US Congress passes trade facilitation and enforcement act

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 [HR 644], which includes a provision to raise the de minimis threshold from $200 to $800, has now passed through the US Senate and House of Representatives. Yesterday (11 February), the US Senate agreed to the conference report by a vote of 75 to 20.

The White House press office  then issued a statement hailing the legislation as a “milestone” and announcing that President Barack Obama “intends to sign H.R.644 into law to help strengthen enforcement of the rules and level the playing field for American workers and businesses”.

UPS was among the first companies to applaud the legislation yesterday.

Laura Lane, UPS Global Public Affairs President, said: “The bill includes important provisions such as raising the de minimis threshold from $200 to $800, which particularly benefits small and medium enterprises.

“Additionally, it codifies and improves the President’s Executive Order on International Trade Data System (ITDS) or the Single Window (one government at the border) program.  Implementation of the ITDS is a priority for UPS as it would enable companies to electronically transmit, through a ‘single window’, the data required by each of the U.S. Government agencies to import or export cargo.”