Lack of Quorum Stymies COAC From Voting on de Minimis Recommendations
Continuing Treasury Department holdups in vetting new members of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, combined with a few absences, meant that the advisory body didn’t have a quorum to vote on recommendations or other motions at its Dec. 11 meeting.
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That’s the first time in recent memory the COAC has been unable to function as intended. CBP designated only 14 COAC members at the beginning of its current term (see 2402160066), out of a normal membership of 20. Personnel issues at the Treasury Department have been causing a backlog in background investigations (see 2409190001), and no new COAC members have been added since.
The COAC has been “at risk for losing quorum” for “some time” due to the delay, said Felicia Pullam, executive director of CBP’s Office of Trade Relations, who generally leads the COAC meetings.
That delay was coupled with the inability of some COAC members to attend Wednesday's meeting due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to Dave Corn, COAC co-chair.
The lack of a quorum meant that recommendations by the COAC committees couldn't be voted on or moved forward -- including 27 draft recommendations on de minimis, Corn continued. Many of these draft recommendations involve establishing a frequently asked questions document that brokers can refer to ahead of enforcement of the $800 de minimis limit in ACE.
"We're at a unique position in our history with COAC [where] we're attending a meeting without being able to put forward a vote on the recommendations that we've worked so hard to finalize," Corn said. "So we're thankful for the folks at Treasury for making the apology during the last public meeting in September, as well as here today. But because of that inaction, we cannot vote on these recommendations, and we'll have to wait until 2025 to vote on what we have put forward."
Fellow COAC co-Chair Julie Pojar echoed Corn's remarks, saying that her working groups' "very timely recommendations will need to be pushed to our next public meeting in March of 2025 -- which is disappointing, to say the least."
In response to the inability to form a quorum, Treasury officials apologized for the delays in vetting potential COAC members, but they stressed their dedication to trade matters.
"I especially want to emphasize to those with trade interests that this doesn't reflect on our commitment to customs revenue issues. This is an issue that's separate and is affecting other advisory boards," said Daniel Paisley, Treasury's senior counsel for tax, trade and tariff policy. "It's unfortunate that it kind of comes at a time when we're making other changes, but it's not at all reflective of a lack of interest in commitment."
Treasury has taken a deep dive into its vetting process and added additional security specialists to vet potential members of COAC and other advisory groups, said Kari Mencl, chief of personnel security for Treasury's departmental offices. These efforts have reduced vetting timelines and will hopefully continue to do so.
Meanwhile, CBP's Pullam acknowledged the challenge of not having a quorum but said about having the meeting today for transparency's sake: "the COAC will not be able to vote on any recommendations or other motions today, but the transparency purposes of today's meeting can nonetheless continue."