Clinton signs Customs Modernization Act, shifting enforcement authority from Treasury to newly restructured customs agencies

President Clinton signed the Customs Modernization Act as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement implementation legislation, fundamentally restructuring U.S. customs enforcement. The act shifted the compliance burden to importers through a "reasonable care" standard, required customs to provide binding advance rulings, and established the framework that would later become Customs and Border Protection. It also formalized the use of automated entry processing and laid the groundwork for electronic trade enforcement.