A Republican staffer from the House Ways and Means Committee said that while Republicans are certainly open to having a discussion on the balance between preserving the benefit to small businesses of importing goods under the de minimis statute and the need for improvements, a conference committee on a massive China package is not the right venue for it.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America released the names of those serving on the next Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, in a Jan. 24 email. CBP provided the list to those members Jan. 18, the association said. Some work toward the 21st Century Customs framework has been on hold until the COAC returns for the new term (see 2109230031). CBP didn't comment.
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A customs modernization bill discussion draft released by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., last month (see 2111030035) is unlikely to progress in 2022, the senator said in a phone interview with International Trade Today. Although the request for feedback gave a deadline of Nov. 20, the office is still hearing from the trade. "Oh, we're getting feedback," Cassidy said with a chuckle.
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Plans to update statutory language to allow for CBP to use advance cargo data "for any lawful purpose" is an early area of concern among trade groups that submitted comments to the office of Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., about a draft customs modernization bill (see 2111030039). That provision "is a significant amendment to the Trade Act of 2002 manifest requirements and will present a challenge regarding how the agency will merge and crosscheck data received from multiple parties," the Express Association of America told Cassidy, EAA Executive Director Michael Mullen said by email.
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The Customs Modernization Act draft bill in the Senate is largely a customs enforcement bill, not a customs modernization bill, Sidley Austin attorney Barbara Broussard said in an interview, but she's hopeful that some carrots can be added to the sticks in the current approach. She said traders would really like to be able to file entry summaries monthly or quarterly, similar to the way Customs reconciliation is allowed, rather than having to do entry summaries within 10 days of goods' entrance into commerce. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La, recently requested stakeholder input on the draft bill.
The Customs Modernization Act is a bit of a misnomer, a Sidley Austin advisory says, encouraging firms to tell Sen. Bill Cassidy's office that changes are needed to make it beneficial to importers. The discussion draft of the bill was released so that it wouldn't produce unintended consequences for importers or businesses that provide services to importers, the Louisiana Republican's spokesman said (see 2111030035).
Executive Assistant Commissioner AnnMarie Highsmith of CBP's Office of Trade reiterated that CBP is seeking industry input on its 21st Century Customs Framework (see 2109230031), but made no mention of Sen. Bill Cassidy's discussion draft of a Customs Modernization Act that seems to cover a lot of the same ground (see 2111030035). The two areas on which no CBP discussion draft has yet been released are on providing CBP with more enforcement flexibility so that the agency can avoid "untimely and ineffective enforcement," she said; and a proposal on alternate sources of funding so that CBP isn't so reliant on annual appropriations. A CBP official had said in September that the agency may revisit the funding question after other portions of eventual legislation are enacted (see 2109230031). "It will be difficult to come to a final product that feels like success for everyone, but a collaborative solution is our goal and I’m committed to it," she said, at a keynote speech during a virtual conference of the U.S. Fashion Industry Association Nov. 9. Highsmith also encouraged USFIA members to give suggestions on how CBP can unkink the supply chain knots at ports. "CBP is closely monitoring the rising costs of shipping, particularly in the maritime environment," she said, and is working with port officials "to expedite cargo clearance."