BACM SEEKS INDUSTRY CONSENSUS ON CUSTOMS MODERNIZATION

BACM SEEKS INDUSTRY CONSENSUS ON CUSTOMS MODERNIZATION    The U.S. Business Alliance for Customs Modernization said it's not operating outside of the interests of the rest of the industry.
   BACM was created last year by a dozen large importers with the intent to revise the way Customs audits their import records. The group, which now comprises 22 companies, has since proposed wider reforms to modernize Customs' processes such as supplying aggregate import information and paying duties to Customs on a periodic basis.
   BACM's rapid move to present legislation to capital hill, H.R. 4337, has taken other industry groups and Customs by surprise.
   “It was initially believed that BACM was about to overhaul or overthrow the customs process,” Cook said. “It really wasn't.”
   “This is about simplification. The simpler it is (customs process) the easier it is to manage,” Cook said to a group of importers at a BDP International customs seminar in Princeton Thursday.
   Last Friday, former Customs Commissioner George Weise mediated a meeting in Washington between BACM and other industry groups, such as the American Association of Exporters and Importers, Joint Industry Group, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, in addition to customs and Census.
   The purpose of the meeting was to try to gain consensus on customs modernization efforts.
   “It's about working this thing out together,” Cook said.
   BACM's 22 members include members Toyota, Wal-Mart and BP Amoco. BACM members process about 1.8 million entries a year at a value of $120 million.