AIRPORT–Former Prime Minister William Marlin announced in 2017 that a first round of meetings between his government and the United States (US) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) had taken place and Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) would be moving towards getting US preclearance soon.
Preclearance makes it possible for travellers to the US to clear Immigration and Customs, Public Health, and Department of Agriculture inspections at PJIA before boarding their flight. This will enable passengers to make faster and easier connections when arriving in the United States, as they would no longer have to go through Customs and Immigration.
A series of meetings followed since then and relevant information concerning the proposed bilateral agreement is still lacking to date.
In an email sent to PJIA Chief Operations Officer (COO) Michel Hyman on Monday, US CBP Port of Dallas Director Cleatus P. Hunt Jr. wrote, “We may have to make the difficult decision to pause any further discussions or design work with the airport until such time we have received substantive feedback from the government of St. Maarten on the proposed bilateral agreement.
“The immediate impact of this matter will be the likely cancellation of the planned design meetings with Corgan in Washington, DC, scheduled for next week. As I expressed to you on the phone, and throughout our consistent correspondence, we value your partnership and continued commitment and efforts to bring preclearance operations to Sint Maarten. However, as you are aware, preclearance operations cannot commence until the bilateral agreement is fully executed.”
When asked by reporters about the status of the US preclearance for the airport during the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday, Minister of Tourism Stuart Jonson and Minister of Justice Cornelius de Weever said the preclearance is moving forward.
“Negotiations and some matters are still being dealt with, but from an economic standpoint the ‘all clear’ has been given by my ministry and we continue to ensure that everything has been finalised on our end,” stated Johnson.
De Weever said preclearance will have great economic benefit for the island once realised.
“All instructions have been given to continue negotiations, not to hold them back at all and to make sure that everything that has to be done on our end is done by each ministry involved,” stated De Weever on Wednesday.
Hunt stated in his email, “On June 1, 2018, we held a conference call with the government of St. Maarten to discuss the status of their edits on the proposed bilateral agreement, which is required to establish preclearance. You [Hyman Ed.] were present during that discussion. During the call, the government of St. Maarten indicated they would send us their suggested edits, and concerns, by June 8, 2018.
“Our office did not receive the edits on that date as indicated and a friendly reminder was sent on June 11, 2018 advising that if more time was required they should let us know.
“On June 20, 2018, our office received an email from the government of St. Maarten articulating the reasons why the edits had not yet been submitted and stating that we would receive them by ‘the end of next week’ or approximately June 29, 2018. You [Hyman – Ed.] were copied on that email.
“As I informed you today [July 2 – Ed.] via telephone, we have not received the edits as indicated in the latest email. You, and your staff, have been working diligently to prepare for implementation and I feel that it is my obligation to keep you apprised of our progress on the bilateral agreement, given the above information.”
Hunt and his staff carry out CBP’s primary mission of preventing terrorists and terrorists’ weapons from entering the United States while facilitating legitimate trade and travel, specifically ensuring visitors to the U.S. meet the admissibility requirements and that customs and agriculture inspections are conducted for every traveller arriving to the U.S. through any of the eight airports under his authority.
Hunt also oversees international trade occurring at those airports, ensuring imports and exports meet federal laws and regulations and that the correct duty amount is collected.
Hunt officially informed Hyman on Monday that the government of St. Maarten needs to provide the necessary funds to cover agreed cost. He wrote in the email, “We feel that it is prudent that we don’t further engage in activities that require expenditure on your part without a reasonable expectation that real progress is being made towards a government-to-government agreement.
“I sincerely hope that you understand our position in this matter. I will keep you apprised of any developments as they occur and we will reach out to you with our definitive position within the coming days.”
PJIA Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ravi Daryanani told The Daily Herald on Thursday evening that the talks have restarted and issues have been cleared up. “I do not see any more reason for delay and talks are back on track. Outstanding issues have been cleared up,” he said.
The U.S. currently has 15 airport preclearance locations in six countries: Aruba; Freeport and Nassau, the Bahamas; Bermuda; Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Winnipeg in Canada; Dublin and Shannon, Ireland; and Abu Dhabi.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/78313-us-pre-clearance-for-pjia-stalled-due-to-lack-of-info-by-government
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