U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently informed members of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee that it is bringing all existing COAC subcommittees and workgroups to a close.
For decades COAC has advised and offered recommendations to CBP on all matters involving the agency’s commercial operations. The committee holds public meetings each quarter to review progress by its three subcommittees (covering secure trade lanes, intelligent enforcement, and next generation trade facilitation), each of which incorporates a handful of workgroups that meet at more frequent intervals. According to the agenda of COAC’s most recent meeting, held virtually on June 18, those workgroups have been focusing on issues such as improving importer compliance with trade remedy measures, intellectual property rights enforcement and facilitation, forced labor, further development of the Automated Commercial Environment, improving the administration of the customs broker license exam, modernizing export processes, automating enforcement of the $800 daily limit on de minimis entries, and reviewing minimum security criteria for the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism.
However, a recent message from CBP said the agency is restructuring COAC’s subcommittees and workgroups to align with priorities under President Trump’s America First Trade Policy. The message said CBP is focused on three tenets of that policy: “national security is paramount; prioritize protecting domestic industry and rebuilding its industrial and production capabilities; and close revenue and enforcement gaps from unfair trade practices that undermine national security and/or disadvantage domestic industry.”
To ensure that “we have the agility and bandwidth to readily meet the emerging strategic issues in global trade and national security,” CBP directed COAC workgroups to use the next three months to conclude their ongoing efforts and make final recommendations, which are to be submitted at the committee’s September public meeting.
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