Customs Reauthorization Bill Opens Up International Trade for U.S. Businesses

As of March 10 2016, after almost a decade of negotiating, the customs reauthorization bill has been brought into effect. Also known as the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, it is a fantastic development for U.S. businesses of all sizes. Going forward, we can expect Customs procedures to be more efficient and to make international export less costly. U.S. e-commerce will benefit hugely from this bill.

So what specific changes has this brought about? Here are our highlights of the bill:

• The de minimis allowance has been raised from $200 to $800, reducing paperwork for low-value payments. This means one person can import up to $800 worth of merchandise in one day without paying taxes or duties. This is a big deal for U.S. e-commerce activity. Not just for U.S. businesses, it opens up the export market for businesses outside of the U.S. too as consumers may look further afield to purchase bigger-ticket items online.
• Pre-clearance support and advance data will be implemented, via a streamlining of the current Customs systems which will see a number of border agencies coming together within a "single window". In theory, this should speed things up, which is another bonus for e-commerce businesses, both within but also exporting to the U.S.
• Any exported product returned to the U.S. within 3 years of being exported will be allowed duty-free treatment.
• Small business exports will be promoted by authorizing the state trade expansion program (STEP) and improving state and federal promotion coordination.
• U.S. businesses will be better protected by new trade laws operating within obligations in U/S trade agreements, U.S. Intellectual property Rights, and anti-dumping and countervailing duty law enforcement.
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will receive specialist training to detect and identify any counterfeit merchandise. CBP will be required to supply IPR rights holders with samples to identify fakes coming into the U.S.

This can only be good news for everyone. Here is the summary of The Customs Reauthorization Bill for those of you who would like to dig a little deeper.