International Trade Today is a service of Warren Communications News.
Subscriber Login

321 de minimis

De minimis is a policy described in 19 U.S.C. 1321 that allows the import of low value articles duty and tax free, provided their aggregate fair retail value does not exceed $800 in the country from which the articles are imported.  Additionally, the articles must be imported by only one person on one day. The previous de minimis threshold was $200, but the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 increased it to $800. Increasing volumes of de minimis merchandise, along with enforcement concerns related to fentanyl and counterfeit merchandise, among other things, have prompted calls to restrict the pathway. De minimis goods may be cleared off manifest, or qualifying goods may be entered under the informal Type 86 entry type.

to
articlessource documents
Refine Search
Clear Terms

Search Primer

Multi-word term: Place inside quotes to ensure an exact match together (e.g. "China import").

Term list: Separate terms with spaces, not commas or semicolons to find either word (e.g. AD/CVD antidumping).

Acronyms: Use all capital letters (e.g., ACE).

Required term: If a term must be included in any resulting articles, prefix it with a plus sign (e.g., CBP +releases).

Excluded term: If a term should be excluded from any articles being found, prefix it with a minus sign (e.g., -ruling).

Singular form: Use the singular form when doing multi-word terms (e.g. "russian export control" instead of "russian export controls").

Shortest word form: When you have different word forms in a quoted term, include the shortest version if it is the last part of the expression (e.g., "entity list" instead of "entity listing" or "entity listed").

Federal Circuit Says Government Can't Seek Customs Penalties at Different Level Than CBP Penalty Notice
December 3, 2015 |Top News

The government cannot seek Section 1592 customs penalties in court at a different level of culpability than alleged by CBP in a penalty notice, said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Dec. 1 (here). Affirming a Court of International Trade decision from 2012 (see 12041647), the appeals court held a government penalty claim for negligence is barred because the pre-penalty and penalty notices CBP issued to Nitek Electronics alleged only gross negligence.

Topics:Court of International Trade
CIT Finds Standalone Furniture Rarely Subject to Wooden Bedroom Furniture Duties
December 2, 2015 |Top News

There's only a very narrow set of circumstances under which furniture that is not part of a bedroom set may be subject to antidumping duties on wooden bedroom furniture from China, ruled the Court of International Trade on Dec. 1 as it remanded a scope ruling on Ethan Allen chests (here). Though standalone furniture may sometimes be included under the scope, finding part of a living room set subject to bedroom furniture duties exceeds that narrow exception, said the court as it sent the ruling back to the Commerce Department for reconsideration.

Topics:Court of International Trade
Judge Sides With LECs vs. IXCs on Federal Claims in IntraMTA Access Fight
November 23, 2015 |Comm Daily Notebook®

A federal judge granted a LEC motion to dismiss plaintiffs Sprint and Verizon's federal claims in an intercarrier compensation fight between LECs and interexchange carriers (IXCs) over “intraMTA” (major trading area) wireline-wireless traffic. A filing by CenturyLink LECs that included the Tuesday ruling was posted Friday in FCC docket 14-228. The principal issue is whether LECs can charge IXCs "access fees for access services that the LECs provide the IXCs to enable them to exchange interstate wireless intraMTA calls," said Judge Sidney Fitzwater, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (In Re: IntraMTA Switched Access Charges Litigation, Civil Action No. 3:14-MD-2587-D). Concluding that the LECs can charge IXCs the access fees under their filed federal tariffs, "the court grants defendants’ joint motion and dismisses plaintiffs’ federal-law claims with prejudice," Fitzwater wrote in his opinion. "Concluding that plaintiffs have failed to plead plausible claims that the LEC defendants cannot charge access fees under filed state tariffs, the court grants defendants’ joint motion, but it also grants plaintiffs leave to replead their state-law claims." Fitzwater also denied an AT&T motion to refer the case to the FCC under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. Both sides have asked the FCC to weigh in on the dispute (see 1505190056).

CIT Finds Reliquidation of Deemed Liquidated Entries Permissible, But Declines Ruling on Time Limits
November 18, 2015 |Penalties and Courts

The Court of International Trade on Nov. 16 ruled that CBP can reliquidate entries that have already deemed liquidated, but steered clear of the question – for now, at least – of how long CBP may wait before reliquidating, declining a motion from the surety Great American Insurance Company to dismiss a government bid to collect unpaid antidumping duties.

Topics:Court of International Trade
Federal Circuit Overturns ITC Data Transmission Blocking; En Banc Appeal Seen Possible
November 12, 2015 by Jacob Rund|Top News

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit voted 2-1 Tuesday to overturn the International Trade Commission's ruling that it possesses jurisdiction to block the transmission of digital information. Experts and those close to the case told us it may eventually be heard en banc. The case, closely monitored by copyright and anti-piracy advocates (see 1508120070), concerns the appeal by corrective orthodontic device manufacturer ClearCorrect of a 2014 ITC decision prohibiting the company's affiliate in Pakistan from sending digital molds of patients' teeth to ClearCorrect headquarters in Houston, due to the alleged infringement on patents held by industry competitor Align Technology.