The leading Democrat in efforts to restrict de minimis in the House of Representatives, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore, has tried to restrict de minimis eligibility since the beginning of 2022, and has said that getting a bill passed is how he'd like to end his career in Congress (see 2402150060).
The U.S. should use its Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain executive order as a tool to restrict a broader range of imports that are dumped by foreign companies in the U.S., said Rush Doshi, a Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow and former National Security Council official. He also said the administration and Congress should work to codify the ICTS order, which could allow the U.S. to better harmonize the restrictions with allies.
CBP posted the following documents for the Sept. 18 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
As the House Ways and Means Committee discusses moving toward a proposal closer to the Senate Finance Committee chairman's bill to restrict de minimis, the top Republican on the Finance Committee is not publicly opposing the core ideas of that bill -- removing apparel and footwear from eligibility from all countries, and not allowing goods subject to Section 301 tariffs to enter duty-free.
In August, CBP seized 1,997 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $993 million, the agency said Sept. 16 in a monthly update.
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CBP has updated its list of merchandise descriptions defining what's considered vague and what isn't, according to a Sept. 16 cargo systems message.
The administration rebranded two pending rulemaking processes and revived one that was abandoned in 2021 to address the compliance risks of de minimis shipments as well as shrink the volume of direct-to-consumer imports.
The Biden administration will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to forbid all goods subject to major trade actions, including Section 301 tariffs, from de minimis entry, the White House announced. It will also issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to require information submissions for de minimis packages, including the 10-digit HTS code and the person receiving the goods.
Tariffs on imports from China of electric vehicles, EV batteries, solar cells and wafers, face masks, needles and syringes, critical minerals and steel and aluminum will go up Sept. 27, with more Section 301 tariff hikes planned for Jan. 1, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026.