U<\/span>.S.<\/strong> Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is hoping to \u201clead and facilitate\u201d international e-commerce standards as it is submitting to the World Customs Organization (WCO) a two-page document intended to pare down a draft WCO framework of e-commerce standards released in December, CBP Trade Policy and Programs Executive Director John Leonard said at a trade conference last week.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) Annual Conference in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Wednesday, Leonard noted that \u201cevery customs administration in the world\u201d is considering e-commerce\u2019s role, and that the WCO in December \u201crather suddenly\u201d released a draft framework of standards based on work it had done in other countries.<\/p>\n

That \u201cvery detailed\u201d 50-plus-page draft \u201ctriggered a lot of consternation\u201d in various parts of the U.S. government and private sector because the process was sudden and ad hoc in terms of \u201cthe review process for such an important document,\u201d he said. \u201cA framework is a very serious instrument for the WCO, and they don\u2019t use that term lightly and rarely will issue one.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBP \u201cwants to make sure\u201d the WCO didn\u2019t too quickly issue the framework, which the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, \u201cin particular,\u201d thought veered too far outside of the customs lane and into aspects of trade policy, trade and financial services, anti-competition issues and data privacy and security issues, Leonard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we wanted to try to put the brakes on this document, and we made some serious progress in meetings in April, to kind of scale the document back, make it a little more realistic, and so if we\u2019re successful there, where it stands right now is we have a two-page document of 15 standards with some introductory language, and the WCO Policy Council in June will consider this,\u201d Leonard said.<\/p>\n

Leonard added the hope is that the document will postpone the release of a final WCO e-commerce framework for about another year.<\/p>\n

In an effort to stem an e-commerce-driven increase in split shipments to avoid standard customs entry processes \u2014 shipments which are prohibited \u2014 CBP has identified exploitative distribution facilities, importers and others with shipments that now are being required to accompany formal entries in lieu of Section 321, or de minimis entries, said Jim Swanson, director of the Cargo and Security Controls Division for Cargo and Conveyance Security in CBP\u2019s Office of Field Operations.<\/p>\n

The increase of the de minimis level from $200 to $800 in 2016 has contributed to a rise in smaller value shipments, particularly at mid-sized and smaller ports across the United States.<\/p>\n

Swanson added that CBP is working on changing regulations exempting from e-manifests for de minimis shipments from filing requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor now, what we\u2019re telling [filers] is \u2026\u2018You do not have to file electronic manifest. We can\u2019t make you do it. However, there\u2019s nothing that says we have to clear that cargo expeditiously,\u2019\u201d Swanson said. \u201cSo we are going to say, \u2018Do your e-manifest, give us some advance information and work with us to identify where things are on the trucks. We can get you through faster. However, those of you who don\u2019t may find we have to stop that truck, we have to examine that truck and guess what? It may take you three days to get cleared.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But data fields essential for targeting illicit shipments are absent from manifests, including importer of record, consignee, seller and 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes, AN Deringer Director of Customs Affairs and Compliance Amy Magnus said during the conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe that [CBP needs] more information to enforce for compliance issues like IPR-type violative goods, forced labor, any type of antidumping or countervailing,\u201d said Magnus, also now NCBFAA\u2019s president. \u201cOh, and also what about all these new duties that we\u2019ve been having fun within the last couple of weeks?\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that global steel and aluminum tariffs pursuant to the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and potential tariffs on Chinese goods pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 could incentivize even more de minimis shipments to the United States.<\/p>\n

HTS code insertion could be an \u201copportunity\u201d for brokers filing Section 321 entries because brokers \u201call live\u201d in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), and \u201cout of all the modes\u201d are most familiar with HTS, Alba Wheels Up International Executive Vice President for Growth and Strategy Vince Iacopella said.<\/p>\n

Swanson said another aspect CBP is considering in the context of Section 321 regulations is how traditional methods of doing customs business might not logically apply in the de minimis context. One of the things CBP is considering is how to shift responsibility for illicit shipment-related activities to foreign shippers when warranted, he said.<\/p>\n

CBP has said it is waiting until the completion of NAFTA negotiations before it finalizes Section 321 entry rulemaking, as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has said it is seeking for Mexico and Canada to raise their de minimis thresholds closer to the U.S. level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to see a flat-out Canada and Mexico accepting\u201d an $800 de minimis, Leonard said.<\/p>\n

CBP is working to submit a list of desired additional e-commerce-related authorities to Congress.<\/p>\n

More specifically, CBP is seeking enhanced legal regulatory ability related to e-commerce; improved and adapted e-commerce-related field operations; incentivization of increased private sector compliance, including \u201cnew actors\u201d such as platforms and marketplaces, to be more compliant; and to lead and facilitate global e-commerce standards, Leonard said.<\/p>\n

Officials said last week that CBP intended to submit its list to Congress by the end of the day Friday to meet a 60-day deadline set by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., during a March 6 Senate Finance Committee hearing. But the agency hadn\u2019t submitted its list as of Monday morning, according to a Wyden spokesperson.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur staff is in the process of setting up a briefing with CBP on the subject,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A two-page proposal that will be considered in June could postpone the release of a final World Customs Organization framework for another year. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is hoping to \u201clead and facilitate\u201d international e-commerce standards as it is submitting to the World Customs Organization (WCO) a two-page document intended to pare down…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[95,47],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10972,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10970\/revisions\/10972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}