[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4148 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4148

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 relating to de minimus treatment under 
                               that Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2023

  Mr. Blumenauer (for himself and Mr. Dunn of Florida) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 relating to de minimus treatment under 
                               that Act.

    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 ``Import Security and Fairness Act''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS TO EXEMPTIONS FOR DE MINIMIS TREATMENT 
              UNDER THE TARIFF ACT OF 1930.

    Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``(a) The Secretary'' and inserting ``(a) In 
                General.--The Secretary'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``$800'' and 
                inserting ``except as provided in subsection (b)(1), 
                $800''; and
                    (C) in the matter following such paragraph (2)(C), 
                as so amended, by striking ``subdivision (2)'' each 
                place it appears and inserting ``paragraph''; and
            (2) by striking ``(b) The Secretary'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(b) Exceptions.--
            ``(1) In general.--An article may not be admitted free of 
        duty or tax under the authority provided by subsection 
        (a)(2)(C) if the country of origin of such article, or the 
        country from which such article is shipped, is--
                    ``(A) a nonmarket economy country (as such term is 
                defined in section 771(18)); and
                    ``(B) a country included in the priority watch list 
                (as such term is defined in section 182(g)(3) of the 
                Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242(g)(3))).
            ``(2) Other exceptions.--The Secretary''.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS RELATING TO DE MINIMIS 
              TREATMENT UNDER THE TARIFF ACT OF 1930.

    (a) Administrative Exemptions.--Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321), as amended by section 2, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Submission of Documentation and Information.--
            ``(1) In general.--For any articles that may qualify for an 
        administrative exemption pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the 
        Secretary of the Treasury shall, not later than 180 days after 
        the date of the enactment of the Import Security and Fairness 
        Act, prescribe regulations to require the submission, 
        transmission, or otherwise making available of such 
        documentation or information to U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection as the Secretary determines is reasonably necessary 
        for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to determine the 
        eligibility of such articles to qualify for such exemption.
            ``(2) Matters to be included.--The regulations prescribed 
        under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) shall require that documentation or 
                information with respect to an article described in 
                that paragraph include, at a minimum--
                            ``(i) a description of the article;
                            ``(ii) the appropriate classification of 
                        the article under the Harmonized Tariff 
                        Schedule of the United States;
                            ``(iii) the country of origin of the 
                        article;
                            ``(iv) the country from which the article 
                        is shipped;
                            ``(v) the identity of the shipper;
                            ``(vi) the identity of the importer; and
                            ``(vii) the transaction value of the 
                        article in the United States; and
                    ``(B) may provide that such documentation or 
                information include other documentation or information 
                regarding the offer for sale or purchase, or the 
                subsequent sale, purchase, transportation, importation 
                or warehousing of an article described in paragraph 
                (1), including such documentation or information 
                relating to the offering of the article for sale or 
                purchase in the United States through a commercial or 
                marketing platform, including an electronic commercial 
                or marketing platform.
            ``(3) Veracity of documentation and information.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The regulations prescribed 
                pursuant to paragraph (1) shall provide that--
                            ``(i) the documentation or information 
                        described in that paragraph is true and correct 
                        to the best of the knowledge and belief of the 
                        party submitting, transmitting, or otherwise 
                        making available such documentation or 
                        information, subject to any penalties 
                        authorized by law; or
                            ``(ii) if such party is not able to 
                        reasonably verify whether such documentation or 
                        information is true and correct to the best of 
                        the knowledge and belief of the party, such 
                        documentation or information may be submitted, 
                        transmitted, or otherwise made available on the 
                        basis of what the party reasonably believes to 
                        be true and correct.
                    ``(B) Use for any lawful purpose.--Such 
                documentation or information may be used by U.S. 
                Customs and Border Protection for any lawful purpose.
            ``(4) Civil penalties.--Any person who violates the 
        regulations prescribed pursuant to paragraph (1) is liable for 
        a civil penalty of $5,000 for the first violation, and $10,000 
        for each subsequent violation. A penalty imposed under this 
        paragraph is in addition to any other penalty provided by law.
    ``(d) Importations Involving Suspended or Debarred Persons.--The 
Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to prescribe regulations to 
authorize exceptions to any administrative exemption pursuant to 
subsection (a) for any articles the importation of which is caused or 
otherwise facilitated by any person suspended or debarred from doing 
business with the Federal Government at the time of the importation.''.
    (b) Examination of Merchandise.--Section 499(c) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1499(c)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``the Customs Service'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``U.S. Customs and Border Protection''; 
        and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``The 
                Customs Service'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--U.S. Customs and Border 
                Protection'';
                    (B) in the second sentence--
                            (i) by striking ``The'' and inserting the 
                        following:
                    ``(B) Information to be included.--The''; and
                            (ii) by redesignating the subsequent 
                        subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) as 
                        clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v), 
                        respectively, and moving such clauses, as 
                        redesignated, 2 ems to the right; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Additional requirements relating to 
                merchandise that may qualify for certain administrative 
                exemptions.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In a case in which U.S. 
                        Customs and Border Protection has made a 
                        decision to detain merchandise that may qualify 
                        for an administrative exemption pursuant to 
                        section 321(a)(2)(C), U.S. Customs and Border 
                        Protection shall issue such notice to each 
                        party that U.S. Customs and Border Protections 
                        determines may have an interest in the detained 
                        merchandise, based on information reasonably 
                        available to U.S. Customs and Border 
                        Protection, in such form and manner as the 
                        Secretary of the Treasury shall by regulation 
                        prescribe.
                            ``(ii) Voluntary abandonment of 
                        merchandise.--In the case of merchandise 
                        described in clause (i), such notice shall also 
                        advise each such interested party that, in lieu 
                        of supplying information to U.S. Customs and 
                        Border Protection in accordance with 
                        subparagraph (B)(v), the interested parties may 
                        voluntarily abandon the merchandise.
                            ``(iii) Abandonment or export due to lack 
                        of response.--If U.S. Customs and Border 
                        Protection does not receive a response from 
                        each interested party in merchandise described 
                        in clause (i) within 30 days of the date on 
                        which such notice is issued to the interested 
                        parties, the merchandise may--
                                    ``(I) be denied entry and be 
                                permitted to be exported, with the 
                                importer responsible for paying all 
                                expenses of exportation; or
                                    ``(II) be deemed to be abandoned, 
                                in which case title to such merchandise 
                                shall be vested in the United States 
                                and the merchandise shall be disposed 
                                of in accordance with law.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to 
articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or 
after the 180th day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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