The United States and Paraguay concluded an update to a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) on Monday (13.07.2020), the US Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) reported.
According to releaseThe international instrument, signed by the US ambassador, Lee McClenny, and the Paraguayan foreign minister, Antonio Rivas Palacios, replaces the 2002 agreement.
"This revised agreement is a key component to further enhance our partnership with Paraguay,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Mark A. Morgan. “The CMAA demonstrates our bilateral commitment to prevent and investigate crimes associated with goods that cross our borders, while facilitates legitimate trade«.
The updated U.S.-Paraguay CMAA expands information-sharing capabilities and strengthens trade facilitation efforts and enforcement capabilities. For example, The information exchanged under the agreement can now be used in criminal proceedings by both parties..
CMAAs are bilateral agreements between countries, enforced by their respective customs administrations. They provide the legal framework for the exchange of information and evidence to assist countries in the enforcement of customs laws, including the tax evasion, trafficking, proliferation, money laundering and terrorist-related activities.
The United States has signed 82 CMAAs with other customs administrations around the world. In South America, the following countries are signatories to the instrument: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
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