Brenda Smith is the Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade, at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Since 2014, Ms. Smith has overseen a diverse portfolio of trade enforcement, security, and facilitation matters to enable legitimate trade, contribute to American economic prosperity, and protect against risks to public health and safety. Her work ranges from enforcing over 500 U.S. trade laws, to overseeing 14 trade agreements with 20 countries, to directing CBP’s seven Priority Trade Issues. She oversees national compliance audits and the management of trade data, along with CBP’s regulatory process for administering trade and border operations. She is also responsible for implementation of many components of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA) of 2015. TFTEA, the first comprehensive authorization of CBP since the Department of Homeland Security was created in 2003, ensures a fair and competitive trade environment.
Notably, under Ms. Smith’s leadership, CBP has automated and modernized trade processes through the completion of the U.S. Single Window via the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Through ACE, the private sector transmits import-export data to 47 partner government agencies, eliminating over 250 paper forms and streamlining trade processes. CBP now has 100 percent of the scheduled core trade processing capabilities in ACE. Because of her work saving the government and industry time and money through the development of the U.S. Single Window, Ms. Smith was a 2017 finalist in the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America (“Sammie”) award for management excellence.
Ms. Smith was also honored with a 2017 Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award, the highest award in civil service. Only one percent of government executives receive this rank. The award recognizes her achievements in enhancing CBP’s enforcement to protect American consumers.
Since joining the U.S. Customs Service in 1994, Ms. Smith has served in a variety of roles overseeing trade and border enforcement issues. Most recently the Executive Director for the ACE Business Office, she has also served as Executive Director for Trade Policy and Programs, the Director of Policy and Programs in the Office of International Affairs and Trade Relations, and led the Commissioner’s Strategic Planning and Performance Division. Prior to joining Customs, Ms. Smith worked at the Department of the Treasury and on Capitol Hill.
Ms. Smith holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Economics from Rutgers University and is also a graduate of the Customs Leadership Institute and the Federal Executive Institute.
