Details of Conference Version of "SAFE" Port Act (Part X)

(The House and Senate passed (agreed to) the conference version of H.R. 4954 on September 30, 2006.)

This is Part X of a multipart series of summaries of the conference version of H.R. 4954 and provides highlights of H.R. 4954 regarding the International Trade Data System (ITDS). See future issues of ITT for additional summaries of the conference version of H.R. 4954.

International Trade Data System

The conference version of H.R. 4954 amends 19 USC 1411 by adding a new subsection (d) on ITDS. Highlights of new 19 USC 1411(d) are as follows:

ITDS to be implemented not later than date ACE is fully implemented. The Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) shall oversee the establishment of an electronic trade data interchange system to be known as the International Trade Data System (ITDS). The ITDS shall be implemented not later than the date that the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is fully implemented.

Purpose of ITDS is to eliminate redundant information requirements, etc. The purpose of the ITDS is to eliminate redundant information requirements, to efficiently regulate the flow of commerce, and to effectively enforce laws and regulations relating to international trade, by establishing a single portal system, operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), for the collection and distribution of standard electronic import and export data required by all participating Federal agencies.

Unless waived, all relevant Federal agencies must participate in ITDS. According to the conference version of H.R. 4954, all Federal agencies that require documentation for clearing or licensing the importation and exportation of cargo shall participate in the ITDS.

(The Director of the Office of Management and Budget may waive, in whole or in part, the requirement for participation for any Federal agency based on the vital national interest of the U.S.)

Secretary to consult with COAC, etc. in developing data submission requirements, etc. The Secretary shall consult with and assist CBP and other agencies in the transition from paper to electronic format for the submission, issuance, and storage of documents relating to data required to enter cargo into the U.S. In so doing, the Secretary shall also consult with private sector stakeholders, including the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), in developing uniform data submission requirements, procedures, and schedules, for the ITDS.

The Secretary shall be responsible for coordinating the operation of the ITDS among the participating agencies and the office within CBP that is responsible for maintaining the ITDS.

Interagency Steering Committee to be established. New 19 USC 1411(d) provides for the establishment of an Interagency Steering Committee (Committee)¹ to assist the Secretary in overseeing the implementation of, and participation in, the ITDS.

Committee will define standard set of ITDS data elements. The Committee shall, in consultation with the agencies participating in the ITDS, define the standard set of data elements to be collected, stored, and shared in the ITDS, consistent with laws applicable to the collection and protection of import and export information. The Committee shall periodically review the data elements in order to update the standard set of data elements, as necessary.

Committee to ensure ITDS data requirement compatibility with WCO and WTO. The Committee shall ensure that the ITDS data requirements are compatible with the commitments and obligations of the U.S. as a member of the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the entry and movement of cargo.

¹The members of the Committee shall include the Secretary (who shall serve as the chairperson of the Committee), the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the head of each agency participating in the ITDS.

Presidential report to Congress on status of ITDS, etc. The President is required to submit a report to selected congressional committees before the end of each fiscal year which includes information on:

the status of the ITDS implementation;

the extent of participation in the ITDS by Federal agencies;

the remaining barriers to any agency's participation;

the consistency of the ITDS with applicable standards established by the WCO and WTO;

recommendations for technological and other improvements to the ITDS; and

the status of the development, implementation, and management of ACE within CBP.

Sense of Congress that ITDS is a Federal Government priority. The conference version of H.R. 4954 contains a provision which states that it is the sense of Congress that agency participation in the ITDS is an important priority of the Federal Government and that the Secretary shall coordinate the operation of the ITDS closely among the participating agencies and the office within CBP that is responsible for maintaining the ITDS.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/04/06, 10/05/06, 10/06/06, 10/10/06, 10/11/06, 10/12/06 news, 10/13/06, 10/16/06, and 10/17/06 news, 06100410, 06100510, 06100610, 06101005, 06101110, 06101205, 06101315, 06101615, and 06101710, Parts I through IX of BP summary on the conference version of H.R. 4954.

See ITT's Online Archives or 10/02/06 news, 06100205, for BP summary of the House and Senate's passage of the conference version of H.R. 4954.

See ITT's Online Archives or 05/18/06 news, 06051810, for the final part of BP's five part summary on the House-passed version of H.R. 4954.)

Conference Version of H.R. 4954 is available athttp://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h4954enr.txt.pdf

White House Press Release on Signing (dated 10/13/06) available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061013-2.html