Terceira could be a pre-authorization post.

The president of the Angra do Heroísmo Chamber of Commerce (CCAH) advocates the creation of a customs pre-authorization and border protection post on Terceira Island for travelers from the United States entering Europe and vice versa, similar to the one that exists in Ireland.
“Terceira Island has an airport with great capacity, which is going to grow as a result of intervention works, and could play a very interesting role in trade relations between Europe and the United States with the application of an advanced customs post,” he suggested.
“This would allow, for example, all passengers entering the United States to do so via Terceira or all those wishing to enter Europe to do so via Terceira Island. It’s not something innovative, it already exists in Ireland, but the differentiating factor we would have on Terceira Island is that we are four hours from the coast of the United States,” he explained.
Marcos Couto was speaking yesterday in Lisbon at the 3rd edition of the Transatlantic Business Summit, organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Portugal (AM Cham), where he shared a speech with the mayor of Angra do Heroísmo on the “importance of the geostrategic position of the Azores in the European Union’s relationship with the United States.”

The Port of Praia da Vitória can be an extension of the Port of Hudson

The event was attended by the President of the Republic, the Minister for the Economy and the Sea, and businessmen and ambassadors from Portugal and the United States.
As for the Port of Praia da Vitória, the president of the business association argued that it could be an essential tool for strengthening trade relations between Portugal and the United States.
“The ocean port will soon grow to 850 meters of berth, with eight hectares of area for growth in terms of infrastructure and it could also play a very interesting role in the commercial relationship with the United States, namely in an extension with any US commercial port, for example, with the port of Hudson, which would allow a new commercial relationship and an extension of this relationship,” he said.
At a meeting that aims to promote trade and economic relations between Portugal and the United States, the president of the CCAH argued that “the Azores have always been left out of this relationship, as a result of an extremely closed policy.”
“We have to change this perspective, we have to be more inclusive, we have to definitely realize that we are Portugal,” he stressed.

Sea and geothermal energy
The Mayor of Angra do Heroísmo also felt that the Azores had yet to make the most of the relationship between Portugal and the United States. “The Azores are a small territory, both in terms of population and land, but very large in terms of sea, with enormous potential for development, particularly in the sea, which has not really been explored, and which could, in fact, be a hinge area between these two continents. We’re halfway between the European Union and the United States, and so far, we haven’t used this position well,” he warned.
Álamo Meneses acknowledged that this rapprochement is complex, especially considering that the Azores are an autonomous region and therefore do not have an “autonomous foreign policy” but assured that the region can make “a good contribution to this relationship.”

The sea that surrounds the Azores is enormous and untapped.

In addition to the strategic location, which led to the installation of military forces, first British and then American, at Lajes Base, Álamo Meneses highlighted the “enormous geothermal potential,” which is only being exploited on two islands and has not yet reached the limit of what is possible, and the “gigantic area of sea,” with an immense value that is “far from being exploited”.
“We keep talking about the blue economy, but it keeps getting away from us because we haven’t been able to create a regulatory environment that makes the sea a real resource,” he stressed, claiming that “apart from fishing and transport issues, little or nothing is being taken from the Azorean sea at the moment.”
With an economy in which cattle farming is still the most essential activity, the mayor highlighted the “remarkable growth in tourism over the last decade,” but also, in this case, he thought it could be more significant.
“The Azores are four and a half hours away from Boston and you can travel at relatively low prices (…) But things are a bit incipient and haven’t developed as much as we thought they could,” he explained.
Álamo Meneses said that “the Azores have not yet been able to find a competitive air and sea accessibility model,” which he considered being “one of the main reasons why the economy hasn’t grown as much as it could,” but pointed out that business opportunities are beginning to emerge that don’t require the physical export of goods.
“We have a group of companies that are starting to settle in the archipelago, which is becoming relatively competitive from the point of view of providing digital services,” he pointed out.

in Diário Insular – José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno.