The United States and Morocco Sign Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Rand Beers joined Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Boussaid to sign a bilateral Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) that will provide a partnership and legal framework for information sharing and cooperation between Customs administrations of the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco.

“Today’s agreement provides a framework for information sharing and cooperation between our customs administrations as they combat transnational crime and endeavor to protect our respective national frontiers,” said Acting Secretary Beers.  “We look forward to implementing this Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement, and growing our cooperative relationship with the Kingdom of Morocco.”

The signing of the CMAA between the Government of the United States of America and the Kingdom of Morocco will permit the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco to exchange information and engage in a range of other forms of mutual assistance to collect revenue and protect our respective countries from threats, including our shared priority of combating terrorism.

“The agreement we have signed today will certainly facilitate the bilateral cooperation between the two Customs administrations and help both sides achieve a common goal to fight fraud and to cope with the challenges facing customs and trade,” said Minister Boussaid.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Customs Service before them, have used bilateral Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements as a valuable part of its law enforcement efforts for many years.  Today’s agreement marks the 68th country or territory with which the United States has Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements.

Via these law enforcement tools, both Customs administrations will better able to detect, investigate, and prosecute Customs violations and crimes that touch the movement of goods over international borders, including trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism-related activities.