The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee recently made a number of recommendations to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the wake of the suspension of commercial de minimis entries from all countries.
The de minimis exemption allowed the informal, duty-free entry of articles that have a retail value of $800 or less and are imported by one person in one day. However, the Trump administration eliminated de minimis treatment as of May 2 for low-value packages from China and Hong Kong, which the White House said account for the majority of de minimis shipments to the U.S. President Trump subsequently issued an executive order that suspended commercial de minimis entries from all countries as of Aug. 29.
At its most recent meeting in September, prior to an anticipated reorganization, COAC approved the following recommendations to CBP related to the suspension of de minimis.
- CBP should expand the Automated Commercial Environment to increase (1) the number of lines and file size per entry that can be transmitted and (2) the number of entries on an ACH statement beyond the current 2,000 entry limitation.
- CBP should pursue the authority to exercise jurisdiction over postal low-value imports because they are currently not subject to (1) entry requirements similar to non-postal low-value shipments, (2) accurate accounting of goods regulated by partner government agencies, and (3) importer of record obligations.
- CBP should publish guidance documents clarifying what goods are ineligible for import using low-value postal procedures.
- CBP should issue regulations (as required by section 904 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act) that expand eligibility under HTSUS 9801.00.10 to include foreign goods returned with a value under $2,500.
- CBP should modify its duty-free return regulations and guidance (Section 9801) to align with the TFTEA and revise those regulations to clarify that (1) claims for duty-free status for returning goods valued under $2,500 do not require proof of their original entry into the U.S. and (2) proof of export for the purposes of HTSUS 9801.00.10 may be demonstrated by the importer providing, upon request by CBP, a commercial invoice; an airway bill, waybill, or bill of lading; electronic export information or filing exemption; a copy of the import declaration into the foreign country; or similar documentation showing the product was previously exported from the U.S.
- For informal entries, CBP should allow importers the option to pay estimated duties, taxes, and fees online through Pay.gov (rather than by check) before the time of presentation without requiring a bond.
- CBP should issue clear guidance as to what does and does not constitute a bona fide gift in accordance with 19 CFR 10.152 as well as the requisite mechanism for clearing bona fide gifts across all modes of transportation, including postal.
- CBP should provide guidance to the trade for manifest/entry data requirements for business-to-business-to-consumer imports.
- CBP should clearly define each required party type (deliver to, shipper, sold to, etc.) and refrain from using the term “consignee” in any guidance documents, as this term has many different interpretations.
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