Shein, which has made its business selling fast fashion from Chinese manufacturers in de minimis packages to American consumers, announced Dec. 19 that it has begun participating in the Section 321 Data Pilot program. The Section 321 pilot is smaller and requires less data than Type 86 filing. The company said it had been participating more than 30 days, and CBP confirmed that it was receiving all the relevant import entry information for the data pilot.
Rep. Don Beyer, a long-time trade liberalization advocate, led a 90-minute hearing making the case against more tariffs in the second Trump administration, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden slammed the economic impact of campaign tariff promises as the Democrats try to use their bully pulpits in the last week before Republicans will have control at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Venable lawyers said no one knows whether President-elect Donald Trump will hike tariffs on China by 10 percentage points, by 60 percentage points, or bring current tariff levels to 60%. Nor does anyone know if the threat of 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican exports will become reality.
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 issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Flexport employees advised attendees on a webinar this week to prepare for a scaling back of de minimis, in case the rulemaking that removes goods subject to Section 301 tariffs moves forward.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) De Minimis Working Group developed a set of recommendations to CBP to provide further details on how the agency expects to enforce the $800 limit in ACE, including clarity on how CBP plans to calculate a shipment's date of arrival.
CBP has launched a de minimis coordination cell that "will provide a consistent and predictable approach to addressing de minimis shipments in all modes at all ports of entry," acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said at the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee's quarterly meeting on Dec. 11.
CBP expects to deploy on Jan. 11 the second release of Section 321 – Does Not Exceed $800 in Aggregated Shipments enhancement in ACE, according to a cargo systems message. It has been available for testing in the ACE Certification environment since Dec. 11, CBP said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: