TPP Customs Chapter Largely Finished, No Specific De Minimis Provision Expected
The Trans-Pacific Partnership isn’t likely to include a specific de minimis level in the customs chapter of a final pact, said Mike Mullen, executive director of the Express Association of America in an Aug. 11 interview. Despite a general industry preference to include a de minimis figure in the TPP, the complexity of bringing together such different economies on a specific de minimis number put the provision out of reach of negotiators, said Mullen, who sits on the interagency Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Customs and Trade Facilitation.
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The TPP is poised, however, to include language that directs the countries to pursue a specific de minimis, said Mullen. “You always wish for more, but given the economic diversity of the TPP countries, you can’t expect the de minimis is going to be as good as, for instance, the bilateral agreement between us and South Korea, which is a fairly developed economy,” said Mullen. “But there’s no reason to be disappointed; if you’re realistic about what to expect, you’re going to view the customs provisions in TPP as a good thing.”
Although TPP parties have closely shielded the TPP text from public view, the customs chapter is expected to closely resemble the language in the U.S.-South Korea Trade Agreement. In fact, negotiators wrapped up the customs chapter months ago, and those terms are nearly set in stone, Mullen said. “I’m pretty confident there will not be any more negotiations on customs,” he said. “There’s nothing left to dispute, and there are enough things that [TPP parties] still need to finalize.” Despite calls to close talks on TPP in Maui in late July, negotiators returned to their capitals with a laundry list of unresolved issues (see 1508030024).
The U.S.-South Korea pact included a $200 de minimis (here). U.S. law uses the same figure, but lawmakers in both the House and Senate are jockeying to up that figure to $800 through Customs Reauthorization legislation (see 1506230020). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn't respond for comment.