At the beginning of 2002, the Center commenced work for the U.S. Customs Service (currently U.S. Customs and Border Protection) on a study regarding the implementation of certain customs-related business facilitation measures by the countries participating in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations. These measures were agreed to during the Fifth Trade Ministerial Meeting held in Toronto, Canada in November 1999 and cover the following topics: a) the temporary importation/admission of certain goods related to business travelers; b) express shipments; c) simplified procedures for low-value shipments; d) compatible electronic data interchange (EDI) systems and common data elements; e) harmonized commodity description and coding system; f) customs information and hemispheric guide on customs procedures; g) codes of conduct for customs officials; and h) risk analysis and targeting methodology.

The purpose of the project is to (i) determine where selected countries already have the legal ability to implement these measures; (ii) identify and analyze obstacles to implementation in selected countries that are legally able to implement the measures, but for practical reasons have been unable to do so; and (iii) determine where legislative changes are required and provide guidance on the type of adjustments needed, including as appropriate, recommendations for draft model legislation. The initial phase of the project focused on certain sub-regional blocs, namely the Andean Community, the Central American Common Market, and the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), as well as the country of Chile. Given recent and ongoing negotiations of free trade agreements between the U.S. and Central American countries, the focus of the study ultimately shifted predominantly to the Central American region. A final report has now been delivered to U.S. Customs, and work has been completed in December 2004.