CBP is developing a “hybrid” process for low-value shipments based on the lessons from the low-value shipment data and Entry Type 86 pilots, Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, said during a CBP Virtual Trade Week session Sept. 10. “We are looking at what a hybrid is going to look like,” he said. “What kind of process can collect this additional information from the party who owns it, get it in an early enough time for safety and security and enforcement perspective?” he said.
CBP is apparently working on a regulatory change that would eliminate the $800 de minimis exemption for goods subject to Section 301 tariffs. The agency on Sept. 2 submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule titled, “Excepting Merchandise Subject to Section 301 Duties from the Customs De Minimis Exemption,” according to OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website. OMB’s reviews are the final step before publication of a rule, and include an interagency review. CBP did not immediately comment.
CBP is apparently working on a regulatory change that would eliminate the $800 de minimis exemption for goods subject to Section 301 tariffs. The agency on Sept. 2 submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule titled “Excepting Merchandise Subject to Section 301 Duties from the Customs De Minimis Exemption,” according to OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website.
CBP is still working out of some details around the recent policy shift for Section 321 shipments (see 2008040044), an agency official said during an Aug. 20 call with trade professionals. CBP said that it is finding a significant number -- though not a majority -- of the millions of packages that enter the U.S. under de minimis in a month do not qualify for that category. Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, said the agency is crunching data to see which shippers have been violating de minimis guidelines most frequently.
The broader impact of CBP's ruling on unsold low-value goods imported under Section 321 exemptions may be somewhat limited, industry experts said in recent interviews. The ruling (see 2007310036) laid out how the agency determines what entities can be considered a “person” for unsold Section 321 shipments.
Shipments of unsold merchandise entered under Section 321 exemptions must list “the proprietor of the warehouse operated by the online fulfillment service provider as the ultimate consignee,” CBP said in a ruling posted by the agency on July 31. The ruling came in response to an internal advice request from Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, it said. “While a nonresident may not be listed as the ultimate consignee, the nonresident may make the informal entry as an owner or purchaser,” CBP said.
CBP should “seek and obtain the legal authority” to create a Restricted and Prohibited Parties List of known intellectual property rights violators to help fight imports of counterfeit goods, the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee IPR Working Group said in recommendations. The list should consist “of foreign and domestic parties (i.e., individuals, companies or organizations) who are known offenders due to repeat violations,” it said. The group will present the recommendations during the July 15 COAC meeting.
The Trump administration continues to seek some major changes to the Section 321 provisions that allow for streamlined customs processing for low-value shipments, said Megan Costello, a lobbyist with Sorini, Samet and Associates. Some in the administration want a total removal of the benefit, while others only want to make sure low-value shipments are subject to Section 301 tariffs, she said. Costello gave a presentation as part of the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones virtual conference on May 13. An administration official said in April the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was looking at how it can address some issues with the provisions (see 2004290052)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says that Amazon's foreign websites are “Notorious Markets,” the government's term for sites that “reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial piracy or counterfeiting.” USTR says its goal in naming and shaming through the Notorious Markets List “is to motivate appropriate action by the private sector and governments to reduce piracy and counterfeiting.” Specificially, the agency mentioned Amazon's websites in Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and France.
The Department of Homeland Security will take several new steps toward preventing the importation of counterfeit goods, executive branch officials said during a Jan.24 press conference to discuss a report on the subject. Peter Navarro, a close White House adviser on trade, said of the report: “What they produced is both historic and transcendent. The guts of this are the 10 sets of government actions that will be implemented immediately.” But, he said, 10 best practices for private industry -- which are voluntary -- are as important, if not more important. He said that currently, the burden is on the intellectual property rights holders to police the internet, and the government to catch counterfeits in shipments.