REPORTS REGARDING EXPANSION OF CUSTOMS PRECLEARANCE OPERATIONS AND RECOVERY FOR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM CUSTOMS EXAMINATIONS.

SEC. 124. REPORTS REGARDING EXPANSION OF CUSTOMS PRECLEARANCE OPERATIONS AND RECOVERY FOR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM CUSTOMS EXAMINATIONS. (a) Customs Preclearance.— The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall assess the advisability of expanding the use of preclearance operations by the United States Customs Service at foreign airports. The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report on the assessment to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Committees”) no later than February 1, 1991. (b) Recovery for Customs Damage.— (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall determine and evaluate various means by which persons whose merchandise is damaged during customs examinations may seek compensation from, or take other recourse against, the United States Customs Service regarding the damage. (2) No later than February 1, 1991, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the Committees a report on the evaluation required under paragraph (1), together with any legislative recommendation that the Secretary considers appropriate. (c) Merchandise Damage Statistics.— The Commissioner of Customs shall keep accurate statistics on the incidence, nature, and extent of damage to merchandise resulting from customs examinations and shall provide an annual summary of these statistics to the Committees.