[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 63 (Friday, April 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18865-18866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07388]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[Docket No. USCBP-2016-0016]


Termination of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations to 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Establishment of the Commercial 
Customs Operations Advisory Committee

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland 
Security.

[[Page 18866]]


ACTION: Committee management; notice of termination of the Advisory 
Committee on Commercial Operations to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection and establishment of the Commercial Customs Operations 
Advisory Committee.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the termination of the Advisory 
Committee on Commercial Operations to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection and the establishment of the Commercial Customs Operations 
Advisory Committee.
    Background: Section 9503(c) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 
Act of 1987, Pub.L. 100-203, Title IX, Subtitle F, Sec.  9503(c), 101 
Stat. 1330, 1330-381 (1987) (codified at 19 U.S.C. 2071 note), which 
established what is now the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations 
to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was repealed by section 109 of 
the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Pub.L. 114-
125). Accordingly, the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations to 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is terminated. Section 109 also 
provides for the establishment of the Commercial Customs Operations 
Advisory Committee.
    Establishment of a Commerical Customs Operations Advisory 
Committee: Section 109 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement 
Act of 2015 (the Act) states, the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall jointly establish a Commercial 
Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC). The COAC shall be 
comprised of 20 members, the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy of the 
Department of the Treasury and the Commissioner, who shall jointly co-
chair meetings of the COAC, and the Assistant Secretary for Policy of 
the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who shall serve as deputy co-
chairs of meetings of the COAC.
    The COAC members shall be appointed by the Secretary of the 
Treasury and the Secretary of Homeland Security. The membership is 
representative of individuals and firms affected by the commercial 
operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and without 
regard to political affiliation. Each individual appointed to the COAC 
shall be appointed for a term of not more than 3 years, and may be 
reappointed to subsequent terms, but may not serve more than 2 terms 
sequentially. The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security may transfer members serving on what is now the 
Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations, established under section 
9503(c) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (19 U.S.C. 
2071 note) on the day before the date of the enactment of the Act to 
the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee.
    The COAC shall advise the Secretaries of the Department of the 
Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security on all matters 
involving the commercial operations of CBP, including advising with 
respect to significant changes that are proposed with respect to 
regulations, policies, or practices of CBP. The COAC will provide 
recommendations to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security on improvements to the commercial operations of CBP.
    The COAC shall meet at the call of the Secretary of the Treasury 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security, or at the call of not less than 
\2/3\ of the membership of the COAC. The COAC shall meet at least 4 
times each calendar year.
    Not later than December 31, 2016, and annually thereafter, the COAC 
shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a report 
that describes the activities of the COAC during the preceding fiscal 
year, and sets forth any recommendations of the COAC regarding the 
commercial operations of CBP.
    Effective on the date on which the Advisory Committee is 
established, section 9503(c) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
of 1987 (19 U.S.C. 2071 note) is repealed. Any reference in law to the 
Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the United States 
Customs Service established under section 9503(c) of the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1987 (19 U.S.C. 2071 note) made on or after the 
date on which the Advisory Committee is established, shall be deemed a 
reference to the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Wanda Tate, Office of Trade 
Relations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW., Room 3.5A, Washington, DC 20229; telephone (202) 344-1661; 
facsimile (202) 325-4290.

    Dated: March 29, 2016.
Maria Luisa Boyce,
Senior Advisor for Private Sector Engagement, Office of Trade 
Relations.
[FR Doc. 2016-07388 Filed 3-31-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-14-P