A bipartisan effort to improve trade facilitation is moving forward in the Senate, where a new draft bill is open for comments through Aug. 30.
For more information on this bill, how it might affect your business, and how to provide your input, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956 or via email.
In November 2021 Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced what was billed as the first significant customs modernization legislation in nearly 30 years, but observers said it focused more on enforcement than trade facilitation. Cassidy has now joined with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., in releasing a discussion draft of a bill that seeks to address those concerns.
“Right now, the entry of goods across our borders is fragmented, costly, slow, and requires redundant data entries across the U.S. government,” Cassidy said. “There must be better management of imports and exports. This can protect consumers and make it easier for American businesses to move goods around the world.”
The two lawmakers are inviting comments through Aug. 30 on the proposed Customs Facilitation Act of 2024, which includes the following provisions.
- requires the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that a uniform automated platform provides a system for the processing and release of cargo being imported into and exported from the U.S., which will ensure that all trade data can be submitted and processed in one place
- provides requirements for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other agencies to follow when issuing new regulations requiring the submission of additional data, including considering what data is actually available to businesses, working to avoid redundant data elements, cooperating with the U.S. Postal Service to share information on mail shipments, and taking the views of a diverse set of parties into account
- requires CBP to provide a notification when it makes changes to the minimum security criteria requirements necessary for importers to participate in the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism
- requires CBP to add constructive and detailed context for best practices for mitigating forced labor in supply chains to the CTPAT Handbook
- directs CBP to review its regulations for any current deadlines governing its responsiveness for rulings and decisions and improve them where practicable
- allows for accelerated payment of duty drawback for all claims where a bond is filed securing repayment of 100 percent of the claimed refund and the claimant has provided supporting documentation
- requires the issuance of regulations allowing export manifest data and documentation to be submitted prior to departure and requires those regulations to avoid any redundant data submission requirements
- clarifies that clerical errors in submissions of export data shall be exempt from penalties so long as they are not part of a pattern of violative conduct (as is already the case for import data)
- requires CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise to develop and distribute guidance on compliance with trade laws to improve industry cooperation and transparency
- codifies the Border Interagency Executive Council and tasks it with measurably improving supply chain processes and taking specified steps to facilitate and expedite the flow of legitimate trade
- authorizes the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of tariff and fee schedules and recommend legislative changes to reduce compliance costs and remove unnecessary red tape
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