[demkicker]

I don't understand why the Mexican government is supposed to operate it in the first place. What's up with that?

[1rudeboy]

Speaking generally, countries that have a lot of cross-border movement (goods and people) allow the destination country to "pre-screen" before the physical border is actually crossed.

If you've ever traveled overseas, you might have noticed that it's usually more time-consuming to enter a country rather than leave it. Pre-screening makes the process more efficient.

For this reason I tend to believe that this Mexican Customs facility primarily is to pre-screen shipments to/through Mexico. Frankly, at this stage it's not completely clear.

[1rudeboy]

Here is some material on a similar U.S. program:

Container Security Initiative.

[Wallace T.]

My guess would be that a customs facility in Kansas City would enable Mexican officials to clear truck and rail shipments to Mexico hundreds of miles north of border crossings like Nuevo Laredo or Matamoras, thereby lessening delays at those crossings. Presumably the United States would have a reciprocal arrangement at some place like Monterrey or San Luis Potosi. From an American standpoint, our concern should be whether an inland clearance of goods from Mexico would provide adequate security against drug smuggling and other illicit activity.