. Customs officers manually check the authenticity of documents, verify personal information, and ask about the purpose of entry. This process is highly subjective, and different officers may have different inspection standards and focus of inquiry. Moreover, the queuing time is often very long, especially during peak tourist seasons or holidays, and the queuing time at some ports even exceeds 4 hours. For commuters who frequently travel across the US-Mexico border, spending a lot of time queuing for customs clearance every day seriously affects work and life efficiency.​

Application and Reform of Smart Customs Clearance Technologies​

To break through the bottleneck of the traditional customs clearance model, the US-Mexico border has launched a smart customs clearance revolution, and a series of advanced technologies have been introduced and widely applied.​

In the field of goods customs clearance, the Internet of Things (IoT) technology has played a key role. Nowadays, more and more cargo containers are equipped with IoT sensors, which can collect real-time information such as the location, temperature, humidity, and vibration of the goods, and transmit it to the customs supervision system through wireless networks. For example, in refrigerated containers transporting food, sensors can monitor the temperature inside the container in real time. Once the temperature is abnormal, both the customs and the shipper will receive an alert immediately to ensure the quality of the goods. At the same time, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has also been widely used. Each container or cargo pallet is affixed with an RFID tag, which stores detailed information about the goods. When a cargo transport vehicle passes through the RFID reading device at the border port, the device can quickly read the tag information and compare it with the electronic declaration data in the customs system. This automated data collection and comparison method has greatly shortened the document review time and significantly improved accuracy.​

The application of artificial intelligence and big data analysis technologies has brought a qualitative leap to smart customs clearance of goods. Customs uses artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze massive amounts of cargo declaration data, logistics information, and past inspection records to establish risk assessment models. Through this model, customs can quickly identify high-risk goods and conduct targeted inspections, while low-risk goods can be released quickly. For example, by analyzing historical data, the artificial intelligence system finds that certain types of goods declared by certain regions and enterprises have a high risk of smuggling. Then, when these goods are declared for entry again, the system will automatically mark them as high-risk, and customs officers will conduct detailed inspections. This data and algorithm-based risk control model has changed the previous manual random inspection method, greatly improving inspection efficiency and accuracy.​

In terms of personnel customs clearance, biometric technology has become the core. Fingerprint recognition, face recognition and other biometric technologies are widely used at US-Mexico border ports. Before entering the country, passengers can pre-enter their biometric information through the relevant mobile application or self-service equipment of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and complete identity verification and entry declaration. When passengers arrive at the border port, they only need to stand in front of the face recognition device, which can quickly and accurately identify the passenger’s identity and compare it with the pre-entered information in the system. If the comparison is successful, the passenger can pass through customs quickly. The application of this biometric technology not only improves the speed of customs clearance, but also enhances border security. Because biometric features are unique and difficult to forge, they effectively prevent illegal acts such as using others’ documents to enter the country. For example, at some busy ports, after the adoption of face recognition technology, the speed of personnel customs clearance has increased several times, and the accuracy of identity verification is close to 100%.​

In addition, blockchain technology has also begun to emerge in smart customs clearance at the US-Mexico border. Blockchain has the characteristics of decentralization, immutability, and traceability, making it very suitable for data management in cross-border trade. In goods customs clearance, shippers, transportation companies, customs, inspection and quarantine agencies and other parties can record relevant information about the goods, such as the source of the goods, transportation trajectory, inspection reports, etc., on the blockchain. Once this information is recorded, it cannot be tampered with, and all parties can view and share it in real time. This not only improves the transparency of trade information, reduces information asymmetry, but also simplifies the customs clearance process. Because when customs inspect goods, they can directly obtain authoritative and credible information from the blockchain without repeatedly verifying with all parties, which greatly improves customs clearance efficiency.​

Simplification and Optimization of Smart Customs Clearance Processes​

With the application of smart technologies, the customs clearance process at the US-Mexico border has been greatly simplified and optimized.​

The smart customs clearance process for goods is more convenient and efficient. Before the goods depart, the shipper submits detailed information about the goods to the customs through the electronic declaration system, including the type, quantity, value, origin of the goods, etc., and uploads relevant electronic documents such as commercial invoices and packing lists. This information and documents will be automatically transmitted to the customs’ smart review system. During transportation, IoT sensors and RFID tags track the location and status of goods in real time and feed the information back to the customs supervision system. When the goods arrive at the border port, the customs’ smart review system will quickly review the goods declaration information according to pre-set rules and risk assessment models. For low-risk goods, the system automatically releases them, and the goods can directly enter the United States. For goods that need to be inspected, customs officers will conduct targeted inspections according to the system prompts. During the inspection process, officers can obtain detailed information about the goods in real time through mobile devices and enter the inspection results into the system. The entire process is information-based and automated, greatly reducing manual intervention and improving customs clearance efficiency.​

The smart customs clearance process for personnel has also become smoother. Taking the use of CBP’s “CPB One” mobile application as an example, passengers download the application before departure, fill in their basic personal information, travel purpose, expected entry port, etc., in the application, and upload photos of their passports, visas and other documents. At the same time, passengers can choose to pre-enter their biometric information, such as fingerprints or facial images. After completing these operations, passengers will receive an electronic declaration certificate. When arriving at the border port, passengers do not need to queue at the manual window anymore, but directly go to the self-service customs clearance channel. In the channel, passengers show the electronic declaration certificate to the scanning device, which reads the certificate information and automatically starts the face recognition device to verify the passenger’s identity. If the verification is successful, the channel door opens automatically, and the passenger can enter the country smoothly. The whole process is simple and fast, greatly shortening the waiting time of passengers at the port.​

Impacts and Challenges of the Smart Customs Clearance Revolution​

The smart customs clearance revolution at the US-Mexico border has brought about multiple positive impacts. From an economic perspective, smart customs clearance has greatly improved trade efficiency and reduced trade costs. The shortening of goods customs clearance time has accelerated the capital turnover of enterprises and made the supply chain more efficient. Taking the automobile manufacturing industry as an example, Mexico is an important supplier of auto parts to the United States. Smart customs clearance enables parts to be transported to US auto factories faster, reducing waiting time on the production line and improving production efficiency. According to estimates by relevant research institutions, after the implementation of smart customs clearance, the annual cost savings for US-Mexico border trade are as high as billions of dollars. Part of these saved costs is converted into corporate profits, and part is passed on to consumers by lowering product prices. At the same time, the improvement of trade efficiency has also promoted economic development in the US-Mexico border area, attracting more investment and creating more job opportunities.​

From a security perspective, smart customs clearance has strengthened border control capabilities with advanced technical means. Artificial intelligence and big data analysis technologies can accurately identify potential security risks, and biometric technologies effectively prevent illegal acts such as identity fraud, ensuring border security and stability. For example, through real-time monitoring and analysis of personnel and cargo data, customs can timely detect clues of smuggling, terrorist activities, etc., and take preventive and crackdown measures in advance.​

However, the smart customs clearance revolution also faces many challenges in its advancement. At the technical level, the compatibility issue between different technical systems is more prominent. The US-Mexico border involves multiple departments and various technical systems, such as the customs’ smart review system, the transportation company’s logistics tracking system, and the inspection and quarantine agency’s testing system. These systems are developed by different manufacturers, with inconsistent data formats and interface standards, leading to difficulties in information sharing and system collaboration. For example, when the customs’ smart review system receives the cargo location information from the transportation company, it may not be able to read it normally due to mismatched data formats, affecting the smooth progress of the customs clearance process. In addition, with the rapid update and iteration of technology, border management departments need to continuously invest funds and human resources in technology upgrading and maintenance to ensure the advancement and stability of smart customs clearance systems.​

There are also challenges at the legal and regulatory level. Smart customs clearance involves the collection, storage and use of a large amount of personal information and commercial data, and how to ensure data security and privacy has become a key issue. At present, there are differences in data protection laws and regulations between the United States and Mexico, and the regulatory rules for cross-border data flow are also insufficiently improved. This may lead to risks such as data leakage and abuse in actual operations. For example, if the biometric information entered by passengers during smart customs clearance is obtained by criminals, it will pose a serious threat to the privacy and security of passengers. In addition, the new business models and processes brought about by smart customs clearance also require corresponding laws and regulations for standardization and guidance to ensure that customs clearance activities are carried out within a legal and compliant framework.​

The smart customs clearance revolution at the US-Mexico border is a far-reaching change. Although it faces many challenges, it provides new ideas and methods for solving the difficulties of traditional customs clearance and improving border management. With the continuous development and improvement of technology, as well as the gradual improvement of relevant laws and regulations, smart customs clearance is expected to play a greater role in the US-Mexico border and even global border management, promoting more efficient, safe and convenient cross-border trade and personnel mobility.​