Obama to Sign Customs Bill Despite Concerns

President Barack Obama intends to sign the comprehensive customs reauthorization legislation passed by the Senate on Feb. 11 (see 1602110018), White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement (here). Despite some concerns with the legislation's mention of Israel, the bill's "passage is an important milestone in our overall trade agenda," Earnest said of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. Among other things, the legislation (here) increases the de minimis level, directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to draft new importer of record regulations, fixes tariffs for recreational performance outerwear, and updates reliquidation procedures.

The White House voiced specific opposition to the bill's language on U.S. consideration of Israeli settlements. "As with any bipartisan compromise legislation, there are provisions in this bill that we do not support, including a provision that contravenes longstanding U.S. policy towards Israel and the occupied territories, including with regard to Israeli settlement activity," Earnest said.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (here) touted the bill, which was negotiated over the past eight years, as another legislative win for trade following the renewals of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Generalized System of Preferences. The USTR specifically pointed to the codification of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise and a "Trade Enforcement Trust Fund to provide new resources -- authorized at $15 million per year -- for trade enforcement efforts" as important new tools to "hold trading partners accountable."

Despite some reservations, industry group responses were mostly positive. "Although there are certain provisions in the bill that we are not 100% supportive of, I think the overall legislation will benefit the importing trade community and how we transact customs business,” said Geoff Powell, president of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. The NCBFAA had criticized requirements for customs brokers to collect and verify information on the identities of their importer of record clients (see 1506220022). It also was supportive of different antidumping/countervailing duty enforcement language than what ended up in the final bill (see 1509290011). The new law would help protect U.S. workers from "predatory trade practices like foreign dumping, subsidies, and other unfair practices" but "missed the opportunity to effectively address currency manipulation," said the Alliance of American Manufacturing (here).

UPS asked Obama to sign the bill quickly and celebrated several provisions, including the codification of the International Trade Data System. "Implementation of the ITDS is a priority for UPS," the company said in a news release (here). Domestic producers will be among the major beneficiaries of the law, said the Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws (here). “For all of us who have seen the positive effect that enforcement of our trade remedy laws can have on domestic producers and their workers, it is critical that evasion practices be found out and addressed," said Tamara Browne, a co-chair on the group's Government Affairs Committee. "This new law will make the effort to crackdown on those who would evade the law more effective and preserve jobs in America.”