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Customs
One of the little rituals all international travelers go through is customs. To most people, this is just another stop in an airport or a minor inconvenience at a country's borders. But when you go through customs, you are actually taking part in a key component of the global economy.
A nation's customs service has many responsibilities. At its most basic level, its purpose is to regulate what comes into and goes out of a country. The foremost element of this regulation is controlling international trade. The concept of trade is as old as civilization itself. If my tribe has a huge supply of bananas, and your tribe has a huge supply of fur, we will trade goods so that both our tribes can eat and both can keep warm. In the modern world, international trade is based on money, but it works in pretty much the same way. My country may produce more televisions than the population needs, but not enough cars. In order to have everything the population needs, businesses in my country will export TVs and import cars.
Any nation wants its own businesses to do well, so most of the time they prefer their people buy domestic goods over competing foreign goods. But in many cases, goods are available cheaper in another country than in your country, and people naturally want to buy them at the lower price. To tilt the balance in favor of domestic businesses, governments impose tariffs, also called duty, on foreign goods coming into the country.
In addition to encouraging domestic trade, duty also gives the nation a "piece of the action" when somebody buys something produced overseas. Customs agencies are often major sources of revenue for the government. The US Customs Service, for example, brings in more money than any other government office except the Internal Revenue Service. To control specific sorts of trade, a government may impose a higher tariff on certain types of goods (alcohol, for example). Certain countries may join together to work out mutually beneficial trade agreements, enabling businesses in those nations to trade more freely with each other than they can with businesses in other nations. This gives an advantage to nations that a country has a good relationship with.
Customs agencies also monitor what is being exported from a country. For example, most governments strictly regulate what weapons can be exported to other nations. This is simply a common-sense safety measure: It's not a good idea to arm enemy nations, so the government has to know who is buying any domestically-produced weaponry. As we'll see later on, customs agencies also pay careful attention to how much money citizens are transporting out of the country.
Duty charges have a huge effect on big businesses, which may import millions of dollars worth of goods every year. To regulate trade on this level, a country's customs agency must keep track of all shipments that come into the nation's ports or cross its borders. They can't check every bit of foreign cargo, of course, so agents pick certain boxes to inspect and certain shipments to scrutinize. In an effort to speed up the process, the US Customs Service is implementing new, computerized systems for processing shipments and charging importers.
While large businesses are the main importers in a country, trade restrictions also apply to the individual traveler. When you bring home souvenirs(纪念品)from another country, you are actually importing goods. In the United States and many other countries, the customs agency grants each traveler a nominal duty exemption(免除)to allow them to bring back a reasonable amount of goods without having to pay tariffs.
In most countries, it isn't feasible for the customs agency to check all of the goods that every single traveler is importing, so governments have to depend largely on people's honesty. When you enter a country, you are asked to truthfully report what goods you are importing and make a good faith estimate of their value. They don't put their entire trust in people's good character, of course; customs performs a thorough search of some percentage of all travelers.
Some customs agencies decide which travelers to search based on random chance. You are asked to press a button on a machine that activates a random number generator. Depending on the number that comes up, either a green light comes on and you can pass through or a red light comes on and the agent searches your bags. Other customs agencies decide who to search based solely on intuition. After many years on the job, a customs agent develops a keen eye for people who are up to no good. Unlike the police, customs agents are fully authorized to search your luggage, clothes and even your body without any warrant or reason for suspicion. Customs agents often work side-by-side with immigration officials, and in some ports of entry, one inspector may represent both agencies. But at its core, a customs agency is concerned with the things that are coming in and out of a country, rather than the travelers themselves.
In addition to monitoring legal imports, a nation's customs agency also works to keep out illegal or contraband (违禁品) items. Customs agencies must fight the flow of illegal materials across borders. In addition to drugs, customs agencies may watch for weaponry, child pornography (色情资料), counterfeit merchandise and stolen goods. They also watch for people carrying illegally gained money across borders.
These sorts of illegal materials make up only one category of contraband goods. Customs agents also stop the importation of legal goods that are a threat to the nation's security. In most countries, the importation of fruits, meats, animals and plants is heavily regulated due to the fear of disease or ecological imbalance. While it may seem strange that a piece of fruit is considered a threat to national security, the risk of biological contamination is very real. In the late 1980s, one traveler with one piece of contaminated fruit caused an infestation (出没,横行) of Mediterranean fruit flies that destroyed millions of dollars worth of crops in California.
Some completely harmless items are deemed contraband simply because of the country they come from. If country A is considered to be a national enemy of country B, or has a record of violating international law, country B (and other countries) might institute an embargo(禁运)against that country (a ban on the importation of country A's goods). This cuts off potential business for country A, and this may persuade its leaders to change their policies. In the United States, the best known example of this sort of sanction is the embargo against Cuban products. There is a high demand for Cuban cigars in the United States, but they are strictly regulated because of the strained relationship between the United States and Cuba. As with drugs, smugglers are eager to sneak in a supply to meet this demand, and are constantly trying to get around customs.
In many countries, the customs agency closely monitors the importing and exporting of cultural artifacts. While a traveler may have purchased the item in good faith, it might have been stolen at an earlier point. Customs agencies have helped to restore many priceless artifacts to their rightful owners.
A country's government might also ban importation of items based on ethics and morality. For example, in many countries, you cannot import ivory or other products that come from endangered animals. In 2000, the United States enacted the Dog and Cat Protection Act, banning the importation of any products made from dog and cat fur that was acquired inhumanely. The US Customs Service confiscates all such goods so that US citizens do not inadvertently support this practice.
Without customs agencies, nations would have no control over what comes in and goes out of their country. In order to protect its citizens and businesses, a government has to be vigilant in protecting its borders, not only against armed attack, but also against unwanted imports. As any customs agent will tell you, this is crucial to maintaining order in modern society.
1. What is said to be the most fundamental goal of a nation's customs?
A) Inspecting the tourists
B) Inverstigating smuggling.
C) Regulating international trade.
D) Coutrolling imports and exports.
2. What action has been taken by nations to encourage their people to favor domestic goods?