[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 489 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 489

   To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase the maximum value of 
   articles that may be imported duty-free by one person on one day.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2015

 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 the maximum value of 
   articles that may be imported duty-free by one person on one day.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Low Value Shipment Regulatory 
Modernization Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DE MINIMIS INFORMAL ENTRIES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Modernizing international customs is critical for 
        United States businesses of all sizes, consumers in the United 
        States, and the economic growth of the United States.
            (2) Higher thresholds for the value of articles that may be 
        entered informally and free of duty provide significant 
        economic benefits to businesses and consumers in the United 
        States and the economy of the United States through costs 
        savings and reductions in trade transaction costs.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United 
States Trade Representative should encourage other countries, through 
bilateral, regional, and multilateral fora, to establish commercially 
meaningful de minimis values for express and postal shipments that are 
exempt from customs duties and taxes and from certain entry 
documentation requirements, as appropriate.

SEC. 3. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM VALUE OF ARTICLES THAT MAY BE IMPORTED 
              DUTY-FREE BY ONE PERSON ON ONE DAY.

    (a) In General.--Section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ``$200'' and inserting 
``$800''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, 
on or after January 1, 2016.
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