The Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) was established by CBP with an objective of creating a centralized focus on industry-specific efficiencies to facilitate trade, reduce transaction costs, and increase consistency for importers. There are 10 key industry sectors in strategic locations throughout the United States. These key sectors consolidate existing expertise and serve as a resource to provide uniform treatment across the country.To clarify what this means, in the past, if a company imports into 60 different ports, those 60 ports conduct separate entry summary reviews. With the now operational CEE, these reviews are handled at a single center. This consolidation equates to increasing industry based knowledge within CBP that can identify industry trends and commercial threats. It allows for the facilitation of legitimate trade through effective risk segmentation. The CEE provides value to the compliant importer through fewer cargo delays, reduced costs, and greater predictability of cargo availability. Another benefit is any prior disclosure notices can be given to the CEE instead of multiple ports of entry.In addition to an importer’s benefits, the centralization allows for ports of entry to more effectively focus resources on high-risk shipments that may pose a danger to U.S. border security, harm the consumer, or violate trade laws or intellectual property rights that are critical to our nation’s economic competitiveness.Key industry sectors include: Agriculture & Prepared Products; Apparel, Footwear & Textiles; Automotive & Aerospace; Base Metals; Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising; Electronics, Industrial & Manufacturing Materials; Machinery; Petroleum, and Natural Gas & Minerals.