Government Suspects Your $20 AliExpress Order Contains Fentanyl
Published Date: 1/14/2025
Proposed Rule
Summary
The government wants to change how small shipments worth $800 or less enter the U.S. to better catch risky packages, like those with illegal drugs. Shippers will need to provide more info to prove their shipments qualify for duty-free entry. These changes could start after March 17, 2025, and aim to keep everyone safer without slowing down your online shopping.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 4 costs, 1 mixed.
New Electronic Advance Data Requirement
CBP proposes an "enhanced entry process" that would require advance electronic data about the contents, origin, and destination of low-value shipments valued at $800 or less. The enhanced process would codify the Entry Type 86 electronic entry approach and be required for goods subject to partner government agency (PGA) data requirements, enabling CBP to target high-risk shipments, including those containing illicit fentanyl.
More Data for Basic Release Process
CBP proposes to revise the current release-from-manifest process (renamed the "basic entry process") to require additional data elements for low-value shipments and bona-fide gifts so CBP can verify eligibility for duty- and tax-free entry. The change would require more detailed information than currently appears on standard manifests or mail declarations.
Who Counts Toward the $800 Limit
CBP proposes to define the "one person" who is eligible for the $800 administrative exemption as the owner or purchaser of the merchandise, and to clarify that if the aggregate fair retail value of shipments imported by that one person on one day exceeds $800, then all such shipments that day become ineligible for duty- and tax-free entry. The $800 threshold comes from 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C).
Port Director Discretion on Exemptions
CBP proposes to change regulatory language so that a port director "may" (rather than "shall") grant duty- and tax-free entry under the administrative exemptions, reflecting that exemptions are discretionary and CBP can require formal entry for revenue protection or admissibility. This affects how certain it is that qualifying low-value shipments will be released duty-free.
CBP Seeks Comment on New Data Elements
CBP specifically requests public comment on potential data elements such as a "product identifier" and a "security screening report number," and on an HTSUS waiver process that could affect how data is reported for low-value shipments. Comments for this proposed rule must be received by March 17, 2025.
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