A business group whose members include some of the biggest names in shipping is giving the federal government what it considers a well-deserved push to modernize the import process.
The Business Alliance for Customs Modernization sent a proposal on April 7 to key congressional leaders outlining a simplified procedure to update the U.S. Customs Service. The coalition of 21 companies, which include General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Sony Corp., notes that its members filed 1.8 million customs entries worth more than $120 million in 1999.
“I believe there is industry consensus and support for this legislation. I think it is time to see [customs practices] modified with no ambiguity about what Congress intended in [the Customs Modernization Act of] 1993,” said Jim Finnegan, the chairman of BACM and manager of international trade and compliance for Sony Electronics.
He said influential staff members of the House and Senate received the group’s proposal because it is “important that we get automated systems that support these improved processes that will benefit industry and government.”
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