Agreement to streamline the U.S. Customs system reached

A final agreement was reached on Wednesday by a Senate and House conference committee to streamline the U.S. Customs system and strengthen the enforcement of U.S. trade laws.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is authorized by the bipartisan, bicameral H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.

The legislation, announced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), provides tools meant to strengthen trade enforcement at the border while facilitating the efficient movement of legitimate trade and travel.

“After productive negotiations, we were able to produce a strong, bipartisan bill that will help modernize the nation’s customs system and ensure it is ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century global economy,” Hatch, the chair of the conference committee, said. “Strong enforcement is a key element in our trade arsenal and thanks to this legislation the administration will have a number of new tools to hold America’s trading partners accountable. Even more, this measure promotes legitimate trade facilitation and works to preserve one of America’s most important economic assets: intellectual property, helping to prevent counterfeit and illicit goods from entering our nation. We’ve put together a good package, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this report across the finish line and signed into law this year.”

Hatch and Wyden introduced and reported out customs legislation from the Senate Finance Committee earlier this year. That bill, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, then passed the Senate by a vote of 78-20 in May.

U.S. Reps. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Charles Boustany (R-LA) introduced customs enforcement legislation on Apr. 21. The legislation, H.R. 1907, was reported out of the Ways and Means Committee on May 14 as amended. The amended customs bill – H.R. 644 – was then approved by the House in a 240-190 vote on June 12.

The differences between the House and Senate bills are reconciled by the Conference Report for the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, which formally authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The legislation also facilitates the legitimate trade of goods while combating violations of U.S. trade laws.

Congress will next vote on the conference report before sending it to the president’s desk to be signed into law.