Customs Legislation: ‘Most Comprehensive’ in a Generation

House and Senate lawmakers last week announced a deal that would bolster U.S. customs enforcement. Two days later, the House voted 256-158 to pass the long-awaited measure, which goes to the Senate for final approval this week and then to President Obama’s desk for signature.

The measure reauthorizes and modernizes the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, streamlines rules to stop importers from skirting U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties, adds new protections for intellectual property, and provides more tools to crack down on currency manipulation, The Hill reported.

The legislation is the fourth trade bill to get a Congressional nod this year. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) helped craft the measure as the previous Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. He called it “the most comprehensive rewrite of our customs laws in a generation.”

House Ways and Means Committee current Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said the measure "fulfills our commitment to members of Congress during the discussion of TPA (Trade Promotion Authority) to make sure the president enforces trade agreements, not just negotiates them."

Only 24 House Democrats supported the measure.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) chided Republicans for pushing the bill, which she argued merely provides rewards to lawmakers for their support of TPA, or “fast-track,” this summer.

“This legislation began as a strong bipartisan trade enforcement bill, it has degenerated into a vehicle for all of the toxic special interest promises that have been made to secure passage of the TPA,” Pelosi said on the floor.

“They have poisoned a strong trade enforcement bill,” she added.

Pelosi said the measure is a clear statement that Republicans are denying the climate crisis, “turning a blind eye on human trafficking" and refusing to address currency manipulation "that destroys millions of American jobs.”

Despite some shortcomings, business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) supported the deal and issued key-vote alerts, according to The Hill story.

Linda Dempsey, NAM’s Vice President of International Economic Affairs, said the bill is needed to beef up enforcement of current policies that cost manufacturers “billions of dollars each year and allow unfair competition to undermine U.S. manufacturing operations without remedy.” S