IMPORTERS, BROKERS PLAN TRADE SUMMIT ON U.S. CUSTOMS ENTRY REVISIONS

IMPORTERS, BROKERS PLAN TRADE SUMMIT ON U.S. CUSTOMS ENTRY REVISIONS    Members of the U.S. Business Alliance for Customs Modernization will meet with the leaders of three other large industry groups to develop a common set of goals to modernize U.S. Customs’ import entry process.
   The “trade summit” is scheduled for March 7 at BP-Amoco’s Washington office. Joining BACM are representatives of the Joint Industry Group, American Association of Exporters and Importers and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America.
   “It’s about knocking down the walls of these associations to come up with answers instead of conflicts,” said James P. Finnegan, manager of international trade and compliance for Sony Electronics and chairman of BACM. “This is about finding a common thread among us to present to Customs.”
   On March 8, BACM will present the trade summit paper to John A. Durant, director of commercial rulings at Customs. Each group will also present their own positions to Customs. The goal is to incorporate proposed entry revisions into a miscellaneous trade bill by late April.
   In addition, BACM members plan to meet with congressional staffers of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees to discuss Customs automation funding and the entry revision project. They also plan to meet with General Accounting Office members to discuss Customs’ risk management issues.
   BACM was formed last year by 15 importers to address Customs problems in the post-1993 Customs Modernization Act environment. Today the group comprises 21 importers: American Honda, BP-Amoco, Compaq, DaimlerChrysler, DuPont, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, J.C. Penney, Mattel, Nissan, Nortel Networks, Pillsbury, Sara Lee, Sears, Sony, Target Corp., The Limited, Toyota and Wal-Mart.
   The group has firmed its ties to Washington by appointing Judith Lee of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to counsel. Paul Ryan, a government executive relations consultant, will provide lobbying services.