Schmitz to be U.S. candidate for WCO post

Schmitz to be U.S. candidate for WCO post    The World Customs Organization is expected to announce a vacancy for director of compliance and facilitation within the next two weeks and Robert Bonner, the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, plans to nominate Assistant Commissioner Michael Schmitz to fill the position, according to CBP officials.
   Schmitz heads the Office of Regulations and Rulings (OR&R), which monitors Customs legal decisions and determines penalties and fines for violations of customs law.
   The director of compliance and facilitation is one of four elected positions in the 164-member WCO. The other positions are secretary general, deputy secretary general, and director of tariffs and trade. Jouko Lempi'inen of Finland is the current director of compliance and facilitation.
   The WCO election will take place at the organization’s June meeting of customs directors. Other countries are expected to nominate candidates for the job.
   If elected, Schmitz would begin serving a five-year term Jan. 1, 2006 and be based at WCO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. That would be a homecoming of sorts because Schmitz served from 1994 to 1999 as chief of staff to then-Secretary General James Shaver.
   Schmitz was placed in charge of OR&R in July of 2002 to deal with a backlog of rulings.
   Schmitz served for 10 months as acting assistant commissioner for international affairs before returning full-time to head OR&R last year.