Official website of the Department of Homeland Security
Stakeholder Engagement
The private sector plays an instrumental role in the global economy and has a unique opportunity to lend their considerable expertise to CBP. By partnering with industry leaders, CBP links our processes with modern business practices, which results in enhanced compliance with trade laws, improves our facilitation and enforcement efforts, and assists the U.S. economy.
Office of Trade Relations
The Office of Trade Relations (OTR) is responsible for ensuring that accurate, timely, and consistent information is provided to the international trade community on CBP trade policy, as established by the agency. The Executive Director of OTR is the designated regulatory fairness representative for the agency, with responsibility for promoting compliance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. The Executive Director is also the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) for the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC). As such, OTR is responsible for managing CBP's engagement with COAC and supporting the Commissioner in performing his duties as Co-Chair of the COAC. (Continue reading about OTR)
Advisory Committees |
||
 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC)
COAC shall advise the Secretaries of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the commercial operations of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and related DHS and Treasury functions.
UFAC shall advise the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on issues related to the performance of airport and seaport inspections coinciding with the assessment of an agriculture, customs, or immigration user fee. |
|
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act (SBREFA) |
| The signing of SBREFA into law created a Small Business Administration National Ombudsman and ten Regional Regulatory Fairness Boards to oversee the implementation of the Act. One of the recommendations by the National Ombudsman and the Fairness Boards was for each agency to designate an impartial party to serve as a Regulatory Fairness Representative contact for small businesses.
The Director of Trade Relations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection was selected by the Commissioner to serve as the Regulatory Fairness Representative for the agency and is responsible for performing as the link between the international trading community and senior CBP managers. (Continue reading about SBREFA) |
