AAEI Meets with Trade Leaders on Future of Importing & Exporting
AAEI held meetings with leaders at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week to discuss issues effecting the near-term and long-term future of trade. Participants included AAEI Chair Julie Parks, AAEI President and CEO Eugene Laney, CBP’s john Leonard, Eric Choy, Garrett Wright, and Felicia Pullam. The discussion covered Forced Labor enforcement, 21CCF, export modernization and CBP’s continued participation in AAEI’s Roadshows next year.
AAEI also met this week to talk about 21CCF with the staff of Sen. John Cornyn, who serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness.
AAEI’s engagement in DC this week also included hosting a two-day meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) subcommittee on Export Modernization. AAEI Chair Julie Parks participates in the subcommittee’s work and will provide an update to AAEI’s Export Committee, which also meets this week.
Not an AAEI member? Find out how to join.
Biden and Xi Meet to Discuss Trade and Investment
President Biden met with China’s President Xi Jinping this week at the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia. The two leaders discussed trade and investment. President Biden noted that the U.S. will remain competitive on trade but added that “this competition should not veer into conflict.” The two leaders agreed to empower key senior officials to maintain communication and deepen constructive efforts on the world’s “transnational challenges – such as climate change, global macroeconomic stability including debt relief, health security, and global food security.” Read the White House statement.
Magnus Resigns as CBP Commissioner
Chris Magnus resigned from his post as Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last weekend. Magnus, who was sworn in last December, sent his letter of resignation to President Biden on November 12, 2022. The White House later issued a statement saying, “President Biden appreciates Commissioner Magnus’ nearly forty years of service and the contributions he made to police reform during his tenure as police chief in three U.S. cities. The President thanks Mr. Magnus for his service at CBP and wishes him well.”
The CBP Commissioner oversees the work of the agency’s more than 60,000 employees who are responsible for trade enforcement, counterterrorism, and border security.
Magnus’s Senate confirmation ended a gap of more than two years when CBP had no confirmed commissioner leading the agency. Deputy CBP commissioner Troy Miller is now CBP’s acting commissioner.
