Sec. 211. Commercial Targeting Division and National Targeting and Analysis Groups
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The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish and maintain within the Office of Trade of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, established under section 4 of the Act of March 3, 1927, as added by section 102, a Commercial Targeting Division. The Commercial Targeting Division shall be composed of— headquarters personnel led by an Executive Director, who shall report to the Assistant Commissioner for Trade; and individual National Targeting and Analysis Groups, each led by a Director who shall report to the Executive Director of the Commercial Targeting Division.
The Commercial Targeting Division shall be dedicated— to the development and conduct of commercial targeting with respect to cargo destined for the United States in accordance with subsection (c); and to issuing Trade Alerts described in subsection (d). The Commissioner shall determine the priorities of the National Targeting and Analysis Groups referred to in subsection (a)(2)(B), to include the enforcement, with respect to the importation of merchandise into the United States, of— intellectual property rights; health and safety laws and regulations; agriculture-related laws and regulations; textile- and apparel-related laws and regulations; general revenue laws and regulations; and non-general revenue laws and regulations, including with respect to antidumping and countervailing duties.
In carrying out its duties with respect to commercial targeting, the Commercial Targeting Division shall— establish targeting methodologies and standards for— assessing the risk that cargo destined for the United States may violate the customs and trade laws of the United States; and issuing, as appropriate, Trade Alerts described in subsection (d); to the extent practicable and otherwise authorized by law, use, to administer the methodologies and standards established under paragraph (1)— publicly available information; information available from the Automated Commercial System, the Automated Commercial Environment computer system, the Automated Targeting System, the Automated Export System, the International Trade Data System, the TECS (formerly known as the Treasury Enforcement Communications System ), and the case management system of the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, and any successors to those systems; and information made available to the Commercial Targeting Division, including information provided by private sector entities; and coordinate targeting efforts with other Federal agencies with authority to detain and release merchandise entering the United States. Based upon the application of the targeting methodologies and standards established under subsection (c), the Executive Director of the Commercial Targeting Division and the Directors of the National Targeting and Analysis Groups may issue Trade Alerts to port directors providing guidance for further inspection, physical examination, or testing, of specific merchandise if certain risk-assessment thresholds are met to improve compliance with the customs and trade laws of the United States and regulations administered by the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Agency. A port director may determine not to follow a Trade Alert issued under paragraph
(1)that requires further inspection, physical examination, or testing if the port director— finds that such a determination is justified by security interests; and notifies the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Division of the Office of Field Operations of the determination not to follow the Trade Alert and the reasons for the determination not later than 48 hours after making the determination. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Division shall— compile an annual summary of all determinations by port directors under paragraph
(2)and the reasons for those determinations; conduct an evaluation of the utilization of Trade Alerts issued under paragraph (1); and submit the summary compiled under subparagraph
(A)and the evaluation conducted under subparagraph
(B)to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives not later than December 31 of each year. In this subsection, the term inspection means the comprehensive evaluation process used by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, other than physical examination or testing, to permit the entry of merchandise into the United States, or the clearance of merchandise for transportation in bond through the United States, for purposes of— assessing duties; identifying restricted or prohibited items; and ensuring compliance with the customs and trade laws of the United States and regulations administered by the Agency. Section 343(a)(3)(F) of the Trade Act of 2002 ( 19 U.S.C. 2071 note) is amended to read as follows: The information collected pursuant to the regulations shall be used for ensuring aviation, maritime, and surface transportation safety and security, and may be used for commercial enforcement purposes. A person that provides information pursuant to the regulations that is used to detect a violation of any statute or regulation relating to commercial enforcement shall be subject to commercial penalties pursuant to that statute or regulation only if the person is found to have committed fraud in providing the information. .
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Sec. 211
Commercial Targeting Division and National Targeting and Analysis Groups
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