 | Priority Trade Issues |
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| Over half of the merchandise for sale in U.S. markets comes from abroad. In 2007 the total value of all imports into the U.S. was more than $2 trillion. For CBP, whose mission is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the U.S. —while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel—processing these imports meant handling 22 million entry summaries with over 102 million lines, and collecting $32 billion in revenues.CBP prioritizes which trade issues to look at most carefully by using a strategically layered risk management approach based on the potential impact of noncompliance. The Office of International Trade (OT) in CBP is organized to focus resources on seven designated Priority Trade Issues (PTIs)—high-risk areas that can cause significant revenue loss, hurt the U.S. economy, or threaten the health and safety of the American people. These PTIs are reviewed periodically as OT constantly assesses new risks and how it can best enforce the trade laws of the U.S.PTIs form the core of the risk management approach outlined in the CBP Trade Strategy.They drive the investment of CBP resources and enforcement and facilitation efforts, including the selection of audit candidates, special enforcement operations, policy issuance, outreach and legislative and regulatory initiatives.In alphabetical order, these are the Priority Trade Issues. |
 | Agriculture
The goal of the Agriculture PTI is to prevent the importation of contaminated, diseased, infested, or adulterated agricultural and food products that could harm the American people, plant and animal agricultural resources, or the economy, while facilitating lawful trade. | |
| Antidumping and Countervailing Duties (ADCVD)
When the Department of Commerce finds that imported merchandise was sold in the U.S. at an unfairly low or subsidized price, CBP is responsible for collecting the AD/CV duties timely to level the playing field for U.S. companies injured by these unfair trade practices. The goal of the AD/CVD PTI is to detect and deter circumvention of the AD/CVD law and to liquidate final duties timely and accurately, while facilitating legitimate trade. | |
| Import Safety
The goal of the Import Safety PTI is to help ensure that unsafe products do not enter the commerce of the U.S. | |
| Intellectual Property Rights
The Intellectual Property Rights PTI is focused on the use of targeting, training, audits, international cooperation, and other means to stop the importation of counterfeit and pirated goods that harm our economy and threaten the health, safety and security of the American people. | |
| Penalties
The goal of the Penalties PTI is to ensure that penalties are effective in deterring noncompliance. This requires national direction and uniformity among the 326 ports of entry and 41 Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures field offices, as well as the use of appropriate compliance alternatives and a focus on violations involving other Priority Trade Issues. | |
| Revenue
The goal of the Revenue PTI is to ensure that CBP has effective internal controls to protect the duties and taxes (over $32 billion in 2007) it collects for the U.S. Government, and that its financial reports meet the highest accounting standards. | |
| Textiles
The goal of the Textiles PTI is to ensure that textile imports, which generate more than 40% of the duties collected by CBP, fully comply with applicable laws, regulations, quotas, Free Trade Agreement requirements, and Intellectual Property provisions. | |
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