Updating customs broker requirements, encouraging the use of prior disclosures, and requiring electronic filing of bonds are among the U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulations listed in the semiannual regulatory agendas of the departments of Homeland Security and the Treasury, which list the following regulations affecting international trade that could be issued within the next year. The expected timeframes for issuance of these rules are indicated in parentheses.
Upcoming Regulations
- an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to seek input on a continuing education requirement for licensed customs brokers (still no date specified)
- a proposed rule pertaining to prior disclosure and the procedure for demanding payment of duties, taxes, fees, or revenue for violations of 19 USC sections 1592 or 1593(a) when a penalty claim is not issued (still no date specified)
- a proposed rule amending the regulations pertaining to the importation of goods that violate or are suspected of violating the copyright laws in accordance with the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act and certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (December 2019; previously June)
- a proposed rule to modernize the customs broker regulations, including by allowing national permit holders to conduct customs business in all districts within the U.S. customs territory, removing the requirement to have a district permit in each district where the broker conducts customs business, removing the requirement that brokers maintain physical offices in the districts in which they conduct customs business, and updating the requirements on responsible supervision and control (December 2019; previously July 2019)
- a proposed rule that would exempt portions of the CTPAT system of records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements (December 2019; previously July)
- a proposed rule to eliminate all regulatory references to broker district permit fees (December 2019; previously July)
- a final rule eliminating a restriction pertaining to CBP’s authority to refund excessive duties, taxes, fees, or interest imposed on distilled spirits, wine, and beer to facilitate implementation of the Craft Beverage Modernization Act (December 2019; interim rule issued August 2018)
- an interim final rule implementing a TFTEA provision extending duty-free treatment to products exported and returned to the U.S. within three years after having been exported (December 2019; previously August)
- a proposed rule seeking to promote the speed, accuracy, and transparency of administrative rulings concerning the importation of articles that may be subject to exclusion orders issued by the International Trade Commission under section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act (December 2019; previously September)
- a proposed rule to update, modernize, and streamline the process for enforcing the prohibition against the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured in any foreign country by convict or forced labor or indentured labor under penal sanctions (January 2020; previously August 2019)
- a proposed rule to debar from entering U.S. ports any vessel owned or chartered by an entity found to be in violation of certain laws and regulations relating to the performance of longshore work by non-immigrant crew members (February 2020; previously October 2019)
- a proposed rule to eliminate the paper-based bond application and approval processes and require all bonds to be filed by sureties using an electronic data interchange or email (March 2020; first time published)
- a final rule shifting authority to make certain decisions regarding customs transactions from port directors to directors of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (June 2020; previously October 2019)
- a final rule that would require customs brokers to verify the identity of importers and non-resident importers and would create a process for doing so that is contemporaneous with obtaining power of attorney (August 2020; proposed rule issued in August 2019)
- a proposed rule to update and modify the (a)(1)(A) list in the appendix to 19 CFR Part 163 (December 2020; previously December 2019)
Long-Term Actions
- a final rule raising from $200 to $800 the de minimis value of articles that may be imported by one person on one day free of duty and tax (interim final rule published in August 2016)
- a final rule reflecting that the Automated Commercial System is being phased out as a CBP-authorized electronic data interchange system for the processing of electronic entry and entry summary filings (interim final rule issued October 2015)
- a final rule on procedures for investigating the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty orders (interim final rule published in August 2016)
- a final rule clarifying the circumstances under which a notice of arrival must be filed for imported pesticides and pesticidal devices, codifying existing required NOA data elements, requiring the submission of additional NOA data elements for unregistered pesticides that are currently optional, and permitting the NOA to be filed electronically in the Automated Commercial Environment (interim final rule published in September 2016)
- a final rule to give effect to certain liberalized changes to the NAFTA preference rules of origin that have been agreed to by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (proposed rule published in July 2016)
Regulations Completed
- a proposed rule to create a procedure for the disclosure of information otherwise protected by the Trade Secrets Act to a trademark owner when goods bearing suspected counterfeit trademarks have been voluntarily abandoned
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