CBP Reveals New Enhancements to De Minimis Enforcement
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection has proposed a new rule, Entry of Low-Value Shipments (ELVS), to enhance the interception of illegal de minimis packages entering the country.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Monday announced the release of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that it says will boost its ability to intercept illegal de minimis packages.
The proposed Entry of Low-Value Shipments (ELVS) rule strengthens information collection requirements for low-value shipments, giving CBP better visibility into the origins of the more than 4 million de minimis parcels entering the country daily.
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According to CBP, current information requirements aren’t sufficient, and importers provide minimal data on the shipments they’re bringing in compared to what’s mandated for other types of non-de minimis cargo. With such a massive volume of packages and a lack of actionable insights currently being collected, high-risk shipments—some of which contain counterfeit or dangerous merchandise, drugs and chemical precursors—are slipping through the cracks.
“Every day, the men and women of CBP interdict goods that threaten the health and safety of Americans as well as the economic vitality of our country. We see illicit drugs, dangerous toys, fake medicines, and other counterfeit goods shipped direct to American homes impacting the lives of our neighbors, friends, and families,” wrote CBP senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, Pete R. Flores. “This proposed rule will help to give us some of the tools we need to address more of these threats.”
“There is still more to be done,” Flores added. “CBP will continue to innovate within our current authorities, and we urge the private sector to maintain their vigilance. To achieve comprehensive de minimis reform and trade modernization, we urgently need statutory updates.”
The ELVS rule will create a fully electronic process for importers to file entry data before a shipment’s arrival at a U.S. port of entry or border, easing the burden on CBP officers who are processing the cargo. It will allow them to better target potential problem shipments and focus on accurately identifying and halting those that violate the law.
The rule is just one element of a larger effort to reform the de minimis trade exception , announced by the Biden-Harris administration in September 2024. With just one week before the inauguration of incoming President Donald Trump, the Biden White House said it anticipates publishing the second NPRM in the coming days while it continues to push Congress toward statutory changes.
The forthcoming rule will include the improvement of tools and automation and the strengthening of textile and apparel trade laws in particular, the CBP notice said. Upon the NPRM announcement last fall, the administration said American fabric and clothing producers would be prioritized, as they “play a critical role in the U.S. defense industrial base and support hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the United States.”
The federal government is now soliciting public comments on the NPRM, which can be filed over the course of the next 60 days on the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.
