CBP's Pullam: Volume of de Minimis Shipments Needs to Shrink
NEW YORK -- The executive director of CBP's Office of Trade Relations told U.S. Fashion Industry Association conference attendees this week that CBP thought crossing the 1 billion de minimis packages threshold was big, but then volume increased about 40% in the 2024 fiscal year. Felicia Pullam said CBP cannot handle that kind of massive increase and is confident it's stopping dangerous contact lenses, vapes, toys with lead paint, counterfeit airbags, medicines and other illicit goods.
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"The big policy debate," she said, is: "How do you limit the volume?" Pullam, a political appointee, said CBP is excited about the prospect that Congress might revise de minimis eligibility, and added that the Department of Homeland Security is still working to issue proposed rules to mandate data submissions and to remove goods subject to sections 301, 201 and 232 tariffs from de minimis eligibility.
"We're working very hard on those, and we really hope and believe that these notices for public comments can be released by the Biden administration," Pullam said.
The regulation that will replace the Section 321 data pilot and the Type 86 test has been called ELVS -- Entry of Low-Value Shipments, she said. Pullam said the regulations will require online marketplaces to submit data about what's being shipped, and will reduce bureaucratic requirements for CBP when it throws out illicit goods.
She said CBP needs Congress to increase penalties -- currently limited by the value of the package. "Right now penalties on de minimis are also de minimis," Pullam said. She also said legislation should include a $2 fee on de minimis entries so that CBP can fund the scanning equipment it needs, and hire additional personnel.