International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP should “advance” its use of technologies for interdicting illicit de minimis shipments, and should update its procedures to increase the speed at which it adopts technologies that can be used to address issues surrounding de minimis shipments, the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee said in draft recommendations set for a vote at the Sept. 20 COAC meeting.
An author of Fighting Trade Cheats, a bill that would create a private right of action for customs fraud and hike penalties for both fraud and gross negligence, said a customs modernization package could be a vehicle for his bill to become law.
The director of CBP's trade modernization office said CBP is packaging up the discussion drafts of what it would like to see in a 21st Century Customs Framework law, and sending them to the Office of Management and Budget so that the OMB can coordinate interagency comments and clearance of the language.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said he intends to co-sponsor a renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and said he believes the appetite in Congress is "strong" to act before the summer of 2025. AGOA expires Sept. 30, 2025.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
ACE 2.0 and the 21st Century Customs Framework are "absolutely key" to moving forward with CBP's Green Trade Strategy "with the urgency that is required as we globally fight climate change," CBP Executive Assistant Commissioner AnnMarie Highsmith said at a July 12 press conference. Highsmith said both initiatives will allow for improved traceability to aid sustainability efforts and, alongside improved CBP cargo processing at ports, help move goods more quickly across the border.
Homeland Security Undersecretary Robert Silvers, who chairs the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force that maintains UFLPA's entity list, told the Congressional-Executive Commission on China that FLETF has an "active pipeline of referrals we are examining, and we anticipate more additions in coming months."
The ability to import low-value packages without paying duties is a benefit to consumers and businesses, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups that use de minimis are arguing, as they lobby against bipartisan efforts to curtail de minimis eligibility.
CBP and the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, or COAC, have "several issues where the COAC and CBP have agreed to disagree," in a customs modernization proposal, said Flexport's Caroline Dale (see 2306050069), but the lengthy work to come to consensus is just the start.