WASHINGTON—The Tire Industry Association has joined a business coalition supporting a bill designed to strengthen U.S. trade laws.
Among other things, S. 662, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act of 2013, would remove U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from the Department of Homeland Security and make them separate, autonomous agencies.
TIA was one of the signatories of an Oct. 24 letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Sens. Baucus and Hatch are the co-sponsors of S. 662.
The bill, according to the letter, "would facilitate trade, improve enforcement of customs and trade laws, advance cooperation among government agencies, enhance enforcement of U.S. intellectual property laws, and set the global standard for border management."
S. 662 would modernize the operations of CBP and ICE, and give both agencies appropriate legal authority and resources to combat the importation and distribution of counterfeit goods, the letter said.
The letter's signatories urged Sens. Baucus and Hatch to pass the bill in Senate Finance and send it to the Senate floor. S. 662 was introduced March 22, and hearings were held on the bill May 22.