Customs activities in the United States have origins dating back to 1789, when the first Congress created the Customs Bureau. This administration was responsible for administering customs tariffs and collecting duties, and the Treasury secretary was tasked with administering the laws of customs. In 1973, the Customs Bureau was renamed the U.S. Customs Service, and in 2003, it was replaced with the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.
The origins of jobs within U.S. customs include immigration inspectors, dating to 1891 when the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration was established; agriculture inspectors, whose profession began in 1912, when the Plant Quarantine Act was passed; border patrol agents, whose profession started in 1924, when Congress authorized the hiring of border patrol personnel.
Today, customs brokers, international trade specialists, public affairs officers, and many other types of specialists and employees of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection work together to make trade, travel, and security effective and efficient in the United States. The CBP licenses, regulates, and empowers customs brokers who may be private individuals, partnerships, associations, or corporations.
- Accountants and Auditors
- Ambassadors
- Antiques and Art Dealers
- Automotive Dealership Owners and Sales Managers
- Billing Clerks
- Bookkeeping and Accounting Clerks
- Business Continuity Planners
- Business Development Managers and Directors
- Business Intelligence Analysts
- Business Managers
- Buyers
- Chief Customer Officers
- Chief Executive Officers
- Chief Financial Officers
- Chief Information Officers
- Chief Sustainability Officers
- Client Services Managers
- Collection Workers
- Commodities Brokers
- Compliance Managers
- Continuous Improvement Managers
- Corporate Climate Strategists
- Corporate Community Relations Directors
- Corporate Lawyers
- Corporate Librarians
- Cost Estimators
- Cultural Advisers
- Customer Service Directors
- Customer Service Representatives
- Customs Officials
- Data Entry Clerks
- Directors of Corporate Sponsorship
- Directors of Security
- Document Management Specialists
- Economists
- Event Planners
- Executive Recruiters
- Export-Import Specialists
- Federal and State Officials
- Fish and Game Wardens
- Foreign Service Officers
- Forensic Accountants and Auditors
- Grain Merchants
- Human Resources Managers
- Internet Consultants
- Internet Executives
- Internet Store Managers and Entrepreneurs
- Internet Transaction Specialists
- Interpreters
- Labor Union Business Agents
- Loss Prevention Managers
- Management Analysts and Consultants
- Merchant Mariners
- Office Administrators
- Payroll Directors
- Professional Organizers
- Proposal Managers
- Purchasing Agents
- Receptionists
- Regulatory Affairs Managers
- Regulatory Affairs Specialists
- Retail Business Owners
- Sales Managers
- Sales Representatives
- Secretaries
- Statisticians
- Strategy Managers
- Temporary Workers
- Traffic Managers
- Translators
- Typists and Word Processors