[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65703-65705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27716]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[Docket No. USCBP-2018-0045]


Public Meeting: 21st Century Customs Framework

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is cognizant of the 
need to stay modern in order to meet the challenges of an evolving 
trade landscape. New actors, industries, and modes of conducting 
business have emerged, disrupting the traditional global supply chain. 
To continue to effectively fulfill CBP's mission, CBP is pursuing an 
initiative titled ``The 21st Century Customs Framework.'' ``The 21st 
Century Customs Framework'' will seek to address and enhance numerous 
aspects of CBP's trade mission to better position CBP to operate in the 
21st century trade environment. Through preliminary efforts, CBP has 
identified key themes for which CBP seeks public input: Emerging Roles 
in the Global Supply Chain, Intelligent Enforcement, Cutting-Edge 
Technology, Data Access and Sharing, 21st Century Processes, and Self-
Funded Customs Infrastructure. To that end, CBP is announcing a public 
meeting to discuss these themes. CBP will use the public comments 
received in response to this notice to initiate discussion at the 
public meeting for CBP to consider possible policy, regulatory, and 
statutory improvements to further the trade mission. CBP is already 
pursuing related efforts through the Border Interagency Executive 
Council and the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee and is 
ensuring coordination among these initiatives.

DATES: Meeting: The meeting to discuss ``The 21st Century Customs 
Framework'' will be held on Friday, March 1, 2019, from 9:00 a.m. to 
5:00 p.m. EST.
    Pre-registration: Members of the public wishing to attend the 
meeting whether in-person or via teleconference must register as 
indicated in the Addresses section by 5:00 p.m. EST, February 4, 2019.
    Cancellation of pre-registration: Members of the public who are 
pre-registered to attend in-person or via teleconference and later need 
to cancel, please do so by 5:00 p.m. EST, February 22, 2019.
    Submission of comments: Members of the public wishing to submit 
comments must do so by 5:00 p.m. EST, February 4, 2019 by the methods 
described in the Addresses section.

ADDRESSES: Meeting: The meeting will be conducted in-person and via 
teleconference. The in-person meeting will be held at the U.S. 
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. 
The teleconference number will be provided to all registrants by 5:00 
p.m. EST on February 28, 2019. For information on services for 
individuals with disabilities or to request special assistance at the 
meeting, contact Mr. Brandon Lord, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs & 
Border Protection, at (202) 325-6432 or email, [email protected] as 
soon as possible.
    Pre-registration: Meeting participants may attend either in-person 
or via teleconference after pre-registering using one of the methods 
indicated below. All in-person attendees must pre-register by 5:00 p.m. 
EST, February 4, 2019; on-site registration is not permitted.
    For members of the public who plan to attend the meeting in-person, 
please register online at https://teregistration.cbp.gov/index.asp?w=145.
    For members of the public who plan to participate via 
teleconference, please register online at https://teregistration.cbp.gov/index.asp?w=146 by 5:00 p.m. EST, February 4, 
2019.
    Please feel free to share this information with other interested 
members of your organization or association.
    Members of the public who are pre-registered to attend and later 
need to cancel, please do so by 5:00 p.m. EST, February 22, 2019, 
utilizing the following links: https://teregistration.cbp.gov/cancel.asp?w=145 to cancel an in-person registration or https://teregistration.cbp.gov/cancel.asp?w=146 to cancel a teleconference 
registration.
    Submission of comments: To facilitate public participation, we are 
inviting public comment on the six themes described below. Comments 
must be submitted in writing no later than February 4, 2019, must be 
identified by Docket No. USCBP-2018-0045, and may be submitted by one 
(1) of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the docket number 
(USCBP-2018-0045) in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Mr. Brandon Lord, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 950N, Washington, 
DC 20229.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the words 
``Department of Homeland Security'' and the docket number (USCBP-2018-
0045) for this action. If you wish to give a public statement in-person 
during the meeting, please do not send your comments through the 
Federal eRulemaking portal as certain identification information is 
required for CBP to contact you, and all comments sent to the portal 
will be posted without change. Please do not submit personal 
information to the Federal eRulemaking portal. For those who wish to 
give a public statement in-person during the meeting, please send your 
comments to the email or mail address above, indicate your interest in 
speaking and include the following information: First and last name; 
title/position; phone number; email address; name and type of 
organization; and identify the theme you will speak to (each individual 
will be limited to one public statement on one theme). CBP will then 
post your comment on the docket without the personal information.
    Docket: For access to the docket or to read background documents or 
comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket Number 
USCBP-2018-0045. To submit a comment, click the ``Comment Now!'' button 
located on the top-right hand side of the docket page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brandon Lord, Office of Trade, 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 
950N, Washington, DC 20229; telephone (202) 325-6432 or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 65704]]

21st Century Customs Framework Initiative Overview

    CBP is cognizant of the need to stay modern in order to meet the 
challenges of an evolving trade landscape. New actors, industries, and 
modes of conducting business have emerged, disrupting the traditional 
global supply chain. To continue to effectively fulfill CBP's mission, 
CBP is pursuing an initiative titled ``The 21st Century Customs 
Framework.'' ``The 21st Century Customs Framework'' will seek to 
address and enhance numerous aspects of CBP's trade mission to better 
position the agency to operate in the 21st century trade environment. 
Through preliminary efforts, CBP has identified key themes for which 
CBP seeks public input: (1) Emerging Roles in the Global Supply Chain; 
(2) Intelligent Enforcement; (3) Cutting-Edge Technology; (4) Data 
Access and Sharing; (5) 21st Century Processes; and (6) Self-Funded 
Customs Infrastructure. Brief descriptions of each theme are provided 
in this document along with the request for public comments on 
questions posed by CBP related to each theme.
    Members of the public who wish to provide a public statement should 
follow the instructions under the Addresses section. Due to time and 
content considerations, it is possible that not all persons who express 
an interest in making a public statement will be able to do so. 
Speakers will be selected based on time considerations and to ensure 
the panel receives diverse, individual perspectives. CBP will begin 
selecting and contacting individuals to deliver public statements 
starting no earlier than February 11, 2019. Members of the public may 
submit as many written comments as they wish; however, any commenter 
who is selected to provide a public statement will be limited to one 
timeslot addressing one theme.

Agenda

21st Century Customs Framework Public Meeting

9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.--Public Statements and Open Public Comment on 
Themes
    As described above, members of the public may submit as many 
written comments as they wish; however, any one individual will be 
selected for only one public statement theme and timeslot.

(1) Emerging Roles in the Global Supply Chain

    Due to technological advances and new modes of conducting business, 
the modern international trade environment is marked by emerging actors 
and dynamic supply chains. CBP's traditional legal frameworks were 
developed to primarily reflect containerized shipments and the supply 
chain to support such shipments, as opposed to small packages and 
business models built around e-commerce. CBP is seeking to ensure that 
all parties in the modern supply chain are aware of their 
responsibilities to promote safety and compliance, while still enabling 
legitimate trade and economic prosperity.

Public Comment Questions

     What new roles in the global supply chain are unaccounted 
for in CBP's current legal framework? How should the agency account for 
these roles?
     How can CBP work with e-commerce platforms and carriers to 
identify and deter illicit shipments?
     How can new actors in the global supply chain work with 
CBP to improve trade security?

(2) Intelligent Enforcement

    CBP's efforts on intelligent enforcement are anchored on further 
improving risk management and the impact of efforts to detect high-risk 
activity, deter non-compliance and disrupt fraudulent behavior--all in 
the interest of enforcing U.S. trade laws to protect America's economic 
security. CBP's intelligent enforcement efforts include exploring how 
to better utilize technology, big data, and predictive analytics to 
drive decision-making.

Public Comment Questions

     What technologies are useful in predicting violative 
activities and an entity's potential for violations?
     What tools or sources of information regarding CBP's 
compliance requirements have you found the most useful? What other 
resources can CBP provide to ensure that trade stakeholders understand 
CBP requirements?
     How can CBP improve violation referral systems and 
allegation processing?

(3) Cutting-Edge Technology

    One of the defining features of the modern trade environment is the 
rapid emergence of new technology. CBP is exploring the use of new 
technologies to improve trade facilitation and trade enforcement 
activities.

Public Comment Questions

     What emerging technologies are most important for CBP to 
monitor or adopt?
     What technologies are being adopted by the private sector 
that are incompatible with CBP's current legal or policy frameworks?
     What technologies on the horizon have the potential to be 
a disruptive force (enabling or challenging) within the trade 
ecosystem?

(4) Data Access and Sharing

    The volume and types of data and the speed at which the data can be 
transmitted create a valuable opportunity for CBP and trade 
stakeholders. CBP is examining how more efficient data sharing can 
improve trade facilitation and trade enforcement. At the same time, CBP 
is looking at ways to reduce the duplication or unnecessary capture of 
data.

Public Comment Questions

     What data would you like CBP to share with importers, and 
vice versa, to improve trade facilitation and enforcement?
     How can CBP's overall data sharing with trade stakeholders 
be improved?

(5) 21st Century Trade Processes

    CBP will be refining certain import processes to reflect the modern 
trade environment, improve the experience of importers, brokers, and 
other important actors in the supply chain, and increase overall 
efficiency. CBP is placing a focus on processes that may be overly 
burdensome or outdated.

Public Comment Questions

     What specific import procedures or requirements can be 
improved or refined, and how?
     What are some international best practices (i.e., 
processes used by other customs agencies) that CBP should examine?

(6) Self-Funded Customs Infrastructure *

    * There will be no in-person statements related to this theme.
    New requirements affecting CBP, Partner Government Agencies (PGA), 
and trade industry will necessitate updates to the Automated Commercial 
Environment (ACE) outside of reoccurring maintenance. CBP is examining 
avenues to ensure that the ACE has a consistent stream of funding for 
enhancements and new functionalities.

Public Comment Questions

     Outside of the annual Congressional appropriations cycle, 
what mechanisms should CBP explore for consistent and timely funding 
for ACE enhancements?
     How could the fee collection process be streamlined, 
improved, or

[[Page 65705]]

redesigned to more directly fund ACE enhancements?

    Dated: December 18, 2018.
Brenda B. Smith,
Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade.
[FR Doc. 2018-27716 Filed 12-20-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-14-P