U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Trade Facilitation, Enforcement, and Security

[Excerpt] This report describes and analyzes import policy and CBP’s role in the U.S. import process. (The report does not cover CBP’s role in the U.S. export control system.) The first section of the report describes the three overarching goals of U.S. import policy and the tension among them. Second, the report provides a legislative history of customs laws, followed by an overview of the U.S. import process as it operates today. Third, the import process and CBP’s role in it are discussed. The final section highlights several policy issues that Congress may consider in its oversight role or as part of customs or trade legislation, including measures seeking to provide additional trade facilitation benefits to importers and others enrolled in “trusted trader” programs, to improve enforcement of intellectual property and trade remedy laws, to strengthen cargo scanning practices, and/or to promote modernization of customs data systems, among other issues. A list of trade-related acronyms used in the report is provided in Appendix A

Science for Standards: a driver for innovation - JRC Thematic Report

This report aims to give a comprehensive overview of the work of the Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in relation to global standardisation challenges. The description of the JRC's work on standards is divided into six chapters. For each chapter, the detailed policy context is cited, showing clearly how and where the JRC is providing its scientific and technical support to standardisation-related policies.JRC.A.6-Communicatio

Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

The Joint Publication 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms sets forth standard US military and associated terminology to encompass the joint activity of the Armed Forces of the United States. These military and associated terms, together with their definitions, constitute approved Department of Defense (DOD) terminology for general use by all DOD components

Technical challenges for identification in mobile environments

This report describes technical challenges and requirements for identification of individuals in mobile (i.e. non-stationary) environments as e.g. required by the ¿European Mobile Identification Interoperability Group¿ (MOBIDIG). It is intended to support relevant stakeholders as law enforcement agencies or immigration offices, active in the area of identification of individuals in mobile environments. It offers some guidance for future technical work at the MOBIDIG to be respected in their work plan. Furthermore, it may be used as a first orientation for the general future work for identification in mobile environments using digital or electronically stored data. After the introduction and some background of MOBIDIG and its policy context, the document presents the intention, main objectives and some information about the scope of work of the group. The following proposals, suggestions and recommendations presented are explicitly focusing on technology. Organizational and procedural issues are out of focus of this document and need to be addressed separately in further documents.JRC.DG.G.6-Security technology assessmen

Exercise Handbook: What Transportation Security and Emergency Preparedness Leaders Need to Know to Improve Emergency Preparedness, MTI Report 12-08

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided extensive general guidance on developing training and exercise programs for public entities, but little had been done to focus that material on the transportation sector specifically. Transportation sector emergency managers have noted that there should be specific guidance for developing exercises that are focused on the operational work of their agencies, in addition to the Logistics Section functions that are usually the focus of transportation sector entities in multi-agency, multi-jurisdiction exercises. The first section of his report provides information on federal training and exercise requirements for transportation sector entities. It summarizes the changes to emergency management programs and requirements that grew out of the Presidential Policy Directive-8 (PPD-8) issuance in early 2011, and the challenges of adult training. The second section is a Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP)-compliant practical handbook using the project management approach that guides transportation sector staff in the creation, development, implementation and wrap-up of federally mandated exercises. It includes scenarios and implementation guidance based on the actual experiences and work of the transportation sector

The Empowerment of Hate

CAIR provides legal and advocacy services to people who have been targeted by bias.The organization employs 35 staff attorneys and has a presence in 22 states. These attorneys are tasked to assist every client in obtaining a just and fair resolution to their case, free of charge.While CAIR's focus is to win justice for each client, processing these cases provides the organization with a wealth of data. During the 2014-2016 period, CAIR staff processed a total of 11,427 incidents of potential bias.This report assembles this data to offer a larger and more comprehensive reflection of the civil rights implications of Islamophobic bias in the United States.CAIR is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, regardless of faith. We do so with gratitude for the protections already established through the long, and often ugly, struggles of other targeted communities. As we work to help our clients, our broader goal is to set legal precedent, pass laws, and shape a social environment in which every American enjoys the basic right to be free from unequal treatment