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.
CBP plans to address illegal steel imports from China through some "enhanced enforcement measures," the White House said in a report that touted the Obama Administration record on trade enforcement (here). The White House released the report in conjunction with President Barack Obama's signing of customs reauthorization legislation on Feb. 24 (see 1602240042). Among other efforts, CBP will require live entry for high risk steel shipments, meaning "all entry documents and duties" are to be "provided before cargo is released by CBP into U.S. commerce," said the White House.
Clarification: Several provisions in customs reauthorization legislation would go into effect 180 days following signature from President Barack Obama, while other provisions use different timing (see 1602110018). For example, the bill's increase to the de minimis limit would take effect 15 days after enactment.
Akin Gump posted a summary of some of the major parts of customs reauthorization legislation (here) that was recently passed by Congress and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama (see 1602120029). The summary includes sections on new penalties for customs brokers, changes to drawback procedures, intellectual property rights protections and information requirements for importers of record. The outline also includes information on potentially quickly moving changes to de minimis levels, which "shall apply with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the 15th day after the date of the enactment."
President Barack Obama intends to sign the comprehensive customs reauthorization legislation passed by the Senate on Feb. 11 (see 1602110018), White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement (here). Despite some concerns with the legislation's mention of Israel, the bill's "passage is an important milestone in our overall trade agenda," Earnest said of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. Among other things, the legislation (here) increases the de minimis level, directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to draft new importer of record regulations, fixes tariffs for recreational performance outerwear, and updates reliquidation procedures.
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.
The U.S. should "work with the new Canadian government to improve cross border trade opportunities," eBay Senior Vice President-North America Hal Lawton said in a letter to Bruce Heyman, U.S. ambassador to Canada, according to an eBay news release (here). In the letter (here), Lawton urged Heyman to work with the Canadian government to increase Canada's de minimis threshold of $20 on the value of imported goods allowed before customs duties are applied and paperwork must be processed. "The inequity between the U.S. and Canadian de minimis is a major source of friction for eBay customers in these two countries -- an inequity that eBay is committed to improving," the release said. The de minimis threshold in the U.S. is currently $200 and Congress is considering increasing it to $800 through customs reauthorization legislation (see 1512100024).
PricewaterhouseCoopers outlined the Trans-Pacific Partnership provisions that apply specifically to the textile and apparel industry in a Dec. 17 report (here) . While the "vast majority of textile and apparel goods covered under the TPP are subject to a 'yarn forward' rule of origin," the trade deal "includes a de minimis exception whereby goods can still qualify for TPP benefits if the total weight of nonoriginating materials is not more than 10 percent of the total weight of the good," said PwC. Also, "some apparel goods, such as [brassieres] and baby garments, are subject to a less restrictive 'cut and sew rule' whereby the yarn or fabric can be sourced from anywhere but must be cut and sewn within a TPP participating country for the final goods to qualify," it said. The agreement also includes a "short supply list of products" that "allows fabrics, yarns and fibers not commercially available in the TPP participating countries to be sourced from non-TPP countries and still qualify for benefits, provided they meet any specified end-use requirements."
The World Customs Organization released an outline of the origin provisions within the Trans-Pacific Partnership (here). The overview is "part of the Comparative study on Preferential Rules of Origin" and the WCO plans to eventually release a more detailed version, it said (here). The main topics covered by the TPP on origin procedures relate to certification of origin, claims for preferential tariff treatment and origin verification, it said. Provisions in the TPP for originating goods include regional value content and de minimis. The agreement includes a wide range of customs provisions, many of which are meant to modernize customs processing among the TPP members (see 1511050020).