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TKC International Inc. is a leading Washington-based public and government affairs consulting firm.
TKCI provides services to companies and governments in international trade and business matters.
For the past 57 years, the United States has operated pre-clearance facilities at foreign ports and airports that allow travelers to pass through Immigration and Customs, Public Health, and Department of Agriculture inspections before boarding their aircraft, ship or train to enter the United States. These facilities streamline border procedures, reduce congestion at ports of entry, and facilitate travel between the preclearance location and some U.S. airports that may not be equipped to handle international travelers.
Preclearance facilities have proven to be popular with travelers, with the airlines and with the nations who participate in the program. The benefits for all parties in the program are so significant that we believe the United States can be encouraged to expand this facility to additional ports, particularly those with a high volume of traffic with the United States.
There are several real advantages to a tourism destination to have pre-clearance:
- Passengers are afforded the benefits of making quick domestic and international connections and by having their checked luggage automatically transferred between flights by air carriers without being claimed.
- Airports may benefit by having more direct flights to U.S. destinations.
- Meanwhile, U.S. airports enjoy the benefit of reduced passenger delays in the international arrival area as well as increased service to pre-cleared destinations.
- Because flights that have been pre-cleared can fly to any destination in the United States, not just those few with Customs facilities, it enables carriers to serve the market to attractive, but less traveled destinations in the USA.
There are currently fourteen preclearance facilities operated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service. Ten are in Canada, four in the Caribbean: Aruba, Nassau, Freeport Bahamas and Bermuda. Two more are being constructed in Ireland for operations to begin next year. It is anticipated that other such facilities will be opened in Europe soon. Preclearance facilities are staffed and operated by officers from the United States who do the processing procedures exactly as it would be done within the United States at a border entry point.
When travelers from a preclearance port arrive in the U.S. they do so as domestic travelers (and are not subject to further inspections). This is particularly beneficial to those who have an ongoing connection (such as a connecting flight), as there is no risk of border delays causing them to miss their connection. Air travelers with further connections have their baggage checked through to their destination; without preclearance the baggage would have to be collected prior to customs inspection and then checked-in for the subsequent flight.
Preclearance provides considerable flexibility to the airlines operating in those routes where this program is available. For example, major U.S airlines and their subsidiaries routinely operate many daily flights from locations like Toronto and Ontario in Canada, or Nassau in the Bahamas, to New York. Thanks to the presence of preclearance facilities like those in Toronto and Nassau, the airlines can conveniently direct their flights from these locations to land at La Guardia Airport, rather than the much larger and busier John F. Kennedy International Airport. This allows them to save the valuable space at JFK for their other international arrivals.
Preclearance applies to both U.S. citizens as well as citizens of most other countries who travel to the U.S. As the U.S. requires those in transit through the U.S. to pass through U.S. immigration (unlike many other countries, which permit airside transfers), preclearance also applies to transit passengers.
These facilities exist because of agreements made between the federal government of the United States and the government of the host country. Travelers who have passed through the U.S. government checks, but whose flight or ship has not departed, remain in the legal jurisdiction of the host country. U.S. officials may question and search travelers, but they do not have powers of arrest (either for customs or immigration violations, or for the execution of outstanding warrants), although they can deny boarding. Local criminal laws apply, and are enforced by local officials.
In the United States, the principal responsibility for this activity is the U. S. Customs and Border Security Protection Service of the Department of Homeland Security, but other agencies will be involved, including the Department of Transportation, the Department of State and the Department of Justice. In the past, special legislative authority was required.
Mr. Robert (Bob) Keefe: President of TKCI. Over the last thirty years, Keefe brought together unique teams of professionals offering expertise in representation, lobbying, public affairs, and strategic communications.
In his years in Washington, Bob Keefe learned to work the levers of power in government through service on Congressional staffs, political campaigns and as a consultant to key American and foreign organizations. A long-time veteran of Democratic Party politics, Keefe has served as an advisor to presidential candidates, senators and congressmen, governors and mayors.
Keefe has specialized in representing international clients in Washington and American firms abroad. Included among his clients have been the national governments of Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, Aruba, Albania, Azerbaijan, Japan, Philippines, and Angola. In each instance, he structured successful communications and representation campaigns for the client nation.
In his long relationship with Aruba, he led their effort to establish a preclearance facility for U. S. Customs for travelers on commercial aircraft. The program has been hailed as a major factor in increasing tourism visits to Aruba. Recently, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security expanded the scope of the program in Aruba to include service to private aircraft, the first such facility to be developed.
In addition to leading his own successful consulting firms for more than thirty years, Keefe has been active in business. He organized and chaired the Global Strategies Group, an international association of public affairs consultancies. He was a founding director of Direct Impact, a leading grass roots lobbying firm. He served as a director of a number of companies, including the High Speed Surface Transportation Corp. of Japan, an experimental, maglev train company. He currently serves as chairman of the board of International Strategy Corp. a manager of a diverse basket of investment funds.
Keefe writes regularly at www.bobkeefedc.com and for a number of international outlets on American political and public policy trends. He lectures on politics and on trade policy for the United States Information Agency and other forums. He is a regular speaker at leading business forums and corporate meetings.
Mr. Luigi De Angelis: Executive Vice President of TKCI. De Angelis has a Law degree for the Santa Maria University in Caracas and was a partner in the prestigious international De Angelis law firm, specialized in international representation, merges, acquisitions, venture capital, and public bonds.
De Angelis has joined forces with companies such as China National Electric Company CNNEC and Holley Group from China, Emergency Consult and Bombardier from Canada, The Rendon Group and Wesley K. Clark and Associates from the United States.
TKC International Inc.
operates primarily from Washington DC:
1776 I Street NW Suite 900
Washington DC 20006 USA.
Phone: +1 (202) 756-4783
Fax: +1 (202) 756-1301