Customs Bill Needed Ahead of Holidays, 'Total Breakdown' at Risk Otherwise, Say Trade Groups
Leaders of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees should quickly finalize a customs reauthorization bill to allow the benefits to take effect ahead of the holiday season, said a group of trade associations in a Oct. 1 letter (here). The groups, including the Express Association of America, the Business Alliance for Customs Modernization and the Chamber of Commerce, said without the trade facilitation provisions of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA), there's a greater risk of "of a total breakdown" in shipment processing. Lawmakers should finish the bill and send it to President Barack Obama for signature by the end of October, the groups said.
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The associations called on leadership of the committees to move forward several specific pieces. An increase to the de minimis level to $800 "will allow millions of additional shipments to receive the streamlined clearance process under the de minimis procedure," the groups said. Also important is the elimination of tariffs on U.S. goods returned because "the current procedure of collecting tariffs on these goods is a major impediment to U.S. exporters, particularly small and medium companies," said the associations. Additionally, the harmonization of regulations and policies among the U.S. ports relating to imports under the Centers of Excellence and Expertise "will improve the predictability and reliability of the holiday delivery process."
The trade groups emphasized the risks of continued delay and said that Congress has been debating the trade facilitation measures for six years. "It is extremely urgent to get these new procedures in place by October 31st in order to facilitate the huge volume of trade that will be moving across the U.S. border in both directions during the peak holiday shipping season," the groups said. In recent years, "increasing volumes have strained both Government and industry processing capabilities to the breaking point. Without the facilitation measures that TFTEA will provide, the risk of total breakdown this year increases."
Congress is still in the process of putting together a Customs Reauthorization conference to resolve differences between customs reauthorization legislation passed by each chamber (see 1507070066). "The time to find the necessary compromises to resolve the few remaining issues under discussion and pass this bill is now," the associations said. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, which did not sign onto the Oct. 1 letter, recently went to Capitol Hill to push for a number of other provisions (see 1509290011).