Changes to CBP's regulations for the de minimis threshold will be the first regulatory undertaking for the agency as it begins to implement the new customs reauthorization law (see 1602250021), said Maria Luisa Boyce, CBP’s senior advisor for trade engagement, who discussed the law on a Feb. 26 conference call. While the de minimis changes will be moving quickly in order to meet the Congressional timeline, there's still a number of decisions to be made and CBP said it planned to further discuss the issue with industry the following week.
The conference report of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, HR-644, passed the Senate on Feb. 11 by a landslide vote of 75-20, marking a major step toward reauthorizing CBP and changing a number of customs processes. The House passed the conference report in December (see 1512110029), and Senate approval means the bill will next go to President Barack Obama, who hasn't raised any objections. Industry and lawmaker reactions to the approval of the bill, which would go into effect 180 days after the President signs it into law, was largely positive.
The Senate voted 75-20 on Feb. 11 to approve the conference report of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (HR-644), a major step toward reauthorizing CBP and changing a number of customs processes. The House passed the conference report in December, and Senate approval means the bill will next go to President Barack Obama, who hasn't raised any objections. Several provisions in the bill would take effect 180 days after Obama signs it into law.
Thirty-five retail and advocacy entities urged the agency to downgrade Uzbekistan back to Tier 3 in the State Department’s 2016 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, claiming a lack of action on its commitments to end forced labor, in a Jan. 30 letter (here) to the agency. The 2015 TIP report improved the country to Tier 2 Watch List. “Any other placement would reward the government of Uzbekistan in spite of its continued, flagrant disregard of its national laws and international commitments,” the association, dubbed the “Cotton Campaign,” said in its letter. “The Tier 3 placement would, on the other hand, communicate the need to end forced labor to the government of Uzbekistan.
The Commerce Department unveiled state-by-state reports on the industry benefits posed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Nov. 12. The reports (here) cover each of the 50 U.S. states individually. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, alongside U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, championed those export opportunities on a conference call on the same day. The tariff cuts to U.S. exports in the pact will boost U.S. production and employment, while raising U.S. wages, the reports and officials said.
Five former Democratic National Committee chairmen urged lawmakers to back implementation legislation for the Trans-Pacific Partnership in an open letter released in recent days (here). Those former officials include Don Fowler, Paul Kirk, Ed Rendell, Roy Romer and David Wilhelm. A TPP pact will open critical new markets for U.S. exports and put in place regulatory requirements that benefit U.S. companies, said the letter. “The deal eliminates 18,000 foreign taxes on American goods and services — a huge step forward to ensuring that American businesses have a chance to play by the same rules as foreign businesses,” it said, repeating a common argument made by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman since TPP negotiations wrapped up on Oct. 5.
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
The State Department is poised to upgrade Malaysia on its human trafficking scale in the 2015 annual report on the issue, according to a Reuters report released on July 8. The trafficking reports are typically issued in June, and the 2015 rendition is expected to surface soon. State is preparing to move Malaysia from Tier 3 to Tier 2 on the scale, said Reuters (here).
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update: