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The Business of Government Radio Hour, hosted by Michael J. Keegan, features a conversation with a federal executive who is changing the way government does business. The executives discuss their careers and the management challenges facing their organizations. Guests include administrators, chief financial officers, chief information officers, chief operating officers, commissioners, controllers, directors, and undersecretaries.

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What is the US Customs and Border Protection’s national strategy to facilitate legitimate trade? How is CBP strengthening comprehensive trade enforcement? What are the biggest disruptions coming to trade? Join host Michael Keegan on The Business of Government Hour as he explores these questions and so much more with Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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GUEST BIOGRAPHY:

Brenda Smith serves as the Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Trade, at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Selected in the fall of 2014, Ms. Smith is responsible for the compliance of millions of cargo shipments that flow in and out of the U.S. each year. As Assistant Commissioner, Ms. Smith oversees a diverse portfolio of trade facilitation and enforcement matters. This work ranges from the direction of Priority Trade Issues such as Intellectual Property Rights and Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty enforcement, to the oversight of national compliance audits, and the management of trade data—along with CBP’s regulatory process for administering trade and border operations.

Since joining the U.S. Customs Service in 1994, Ms. Smith has served in a variety of leadership roles overseeing trade and border enforcement issues. Most recently, Ms. Smith served as the Executive Director for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Business Office. In this role, she oversaw the development of ACE as the Single Window, the primary system for imports and exports. Through her efforts, ACE is set to be completed in 2016—modernizing the system used by thousands of businesses to process trade. Ms. Smith also spearheaded the integration of Partner Government Agency requirements through the development of ACE, serving as a “One U.S. Government” approach to border management.

Prior to that post, Ms. Smith served as the Executive Director for Trade Policy and Programs in the Office of International Trade in 2007. In that role, Ms. Smith drove CBP’s Trade Transformation efforts. These initiatives align customs procedures with modern business practices. Through this work, Ms. Smith directed the formulation of CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise. Ms. Smith also developed various “Simplified Processes” projects which streamline the importing process. In addition, Ms. Smith served as the Director of Policy and Programs in the Office of International Affairs and Trade relations in 2006, and led the Commissioner’s Strategic Planning and Performance Division in 2004.

Prior to joining Customs, Ms. Smith worked at the Department of the Treasury and on Capitol Hill. Ms. Smith graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Economics. She is also a graduate of the Customs Leadership Institute and the Federal Executive Institute, and was a Fellow at the Council for Excellence in Government.

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