CBP to Propose New 'Mandatory Security Data Elements' for Section 321 Shipments

CBP plans to propose some new requirements for importing low-value shipments, Craig Clark of the Office of the Commissioner, Office of Trade Relations, said during the virtual Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) meeting Jan. 28. “We are taking steps to integrate the results of both the [Section] 321 data pilot and the Entry Type 86 test into a new Section 321 data collection process through a notice of proposed rulemaking,” he said. “Included in that NPRM is a requirement for mandatory security data elements for all Section 321 shipments, and that is going to be agnostic to the mode of transportation and will include international mail as well as additional mandatory data elements if an entry is filed,” he said.

The new data collection process will “leverage findings from both” tests to “collect more details about the nature and the origin of e-commerce shipments,” such as “the seller and the buyer information, maybe photos of the commodity, website listings, transactional details,” he said. There will also be a “single data requirement for de minimis that will clarify eligibility requirements and address trade liability.” The data pilot and Type 86 test will continue until the proposal is “finalized and implemented,” he said. Clark's descriptions add some new details to what has been previously mentioned by CBP about the coming proposal (see 2009110014).

Norm Schenk, who chairs the ACSCC Trade and Regulatory Subcommittee, said the membership already has some concerns about the coming proposal. The worries involve the “continued reliance” on “more data, more data, more data,” said Schenk, president of NT Schenk & Associates. The additional requirements could make a “low-value e-commerce shipment more complicated than a full ocean container,” he said.

Clark also said the 21st Century Customs Framework effort has new leadership (see 2011120010). Garrett Wright, who was chief of the CBP E-Commerce and Small Business Branch, will take that role. The previous leader joined Amazon last year (see 2010090006). Clark also reviewed the recently released Office of Trade strategy document that includes some broad goals the agency hopes to achieve by 2025.