II 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3597 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 20, 2012 Mr. Thune (for himself and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase and adjust for inflation the maximum value of articles that may be imported duty-free by one person on one day, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2012.

2.

Increase in and adjustment for inflation of maximum value of articles that may be imported duty-free by one person on one day

(a)

In general

Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321) is amended— (1)in subsection (a)(2), by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: (C)in any other case, the dollar amount specified in subsection (c). ; and (2)by adding at the end the following: (c)

Annual adjustment of value of articles that may enter duty-Free

(1)

Dollar amount specified

The dollar amount specified in this subsection is— (A)for calendar year 2013, $800; and (B)subject to paragraph (2), for any calendar year after calendar year 2013, an amount equal to $800 increased by an amount equal to— (i)$800, multiplied by (ii)the percentage of the increase (if any) in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year compared to the Consumer Price Index for calendar year 2012. (2)

Rounding

Any increase under paragraph (1) of the dollar amount specified in this subsection shall be rounded to the nearest increment of $50. (3)

Consumer Price Index for any calendar year

For purposes of this subsection, the Consumer Price Index for any calendar year is the average of the Consumer Price Index as of the close of the 12-month period ending on September 30 of that calendar year. (4)

Consumer Price Index defined

For purposes of this subsection, the term Consumer Price Index means the last Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. . (b)

Effective date

The amendments made by this section apply to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 2013.