Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview

• Author: Michael D. Sherman
• Pages: 1-8

CHAPTER 1

Introduction and Overview

MICHAEL D. SHERMAN

Government agencies, like people, have a certain justifiable sense of pride about

themselves—and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is no exception.

Indeed, CBP has more justification than most because its lineage predates the

American Revolution. The Parliament of King George III created the American

Board of Customs Commissioners in the Townshend Acts in 767. The U.S. Cus-

toms Service itself, the forerunner of CBP, was established on July 3, 789, only

four months after the U.S. Constitution was ratified.

Most significantly, duties collected by CBP’s forebears on imported goods

were the primary source of revenue for the entire U.S. government before the

advent of the income tax in 93. Since then, although CBP has been responsible

for an ever-decreasing portion of federal revenues,2 as the U.S. Customs Service,

an agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, it remained a significant gov-

ernmental entity as it continued performing its traditional trade functions of over-

seeing all trade at our borders and of collecting duties on imported goods.

Then, the events of September , 200, brought CBP again to the forefront—

this time as a key component in our government’s effort to secure our borders

against terrorist attacks. With the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security in 2003, the U.S. Customs Service was removed from the Department of

the Treasury and given a new home. As part of Homeland Security, its name was

changed to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and, most importantly, its man-

date was enhanced. While the safety of our borders was always within CBP’s

purview, an even greater responsibility in this respect was now given to CBP.

CBP has made clear, however, that its traditional trade functions remain an inte-

gral complement to its enlarged security responsibilities.

Further, CBP continues its role of enforcing the statutory and regulatory

requirements of numerous other federal agencies at the border. For example, the

Consumer Product Safety Commission regulates the safety of consumer goods

and toys; the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the

Treasury administers U.S. economic sanctions against countries such as Cuba and

Iran and certain specified persons and entities abroad; and the Food and Drug

Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture assure the safety of the

nation’s food supply. In each instance, CBP ensures that goods imported, or

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