Treasury Testifies at Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Authorization of Customs and Trade Functions

Testifying at this hearing, were representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); Department of Treasury; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and International Trade Commission. Various trade participants also testified.

Treasury's Written Statement

The following are highlights of the written statement presented by the Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Tax, Trade, and Tariff Policy.

In his written statement, the DAS notes that the Homeland Security Act transformed the former Customs to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the following exceptions:

Treasury retains sole authority to approve regulations "concerning import quotas or trade bans, user fees, marking, labeling, copyright and trademark enforcement and the completion of entry or substance of entry summary including duty assessment and collection, classification, valuation, application of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule, eligibility or requirements for preferential trade programs, and the establishment of recordkeeping requirements relating thereto."

Treasury reviews all rulings involving the topics noted above that result in a change in practice or are the result of a petition process.

Treasury shares the chairmanship of COAC, the Advisory Committee on commercial operations of CBP.

The DAS adds that Treasury also works with DHS and CBP on other areas of mutual concern involving customs revenue functions, as well as on the International Trade Data System (ITDS), which is not a separate computer system, but will be implemented as a feature of CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

16 PGAs already have access to ACE Web Portal. According to the DAS, one aspect of ITDS is already operational. Sixteen of the participating ITDS agencies already have access to data on import transactions, through the web-based ACE portal.

According to Treasury sources, these sixteen agencies are as follows:

Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS)

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

International Trade Administration - Import Administration (ITA-IA)

National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

U.S. Census Bureau (Census)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

U.S. Foreign Trade Zones Board (FTZB)

U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)

The DAS states that much groundwork for the next steps has been accomplished. With the participation of all the involved agencies, an effort to identify and harmonize their trade data requirements is well underway. Those data requirements are being aligned with data sets developed by the G-7 countries and the World Customs Organization (WCO) so that the U.S. will be close to the vision of having internationally as well as nationally harmonized trade reporting.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/03/06 news, 06050310, for BP summary of the testimony of CBP's representative at this hearing.)

Treasury statement available athttp://finance.senate.gov/hearings/testimony/2005test/042606tktest.pdf.

All government, trade, and Committee statements available at http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing042606.htm.