RANCHO MIRAGE, California -- Much of the $34 million in "additional money earmarked for ACE" within the recent omnibus government funding bill is already "planned out," said Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, while speaking at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference on May 1. "That money was to be allocated for new development or enhancements in the ACE process," he said. CBP has a priority list, he said. Among the factors for the priority list was a list of requests provided to CBP from the NCBFAA (see 1802200043).
Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton pointed to one of President Donald Trump's tweets about e-commerce to explain why Canada sees the need for conservative de minimis levels, but said changing it has been under discussion in NAFTA negotiations. "Is there a number between 20 [dollars] and 800 [dollars] that works? Probably," he said. He said he presumes that before the deal is finished, Canada will raise its de minimis level, but said it will probably be to a lot less than $800. He also said he doesn't expect the U.S. de minimis level to necessarily move down to the same amount Canada agrees to.
Stakeholders continue to ask for additional and enhanced ACE capabilities, and the agency is working on system enhancements to enable de minimis functionality, CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told the House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security in his prepared opening statement. Creating de minimis functionality "will provide CBP access to previously unavailable admissibility data for low value shipments, resulting in improved cargo processing and use of enforcement resources," he said.
The internal debate on the role of foreign-trade zones in e-commerce is ongoing within the government, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner-trade at CBP, while speaking at an American Apparel and Footwear Association event on April 25. "I recognize that, from a business perspective, people are very interested in reducing their duty costs," she said. "It presents an interesting policy question, really, for the Department of Commerce, about 'what are FTZs for, why do we want them?'" CBP is considering a ruling on whether larger shipments can be brought to FTZs and then broken up into smaller shipments valued under the $800 de minimis threshold (see 1804130042).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 9-13 in case they were missed.
A bipartisan group of 59 House members asked the U.S. trade representative to make raising de minimis levels in NAFTA a chief negotiating priority. In a letter sent April 10, led by Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., and Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., they said that "simplifying, modernizing and expediting customs procedures will help facilitate the movements of low-value shipments across borders." The letter notes that the U.S. de minimis threshold is $800, while Mexico's is $50 and Canada's is $16. It's critical that the administration follow through in its efforts to convince Mexico and Canada to raise their thresholds to a comparable amount to the U.S. standard, the lawmakers said.
CBP is continuing work to resolve questions that have arisen on Section 321 clearance through foreign-trade zones, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner-trade at CBP, in an April 10 interview. The agency is still considering a ruling request on whether larger shipments can be brought into foreign-trade zones, then broken up into smaller shipments valued under the $800 de minimis so they can be entered exempt from taxes and fees under Section 321 (see 1802140015).
Parties that wish to add to or remove products from the Generalized System of Preferences, change the GSP status of beneficiary countries, waive competitive need limitations, or oppose de minimis waivers must file their petitions with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by midnight on April 16, the agency said in a notice. If an importer is interested in retaining GSP status for a product on the de minimis list -- a product for which total imports from all countries did not exceed $23.5 million in 2017 -- the importer does not need to make a request for a waiver. However, parties that wish to contest a de minimis waiver should do so at regulations.gov.
The Department of Homeland Security released a set of frequently asked questions about the prohibition of products made by North Koreans under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). That law "reiterates the need for comprehensive due diligence by and on behalf of U.S. companies involved in importing goods," DHS said. Importers "have the responsibility to exercise reasonable care and provide CBP with such information as is necessary to enable CBP to determine if the merchandise may be released from CBP custody," it said.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of March 30 (some may also be given separate headlines):