International traders here await naming of officials.

Three sit on top of list to become top customs official

Foreign traders in Los Angeles are anxious for the Clinton administration to select a new U.S. Customs Service commissioner but they are lining up behind different candidates.

Fermin Cuza, vice president of international trade and government affairs at El Segundo-based Mattel Toys Inc., was endorsed last month by the Foreign Trade Association of Southern California. That L.A.-based trade group represents about 450 local importers, exporters and manufacturers.

The association sent a letter in January to the Clinton transition team praising Cuza's "rare balance of experience." Before he joined Mattel in 1985, Cuza worked 15 years for customs, the last six as assistant district director in San Diego. The letter was signed by association President Jane Beseda, also an executive at Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.

"I don't know how much consideration my name will get," said Cuza.

The giant toymaker's top lobbyist was also recommended by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and the influential California Council for International Trade. But Cuza last week said he had not been interviewed yet by administration officials, though a decision is expected within 30 days.

Across town, however, the L.A. Chapter of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association is behind George Weise. He is the current staff director of the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Many of the roughly 200 local broker and forwarding firms that belong to that group have worked closely with the Washington-based Weise and give him high marks, said L.A. chapter Chairman Jack Brady.

Cuza and Weise were among a handful of candidates said to be on the Clinton administration's short list, according to trade sources and a published report. White House officials will not comment until a nominee is announced, said a White House spokesman.

The administration also must fill the post of Western regional commissioner, who is based in Long Beach and oversees customs enforcement in the Western states.

The two appointments are crucial to local traders because those appointees set priorities and budgets for customs personnel, who handle more than $110 billion of imports and exports moved annually through L.A. ports and airports.

Most local traders are especially interested in the top post, because for the first time the nomination will come from the president and be subject to Senate confirmation.

"We don't want to be at sword points with him," said Jack Brady, chairman of the broker association's L.A. chapter. Brady said "good rapport" between traders and the commissioner is paramount.

Several sources said they wished for a commissioner with hands-on customs experience, following Reagan appointees who were short on technical experience.

Other candidates identified by a January Journal of Commerce report and rumored by L.A. traders include: Bobby Mills, former aide to Arizona Sen. Dennis DeConcini; a Mellon family heir; and a Baltimore customs broker.

Traders said the top local issues for the new commissioner, and regional commissioner, include:

* Funding priorities. Roughly one-quarter of the 600 customs' special agents in the West are now involved in drug enforcement, when none was in the early 1980s, said Villanueva.

The L.A. Customs District is growing faster than many East Coast districts, but its staffing has lagged.

* A China crackdown. Alleged illegal imports from China, L.A.'s fastest growing trading partner, could be policed even better. That would be welcome news to local manufacturers who compete with cheaper Chinese products, but not necessarily to customs brokers who might see delivery delays.

* Modernization. Many customs brokers may favor Weise, hoping he would softpedal customs' push to allow brokers outside the port of entry's district to file clearance papers by mail or electronically. That would enable brokerages outside the L.A. Customs District, for instance, to compete with those based here. Legislation to permit this was tacked onto a tax bill last year that ex-President Bush vetoed.