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U.S. Customs Law Research Guide

Introduction

This Guide is intended as a starting point for research in customs law at Georgetown Law Library.  It includes both primary and secondary materials, in both print and computerized formats. If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Library's Reference Desk, at 202-662-9140 or by sending an email to libref@law.georgetown.edu.

Primary Sources

1. Statutes

a. United States Code

Most customs statutes are codified in title 19 of the U.S. Code, which is available from many sources:

b. Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States KF6656.599 .U55

An electronic version is also available at KF6656.599 .U55Electronic

c. Proposed Legislation

  • Microfiche: All Senate and House bills, in Media Services.

  • Legal; Federal legal; U.S.- Legislative Histories & Materials; Congressional Full Text Bills -Current Congress Lexis:

  • CONG-BILLTXT (current Congress only)Westlaw:

  • Library of Congress offers excellent services for tracking current legislation. thomas.loc.gov

 

2. Administrative Materials

a. Code of Federal Regulations

Most Customs regulations are codified in title 19 of the CFR. Note however that other agencies also regulate imports, depending on the product. Thus, for automobiles, the Environmental Protection Agency is involved; for wine, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Their regulations may be contained in other titles of the CFR. There are multiple formats of the CFR:

  • Print: available in Library:, KF70 .A3

  • Lexis: Legal; Area of Law; By Topic; International Trade; Administrative Materials & Regulationa; CFR International Trade Titles 15 & 19
  • Westlaw: FIND-CFR
  • The Government Printing Office (PDF version is official) maintains CFR databases at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr
  • This is unofficial, but more up-to-date where you can browse or search. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ecfr/

b. Customs and Border Patrol Decisions

The Customs and Border Patrol also issues documents known as CBP Decisions (formerly known as Treasury Decisions, which should not to be confused with the Treasury Decisions issued by the Internal Revenue Service). CBP Decisions are varied; they include notices of CBP policy, CBP rulings, court decisions, and changes to CBP customs regulations. They are published in several sources:

c. Customs and Border Patrol Rulings

Customs and Border Patrol Rulings interpret and apply the law to a specific set of facts. Rulings that create a "uniform and established practice" are designated as CBP Decisions and are published in the Customs Bulletin and Decisions (see above). Most CBP rulings are not so published, but may still be useful as persuasive precedent in a similar situation in the future.

Rulings are issued by the Customs and Border Patrol staff in Washington and New York. The New York rulings are limited to questions of classification. Headquarters rulings cover all topics.

Rulings are available in many sources:

  • Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Trade > Administrative Materials & Regulations > Agency Decisions > U.S. Customs & Border Protection Bulletin - Decisions (1962-) Lexis
  • FINT-RUL (1988-) Westlaw
  • Microfiche in Media Services (1992-1994 only)
  • The US Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (previously Customs Service) has a database of its rulings on its website: http://rulings.customs.gov/ (1990-).

d. Federal Register (FR)

  • Print: Current issues at Circulation Desk. Not kept permanently
  • Microfiche: Permanent format is in microfiche, Media Services,
  • Legal > Area of Law > By Topic > International Trade > Administrative Materials & Regulations > Federal Register - International Trade and Customs Notices. Lexis
  • FR at Westlaw
  • The Government Printing Office maintains a searchable database of the Federal Register at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/

3. Judicial Decisions

a. Customs cases are brought in the Court of International Trade (formerly the Customs Court). Appeal is to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and from there to the Supreme Court. The print reporters for the Court of Appeals (Federal Reporter) and the Supreme Court are in the Library Reading Room and on the 4th floor. In addition, there are Lexis and Westlaw databases that combine all Federal cases on international trade:

  • Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Trade > Interpreting U.S. Law > Fed Cts, Ct Int'l Trade, & Customs, Ct Int'l Trade Cases: Lexis:
  • FINT-CS: Westlaw:

b. Opinions of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

c. Opinions of the Court of International Trade

  • United States Court of International Trade Reports (1980-present) , KF6655 .A2 U54

  • Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Trade > Cases > Interpreting U.S. Law > US Court of International Trade Cases: Lexis
  • FINT-CIT: Westlaw
  • The Court's opinions since 1999 are available from its website (http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/). They can only be browsed, not searched, so you need to know the parties names or docket number and date.

d. Opinions of the Customs Court (predecessor to the current Court of International Trade)

  • United States Customs Court Reports(1938-1980) KF6655 .A2 U54

  • Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Trade > Cases > Interpreting U.S. Law > US Customs Court Cases: Lexis

  • FINT-CIT: Westlaw

4. Treaties and International Agreements

If you are doing extensive research in treaties and international law, consult our International Law Librarians. They have prepared a comprehensive Guide to Researching International Trade Law. It's at http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/intl/guides/trade/.

Secondary Sources

1. Treatises

As you can see, the call numbers for customs law are around KF6690 of the Library. Browsing the shelves there may also help you find relevant secondary sources. Further, you can do a subject search in the Library catalog. Possible subject headings to use would include:

  • Customs Administration
  • Tariff

2. Looseleaf Service

The BNA International Trade Reporter provides primary law, including regulations and Customs rulings, with commentary and extensive indexing. KF6655 .A2 I58

Portions of it are also available on the (for Georgetown students, faculty, and staff only). (If you are not on the Law Center campus, you will be asked to sign in with your name and GoCard number.)

3. Law Journal Articles

To find articles on customs law, use the major legal indexes: Legal Periodicals and Books, LegalTrac, or Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals. Links to these and other databases are available from the Library's page on journal indexes (http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/connect/journal_indexes.cfm). The library has research guides on doing Indexed Searching, Full-text Searching, and Retrieving Copies of Articles.

There are a number of law journals in the library dealing with international trade. To find them, you can do a keyword search in our catalog for the words "international and trade," limited to the Location "Journals".

4. Dictionaries

Online Sources

1. Lexis

  • Databases listed in the INTLAW or ITRADE library; from the "Look for a Source" screen click on "Area of Law by Topic" then "International Trade."

2. Westlaw

  • From the Database Directory, choose "Topical Practice Areas," then "International and Foreign Law," then "Federal International Materials."

3. Worldwide Web

a. Portals for international trade research on the Web

b. U.S. Government

c. International Organizations

Revised 1/23/08 (SK)

Page last saved 26-Aug-2008