HR-1907 : Still Just a Bill

Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015

This bill directs the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to ensure that CBP partnership programs, such as the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, provide trade benefits to importers, exporters, and certain other private sector entities that meet program requirements.

The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the effectiveness of CBP enforcement of U.S. customs and trade laws (trade enforcement).

CBP shall establish priorities and performance standards to measure levels of achievement of customs modernization, the movement of merchandise into and out of the United States (trade facilitation), and trade enforcement functions and programs.

CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shall:

• establish educational seminars to improve CBP classification and appraisal of imported articles, trade enforcement, and facilitation of international trade; and
• develop biennially a joint strategic plan for improving trade enforcement and trade facilitation.

This bill amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) to authorize appropriations for FY2016-FY2018 to complete the development and implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment computer system.

This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to work with the head of each agency participating in the International Trade Data System (ITDS) and the Interagency Steering Committee to ensure that, among other duties, it:

• develops and maintains the necessary information technology infrastructure to support the operation of the ITDS,
• submit all data to the ITDS electronically, and
• arrange to share information between each agency and the CBP.

Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall jointly establish a Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee.

CBP shall develop and implement CBP-wide Centers of Excellence and Expertise.

DHS shall establish within the CBP Office of International Trade a Commercial Targeting Division (including National Targeting and Analysis Groups) to conduct commercial risk assessment targeting and, when needed, issue trade alerts with respect to cargo destined for the United States.

The Treasury Inspector General shall report to Congress on oversight of revenue protection and enforcement measures.

DHS and Treasury shall report jointly to Congress on security and revenue measures with respect to merchandise transported in bond.

DHS shall establish a program to assign importer of record numbers.

CBP shall establish a new importer program that adjusts bond amounts for new importers based on the level of risk assessed for revenue protection.

The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe minimum standards to require customs brokers to implement, and importers (including nonresident importers) to comply with, reasonable procedures for collecting information to identify U.S. and non-resident importers seeking to import merchandise into the United States.

The CBP Commissioner shall report to Congress recommendations for:

• determining the most effective way to require foreign nationals to provide customs brokers with accurate information, comparable to that required of U.S. nationals, on the identity of foreign nationals seeking to import merchandise into the United States; and
• establishing a system for such brokers and agencies to review information maintained by relevant federal agencies to verify the identity of importers, including nonresident importers, seeking to import merchandise into the United States.

An interagency Import Safety Working Group is established.

DHS shall develop a joint import safety rapid response plan that sets forth protocols for the CBP to:

• coordinate federal responses to cargo entering the United States that poses a threat to the health or safety of U.S. consumers, and
• use in recovering from or mitigating the effects of actions and responses to such an incident.

Upon suspicion that merchandise is being imported into the United States in violation of U.S. trademark or copyright infringement laws, CBP shall provide the trademark or copyright owner any information appearing on the merchandise and its packaging and labels, including any unredacted images of them, if testing by the owner would assist in determining a violation.

DHS shall establish within ICE a National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center to coordinate U.S. activities to prevent the import and export of goods that infringe intellectual property rights.

CBP, ICE, and DHS shall take specified actions for enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Preventing Recurring Trade Evasion and Circumvention Act or PROTECT Act

The Department of Homeland Security shall establish within the Office of International Trade of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection a Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Division (including a National Targeting and Analysis Group) to prevent and counter evasion of antidumping or countervailing duty orders with respect to covered merchandise entered into the United States.

The Group shall establish targeted risk assessment methodologies and standards for:

• evaluating the risk that cargo destined for the United States may constitute evading covered merchandise, and
• issuing Trade Alerts to U.S. ports of entry directing further inspection of specific merchandise to ensure compliance with U.S. trade remedy laws.

The Department of the Treasury shall negotiate and enter into bilateral agreements with customs authorities of foreign countries to prevent evasion of U.S. and foreign trade remedy laws.

This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to prescribe procedures for the administering authority (the Department of Commerce, or any other U.S. officer responsible for carrying out the duties of the administering authority) to initiate an antidumping duty or countervailing duty investigation with respect to merchandise imported into the United States upon:

• its own initiation, or
• the filing of a petition by interested parties or referral by the CBP Commissioner.

The administering authority, in cases of an affirmative final determination, shall instruct the CBP to:

• assess duties on the covered merchandise,
• reliquidate each entry of the merchandise, and
• reassess the importer's bond or other security.

This bill amends the Trade Act of 1974 to revise requirements for the identification of U.S. trade expansion priorities.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) shall consult with Congress to prioritize, investigate, and resolve acts, policies, or practices of foreign countries that raise concerns with respect to obligations under the World Trade Organization Agreements or any other trade agreement to which the United States is a party, or that otherwise creates barriers to U.S. goods, services, or investment.

The USTR may take action to suspend concessions or other obligations under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act if:

• certain action has terminated that was taken by the USTR to protect U.S. rights under any trade agreement or to eliminate an act, policy, or practice of a foreign country that violates that agreement or burdens or restricts U.S. commerce;
• the petitioner or any representative of the domestic industry that would benefit from reinstatement of such action requests the USTR for reinstatement; and
• the USTR meets certain requirements.

The U.S. International Trade Commission shall make an import monitoring tool available on a website to allow public access to data on the volume and value of imported goods to assess whether such data has changed over time.

The general de minimis aggregate fair retail value in the country of shipment of duty-free articles imported by one person on one day increases from $200 to $800.

This bill also prescribes or revises requirements under the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States for:

• certain penalties for customs brokers convicted of an act of terrorism,
• duty-free treatment of certain federal property exported and reimported without having been advanced in value or improved in condition while abroad,
• duties on warranty repairs or alterations of articles exported from and then returned to the United States,
• exemption from duty treatment of the residue of bulk cargo contained in instruments of international traffic previously exported from the United States,
• drawback (refund of paid customs duties) on eligible merchandise imported into the United States and later exported or destroyed, and
• elimination of the consumptive demand exception to the prohibition on the importation of goods made with convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor.

Certain trade policies regarding Israel are declared.

COBRA is amended to allow, between July 8 and July 28, 2025, specified customs user fees for the processing of merchandise formally entered or released into the United States.

The United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act is also amended to increase from 0.21% ad valorem to 0.3464% ad valorem, for the period between July 1 and July 14, 2025, the customs user fees for the processing of merchandise formally entered or released into the United States.