The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune. WHO do we declare to when we go through us Pre-clearance at LPIA? On the form, printed in blue there is the seal of the United States of America and everywhere through the form you are reminded that you are declaring to the Treasury Department of the United States of America. Nowhere is there Bahamas Customs - The Treasurer of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas... so please stop trying to pull a fast one. The US law is for everyone entering the US to declare simply if you are carrying negotiable notes, cheques or currency totaling US$10,000 - declare the form says. You say whether you are declaring for yourself or with persons accompanying you. Why we can't get this right has to be something to do with our education system. An all-important issue is that once you enter the US Pre-clearance facility, you are technically under treaty between The Bahamas and the US in the United States so their laws apply. Protocol is that if anyone is found smuggling drugs or incorrectly declaring or any infringement say of a passport these offences for practical reasons are handed over to Bahamian law officers as otherwise you would have to be flown to a US destination, charged in the US and judged under US laws and if found guilty sent to a US jail. The Bahamas is one of a very few countries that has pre-clearance - Canada-Ireland-Aruba-Bermuda and Bahamas. We have a facility at LPIA and in Freeport. Invaluable assets to our tourism product so let's not annoy Washington. If you declare you have over US$10,000, you will be asked: What are you going to do with that money? J MOORE Nassau, January 3, 2012.