This webcast will provide an overview about the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) and will detail how brand owners can collaborate with these centers in their anticounterfeiting efforts. Speakers will provide a presentation on the activities and objectives of the Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals CEE and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Recordation System. Additionally, the webcast will have a detailed case study that demonstrates best practices collaboration between the Pharmaceutical CEE and an industry brand owner.

Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) transform the way U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) approaches trade operations and works with the international trade community. The Centers represent CBP's expanded focus on “Trade in the 21^st Century” by aligning with modern business practices, focusing on industry-specific issues, and by providing tailored support to unique trading environments. The Centers were established to increase uniformity of practices across ports of entry, facilitate the timely resolution of trade compliance issues nationwide, and further strengthen critical agency knowledge on key industry practices. 

There are currently ten Centers of Excellence and Expertise in the country, each with a special industry focus:

• Atlanta: Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising
• Buffalo: Industrial & Manufacturing Materials
• Chicago: Base Metals
• Detroit: Automotive & Aerospace
• Houston: Petroleum, Natural Gas & Minerals
• Laredo: Machinery
• Los Angeles: Electronics
• New York: Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals
• Miami: Agriculture & Prepared Products
• San Francisco: Apparel, Footwear & Textiles