De Minimis 'Denied Parties' Bill Introduced in Senate
A bipartisan duo have introduced a bill that would require the administration to establish a "Denied Parties List" for exporters wishing to send packages under the de minimis exclusion, based on at least three past shipments of counterfeits, illegal drugs, or goods made with forced labor.
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The bill, called the Detection and Exclusion of Negligent, Illicit, and Extralegal Deliveries (DENIED) Act, was unveiled by its co-sponsors Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., on Dec. 6.
The bill says the Treasury Department would need to compile the first list within 270 days of enactment, and update it every 90 days; the names of the companies would be public, and each listing would include the violations that justified its addition to the list.
The covered entities are listed on the manifest or shipper declaration to a common carrier, foreign postal operator, or freight forwarder.
"We need to strengthen efforts to prevent bad actors from importing unethical goods, and our DENIED Act would combat the fentanyl epidemic, protect U.S. intellectual property, and counter forced labor practices around the world," Blackburn said in an emailed news release.
The bill would also set fines for violators at $1,000 for the first offense and up to $5,000 for repeat offenses. Currently, de minimis violations can only be fined up to the value of the package.
The release said that, in addition to goods from Xinjiang slipping into the country under de minimis, and fentanyl and its precursors, dangerous counterfeit goods "like faulty electronics, fake pharmaceuticals, and substandard automotive parts" are imported under de minimis.
The bill also requires CBP to promulgate regulations about data required to detect whether any of these illicit goods are in the de minimis package stream, and said, to the extent feasible and consistent with international law, information necessary to determine whether contraband is being sent through the mail.
Uyghur activists and anti-opioid groups endorsed the bill, the press release said.
“Companies profiting from Uyghur forced labor are now on notice: you will be barred from direct-shipping access to U.S. consumers. Uyghurs are deeply grateful to Senator Marsha Blackburn and Senator Jon Ossoff for this important bipartisan bill to stop complicity in the atrocities against our people,” said Omer Kanat, executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project.