Changes to De Minimis First on CBP's Regulatory Schedule for Implementing Customs Reauthorization

Changes to CBP's regulations for the de minimis threshold will be the first regulatory undertaking for the agency as it begins to implement the new customs reauthorization law (see 1602250021), said Maria Luisa Boyce, CBP’s senior advisor for trade engagement, who discussed the law on a Feb. 26 conference call. While the de minimis changes will be moving quickly in order to meet the Congressional timeline, there's still a number of decisions to be made and CBP said it planned to further discuss the issue with industry the following week.

CBP will be "engaging with those impacted industries to provide further information on this increase," said CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske. The law provides for the de minimis changes to apply to "to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the 15th day after the date of the enactment." As a result of the new law, shipments worth less than $800 will get expedited handling at the border.

An overhaul to drawback regulations, potentially some of the more complex of the regulatory changes to come, may be among the last provisions CBP addresses, said Sandra Bell, deputy commissioner in CBP's Office of International Trade. Otherwise, there may be some cases in which CBP isn't forced to go through the regulatory process where the statute doesn't require CBP to implement through regulations, said Bell. "But sometimes it's not prudent to do that because the statute is pretty ambiguous and open to several interpretations," so the agency develops regulations to create a standard interpretation, "even though it's in effect before a regulation" is issued, she said.

CBP's already "made some changes" that align with the law's intent of speeding up the process for addressing duty evasion claims, said Patrick Schmidt, an adviser to Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske. The agency will continue to use its e-Allegations system while CBP works to implement the process changes required in the law, he said. "We plan on enhancing that as part of developing the process for that provision as well as to create an organizational structure to reflect what the Congress intended," said Bell.

Following the law's elimination of an exemption to a ban on imported goods made with convict or forced labor, CBP is working with ICE on the issue, said Schmidt, an adviser to Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske. "A lot of what our cases are built on" requires incoming information," he said. The next step is work closely with ICE to get that message abroad, said Schmidt.

CBP is dependent "on information reported to us" on the forced labor issue, a CBP spokeswoman said in a separate email about the issue. Current regulations allow for submissions on belief "that goods are being, or are likely to be, imported in violation of the Customs forced labor statute," the spokeswomen said. "This is best accomplished by the submission of a detailed petition which satisfies certain regulatory requirements." If there's reasonable evidence submitted, "the Commissioner may issue withhold release orders (WROs)" and publish a formal finding "to that effect," she said. "After issuance of either a WRO or finding, CBP will detain subject shipments upon importation at any port of entry for evaluation. Imported goods subject to WROs or findings may be subject to detention, exclusion, or seizure, as appropriate."