Steve Peacock
11-30-2011, 08:25 AM
Obama Administration Seeks to Modernize Customs Service, Improve Trade
By Steve Peacock, U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor (http://www.tradeaidmonitor.com/2011/11/obama-modernize-customs-service-improve-trade.html) (Nov. 30, 2011)
The Obama Administration wants to modernize the Customs Service, as obsolete laws and practices "continue to make trade difficult and expensive, and often create bottlenecks for commercial activities." Consequently, it is hiring a contractor to devise a reform plan to bring that agency into the 21st Century. Not the U.S. Customs Service, that is, but the Nigeria Customs Service.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates it will award a contract in the $10 million range to carry out the goals of the Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport, or NEXXT, program (Solicitation #SOL-620-12-000001).
The overarching goal of the project is to "improve overall trade and transport competitiveness of Nigeria," according to the Request for Proposals.
The endeavor is one of many USAID programs being carried out or planned for Nigeria, where the agency currently oversees about $1.2 billion in outsourced contracts, according to its own estimates.
By Steve Peacock, U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor (http://www.tradeaidmonitor.com/2011/11/obama-modernize-customs-service-improve-trade.html) (Nov. 30, 2011)
The Obama Administration wants to modernize the Customs Service, as obsolete laws and practices "continue to make trade difficult and expensive, and often create bottlenecks for commercial activities." Consequently, it is hiring a contractor to devise a reform plan to bring that agency into the 21st Century. Not the U.S. Customs Service, that is, but the Nigeria Customs Service.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates it will award a contract in the $10 million range to carry out the goals of the Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport, or NEXXT, program (Solicitation #SOL-620-12-000001).
The overarching goal of the project is to "improve overall trade and transport competitiveness of Nigeria," according to the Request for Proposals.
The endeavor is one of many USAID programs being carried out or planned for Nigeria, where the agency currently oversees about $1.2 billion in outsourced contracts, according to its own estimates.