Washington, DC--

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Chair of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee released a bill, the "Fighting Illicit Goods, Helping Trustworthy Importers, and Netting Gains for America Act of 2024" (FIGHTING for America Act of 2024) which makes changes to 19 U.S.C. section 1321 (de minimis shipments). He is joined by Senators Lummis, Brown, Collins and Casey on the bill.  

Senator Wyden's bill is designed to be an alternative to the "End China's De Minimis Abuse Act" (H.R. 7979) which passed the House of Representatives.

Recognizing the increase in low-value shipments entered as de minimis shipments since COVID-19, the bill restricts the types of articles (e.g, import-sensitive goods, items subject to ADD/CVD, subject to special tariff investigations under section 201, 301 and 301).  The bill also requires additional information and data (e.g., 10-digit HTSUS, country of origin), increases penalties for violations, and charges $2 per shipment fee.

• One-page overview
• Section-by-section outline
• Bill text

EMTC has drafted a redline of the 19 U.S.C. section 1321 showing the changes that the bill makes to the current law as part of EMTC's analysis of the bill.  Companies seeking EMTC's analysis should join EMTC as a member.

South Africa VAT on B2C low value goods imports Sept 2024 - vatcalc.com

The VAT on imports below 500 rand  (USD27)will be implemented on 1 September 2024 in addition to 20% duty

On August 8 2024 5pm EST Pitney Bowes announced the wind-down of the it's Global Ecommerce business.  Global Ecommerce was losing PB $136M per year. The ecommerce business will be restructured under Chapter 11

Turkey bumps customs tax, reduces limit for e-commerce purchases (duvarenglish.com)

Entry Type 86 Guidance Fact Sheet_0.pdf (cbp.gov)

The broker is the importer of record on a Type 86 entry 

On increased foreign trade, majority in US take a negative view | Pew Research Center

EMTC offers varying perspectives on trade   Such views  may not reflect EMTC positions.

CPSC Import Shipment Tracking Tool | CPSC.gov

A new tool for importers of consumer goods 

Washington, DC--

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has released a draft bill, the Customs Facilitation Act of 2024, to modernize U.S. customs laws.  (See the Fact Sheet and text of the bill.) 

Senator Cassidy has introduced a number of bills seeking to modernize U.S. trade laws, and he joined other U.S. Senators with a request for information from industry last year.  EMTC provided a comprehensive response to the Senators' request.

Geneva, Switzerland--

After years of negotiations, the World Trade Organization has released the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce. Any company involved in e-commerce (e-sellers, marketplaces, logistics companies, etc.) should join EMTC (www.emtc.org) for a deep-dive review of this important document which will set the global rules for cross-border trade of physical and digital goods.

Growth-and-Opportunity-Imperative-memo.pdf (uschamber.com)

The US Chamber has published this report. Small businesses are particularly dependent  on overall economic growth