Brady's Customs Reauthorization Bill a Starting Point, but Far from Finished
The bill introduced by House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) Dec. 7, offers a useful starting point for future discussions for the legislation, even though it's highly unlikely anything will be finished this year, observers said. There's still much to be decided before a customs reauthorization bill can make its way through the legislative process, said industry executives following the issue closely.
(House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) introduced their own customs reauthorization bill Dec. 13. That bill, the Customs Enhanced Enforcement and Trade Facilitation Act (HR-6656), largely mirrors Brady's bill, except for language addressing antidumping/countervailing duty evasion. See 12121419 for more information on the bill. )
Reintroduction will be Necessary
A customs bill will likely need to be reintroduced in the next Congress, if a customs reauthorization isn't passed by the end of the year as expected, said executives. Among the complicating factors affecting movement on customs reauthorization is the widely expected departure of Brady from the subcommittee at the end of this congress, said Jon Kent, a lobbyist with Kent & O'Connor, who represents the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America. Kent, who said he's still working through the details of Brady's bill, said it remains to be seen how relevant that legislation will be within the next congress.
It's unclear exactly how quickly Brady's replacement would take on a bill, said Kent. "Everything has to be reintroduced," said Kent. The new chairman will "want to have a good understanding of what's in the bill and you know he's not just going to blindly follow behind the committee staff, he's going to have to be briefed up on it." While it remains possible the new chairman would take up the issue in January, there are competing issues, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Miscellaneous Trade Bill, said Kent. Brady's replacement as Trade Subcommittee will reportedly be Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), though a spokesman for Nunes said there hasn't been official word on this and likely won't be until January.
The departure of Brady may not result in significant changes for a reintroduction, said Mike Mullen, the president of the Express Association of America, which represents the four major express delivery companies. "The change in chairman wouldn't result in any major changes to this legislation," he said. "The issues that are addressed in this legislation have been talked about and discussed and fought about in great detail over the past three or so years that I've been involved." Also, Brady, who is said to be moving to the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, will still be around, said Mullen.
Regardless, the introduction is an important step in the process, said Kent. "It's certainly a great sign that they got the bill introduced, because it's out there on the table and now you've got something concrete to react to," he said. "I think the broad outlines are there," he said. The Senate will likely also use HR-6642 as something to react to, though it's doubtful the Senate will introduce its own customs bill by the end of the year, said Kent.
The bill text of Brady's bill is (here). Descriptions of each section of the bill are (here). A bill summary is (here).
(Brady's bill, the Customs Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act of 2012 (HR-6642), is meant to modernize CBP and other customs-related agencies. See ITT's Online Archives 12120728 for news of introduction of the legislation. See ITT's Online Archives 12121023 for summary of the CBP reorganization that would result due to the bill. See ITT's Online Archives 12121115 for summary of the new requirements for brokers. See ITT's Online Archives 12121206 for summary of intellectual property rights provisions. See future issues of ITT for additional details of the legislation.)