Trade Groups Press Senate Finance to Raise De Minimis and Informal Entry Levels

A group of 28 trade associations led by the Express Association of America (EAA) pushed the Senate Finance Committee to take up legislation to raise the de minimis level for low value shipments. The signatories said in the letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mt.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that they should support a Senate companion bill to HR-1653, which would raise the minimum import value for goods requiring customs documents or duties. Email documents@brokerpower.com for a copy of the letter.

Bill Would Allow CBP to Focus on Large Shipments

The House bill would increase the de minimis value from $200 to $800, which the trade associations say would allow CBP to focus on larger commercial shipments where such enforcement is more necessary. CBP would also be able to "obtain millions in resource savings that will easily offset any decreases in annual government revenues from a higher de minimis level," the letter said. The House bill has largely stalled and EAA and other groups wrote a similar letter urging movement last summer. (See ITT's Online Archives 11060301 for summary of that letter.)

While CBP said in past years it would work to develop rules on the de minimis issue, a CBP spokesman said currently "nothing has been drafted for de minimis." The Senate Finance Committee didn't return requests for comment.

Cosigners on the letter are: Airforwarders Association (AFA), Airlines for America (A4A), American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI), American Trucking Associations (ATA), Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom), Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance (CANAMBTA), Cargo Airline Association (CAA), Coalition of Service Industries (CSI), Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT), Express Association of America (EAA) Express Delivery and Logistics Association (XLA), Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC), National Association of Free Trade Zones (NAFTZ), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), National Retail Federation (NRF), Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), TechAmerica, The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), Travel Goods Association (TGA), United States Council for International Business (USCIB), U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USAITA), and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.