New Customs Commissioner Speaks on Trade Facilitation, Transparency

(World Trade Interactive)

In a May 13 confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Customs Commissioner Alan Bersin said he will work to further facilitate legitimate international trade and improve consultations with public and private stakeholders. Bersin was recess appointed by President Obama in March, meaning that unless he is confirmed by the Senate he will be required to step down as commissioner at the end of 2011.

Bersin said he supports U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s post-9/11 missions of guarding U.S. borders against “dangerous people and dangerous things” while making it easier for legitimate trade and travel to enter and exit the country. While he called homeland security CBP’s “first responsibility,” he also recognized trade community concerns that CBP has not given sufficient priority to its trade facilitation mission. In response, he expressed his intent to “focus on expediting secure trade and travel so that commerce flows faster, the cost of doing business diminishes, our country remains competitive in an era of economic globalization, and our economic recovery is sustainable over the long run.”

Bersin also discussed longstanding concerns regarding “the cumulative cost of government decisions on the trade community, and the lack of consultation and transparency in [CBP’s] decision making process.” Having asked the trade community to “assume its fair share of the burden” by exercising reasonable care, providing more transaction-related information and investing in the resources necessary to keep up with current requirements, he said, CBP in turn should “strive continually to provide an environment built upon predictability, transparency, and uniformity in the importing process.” In addition, the agency needs to “weigh the cumulative costs of our decisions on business and, when possible, provide for simplified commercial processing.”

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