Trade Group Releases Detailed 'Redline' of Proposed 21CCF Changes to Customs Laws

The E-Merchants Trade Council released on Nov. 28 a detailed “redline” of proposed changes to the customs laws that the trade group is proposing to the 21st Century Customs Framework Task Force as it works with CBP to develop draft customs modernization legislation. The document puts “into specific statutory text EMTC’s recommendations on the Customs Modernization Act of 2021,” the EMTC said in its introduction.

The proposals are in line with three goals of customs modernization identified by the EMTC: “1) simplify and streamline customs processes; 2) reduce data submissions; and 3) leverage advanced technology that enhances risk-based methodologies,” the trade group said in a news release.

The EMTC, which bills itself as a “not-for-profit trade association for micro, small and medium-sized e-sellers,” said it “expects a customs modernization bill will be introduced in the 118th Congress, but it is unclear whether the legislation can garner the broad industry support similar to the Customs Modernization Act enacted as part of Title IV of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)” in 1993. The trade group is headed by Marianne Rowden, who is a member of the 21CCF Task Force, according to the release.

“EMTC believes that these amendments to the current customs statute will accommodate the new non-traditional parties involved in cross-border transactions and integrate them into a risk-based regulatory regime,” the group said.