Breaking Update
Israel and US Expand Cooperation in Fight Against Economic Crime with New Joint Unit
Israel and the US are expanding cooperation against economic crime by establishing a joint Trade Transparency Unit to share and analyze trade data.
Jerusalem, 15 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel and the US deepen cooperation in the fight against Smuggling and economic crime with the signing of an agreement to establish a joint Trade Transparency Unit (TTU) to share and analyze trade data between the countries.
The agreement was signed during an official visit by the head of the Israeli Customs Administration, Kfir Chen, to the US capital, as part of working meetings with senior officials from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The establishment of the TTU is intended to enable advanced sharing and analysis of import and export data between countries, with the aim of identifying unusual gaps in trade reports that may indicate customs fraud, tax evasion, smuggling, terrorist financing, and money laundering through international trade, explained the Israel Tax Authority.
The unit that will be established will operate on the basis of comparing bilateral trade data – export data from one country against import data from the other – in order to identify discrepancies in prices, quantities or classification of goods.
Israel’s Customs Administration noted that in the coming months, the process of implementing the joint mechanism, training teams and transferring data, will begin in preparation for the unit’s full operation.
