U.S. IMPORTER GROUP CHANGES NAME, REAFFIRMS MISSION

   A group of 18 large U.S. importers has decided that it needs a better name.
   The Trade Compliance Work Group, has renamed itself the U.S. Business Alliance for Customs Modernization. The importers formed the group in October to find ways to revise the 1993 Customs Modernization Act to accommodate modern business practices.
   Members of the alliance are American Honda, BP-Amoco, Compaq,
DaimlerChrysler, Dayton Hudson, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, J.C. Penney Co., Nissan, Pillsbury, Sara Lee, Sears, Sony Electronics, The Limited, Toyota and Wal-Mart.
   The importers recently played a major role in revising the Customs’
importer compliance assessment (CA) program. The group has nine other areas of the Mod Act, which it would also like to see revised, such as eliminating entry-by-entry duty payments and redundant data requirements. The group encourages the development of a "Mod Act II."
   "In order for companies to fully benefit from the refinements to the CA process, the agency also must take steps to address concerns of companiesin the related areas of commercial operations complexity and Customs risk management policy," said James P. Finnegan, manager of international trade and compliance at Sony and chairman of the U.S. Business Alliance for Customs Modernization.