Background

Implementation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, forced labor enforcement, and customs broker issues are among the topics of 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

- a final 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 (June 2021; proposed rule published in April 2021)

- a proposed rule to implement the USMCA with respect to non-preferential origin determinations for goods imported from Canada or Mexico (July 2021, first time published; received by the OMB for review on May 11, 2021)

- an interim final rule implementing the preferential tariff treatment and related customs provisions of the USMCA (July 2021)

- a proposed rule to establish a continuing education requirement for licensed customs brokers (July 2021; ANPR issued in October 2020)

- 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 (August 2021; previously December 2020; received by the Office of Management and Budget for review on May 4, 2021)

- a final rule allowing national customs broker permit holders to conduct customs business in all districts and updating the requirements on responsible supervision and control (August 2021, previously June 2021; proposed rule issued June 2020)

- 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 (August 2021; previously June 2021)

- an interim final rule implementing a provision of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act extending duty-free treatment to products exported and returned to the U.S. within three years after having been exported (September 2021; previously March 2021)

- 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 (September 2021; previously March 2021)

- 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 (September 2021, previously June 2021; proposed rule issued in August 2019)

- 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 TFTEA and certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (December 2021; previously August 2021)

- a final rule creating 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 abandoned (January 2022, previously August 2021; proposed rule published in August 2019)

- a proposed rule to update and modify the (a)(1)(A) list in the appendix to 19 CFR Part 163 (January 2022; previously September 2021)

- a final rule to implement a mandatory Air Cargo Advance Screening program for inbound aircraft with commercial cargo (February 2022, previously August 2021; interim final rule published November 2018)

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 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 shifting authority to make certain decisions regarding customs transactions from port directors to directors of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (interim final rule issued December 2016)

Regulations Withdrawn

- a proposed rule to except goods subject to Section 301 tariffs from the administrative exemption from duties and taxes for goods imported by one person on one day

- 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

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