Sec. 111. Commercial Targeting Division and National Targeting and Analysis Groups
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Section 2(d) of the Act of March 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 1381, chapter 348; 19 U.S.C. 2072(d) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish and maintain within the Office of International Trade 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 risk assessment targeting with respect to cargo destined for the United States in accordance with subparagraph (C); and to issuing Trade Alerts described in subparagraph (D). A National Targeting and Analysis Group referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) shall, at a minimum, be established for each priority trade issue described in clause (ii). The priority trade issues described in this clause are the following:
Agriculture programs. Antidumping and countervailing duties. Import safety. Intellectual property rights. Revenue. Textiles and wearing apparel. Trade agreements and preference programs. The Commissioner is authorized to establish new priority trade issues and eliminate, consolidate, or otherwise modify the priority trade issues described in this paragraph if the Commissioner— determines it necessary and appropriate to do so; submits to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a summary of proposals to consolidate, eliminate, or otherwise modify existing priority trade issues not later than 60 days before such changes are to take effect; and submits to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a summary of proposals to establish new priority trade issues not later than 30 days after such changes are to take effect.
The duties of each National Targeting and Analysis Group shall include— directing the trade enforcement and compliance assessment activities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that relate to the Group’s priority trade issue; facilitating, promoting, and coordinating cooperation and the exchange of information between U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other relevant Federal departments and agencies regarding the Group’s priority trade issue; and serving as the primary liaison between U.S.
Customs and Border Protection and the public regarding United States Government activities regarding the Group’s priority trade issue, including— providing for receipt and transmission to the appropriate U.S. Customs and Border Protection office of allegations from interested parties in the private sector of violations of customs and trade laws of the United States of merchandise relating to the priority trade issue; obtaining information from the appropriate U.S. Customs and Border Protection office on the status of any activities resulting from the submission of any such allegation, including any decision not to pursue the allegation, and providing any such information to each interested party in the private sector that submitted the allegation every 90 days after the allegation was received by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection unless providing such information would compromise an ongoing law enforcement investigation; and notifying on a timely basis each interested party in the private sector that submitted such allegation of any civil or criminal actions taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection or other Federal department or agency resulting from the allegation. In carrying out its duties with respect to commercial risk assessment targeting, the Commercial Targeting Division shall— establish targeted risk assessment methodologies and standards— for evaluating the risk that cargo destined for the United States may violate the customs and trade laws of the United States, particularly those laws applicable to merchandise subject to the priority trade issues described in subparagraph (B)(ii); and for issuing, as appropriate, Trade Alerts described in subparagraph (D); and to the extent practicable and otherwise authorized by law, use, to administer the methodologies and standards established under clause (i)— 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 ), the case management system of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and any successor systems; and information made available to the Commercial Targeting Division, including information provided by private sector entities. Based upon the application of the targeted risk assessment methodologies and standards established under subparagraph (C), the Executive Director of the Commercial Targeting Division and the Directors of the National Targeting and Analysis Groups may issue Trade Alerts to directors of United States ports of entry directing further inspection, or physical examination or testing, of specific merchandise to ensure compliance with all applicable customs and trade laws and regulations administered by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection. The director of a United States port of entry may determine not to conduct further inspections, or physical examination or testing, pursuant to a Trade Alert issued under clause
(i)if the director— finds that such a determination is justified by security interests; and notifies the Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations and the Assistant Commissioner of International Trade of U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the determination and the reasons for the determination not later than 48 hours after making the determination. The Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall— compile an annual public summary of all determinations by directors of United States ports of entry under clause
(ii)and the reasons for those determinations; conduct an evaluation of the utilization of Trade Alerts issued under clause (i); and submit the summary 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 subparagraph, the term inspection means the comprehensive evaluation process used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 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 all applicable customs and trade laws and regulations administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. . 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 exclusively for ensuring cargo safety and security, preventing smuggling, and commercial risk assessment targeting, and shall not be used for any commercial enforcement purposes, including for determining merchandise entry. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, nothing in this section shall be treated as amending, repealing, or otherwise modifying title IV of the Tariff Act of 1930 or regulations prescribed thereunder. .
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Sec. 111
Commercial Targeting Division and National Targeting and Analysis Groups
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