U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning the de minimis exemption under 19 U.S.C. § 1321 (Section 321).  Currently, the de minimis exemption allows goods with an aggregate value under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free and via an expedited process.  The proposed amendment is intended to stem the flow of unsafe and illegal goods by mandating that importers provide additional shipment data through an electronic filing process. Further, the proposed amendment would impose greater requirements for compliance with trade enforcement laws, such as Sections 201, 232 and 301, which address threats to national security and unfair trade practices.

The new rule targets low-value e-commerce shipments, which CBP states have served as conduits for entry of illicit goods into the United States because the lower value shipments are less scrutinized by the agency.   CBP notes that 90 percent of the shipments entering the U.S. are low-value shipments valued at $800 or less.

Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a bill that formalizes the legislation released in August 2024, the Fighting Illicit Goods, Helping Trustworthy Importers, and Netting Gains (FIGHTING) for America Act, but the legislation remains in committee and would mandate that de minimis shipments be accompanied by additional data and impose higher penalties on importer violations.  The goal of the bill and the proposed rule overlap: increase regulation of shipments, notably in e-commerce and textile and apparel sectors. 

CBP’s proposed amendment would require importers to provide data elements such as the URL address to the marketplace’s product listing for the merchandise in the entry; product picture; product identifier; and/or a shipment x-ray or other security screening report number verifying completion of foreign security scanning of the shipment.  Further, CBP will require the address and name of the purchaser and seller of the goods upon entry.

Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the public is entitled to comment on the proposed rule within a 60-day period after the date of publication of the rule.  At the end of the notice-and-comment process, the agency must base its reasoning and conclusions on the rulemaking record.  In the instant scenario, the rulemaking process saddles the tail-end of the Biden presidency and the early days of the Trump presidency.

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Photo of Simeon Yerokun Simeon Yerokun

imeon Yerokun is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade group and based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He advises clients on all areas of import regulatory compliance, trade remedies, and international trade litigation.

Simeon has extensive experience counseling companies in

imeon Yerokun is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade group and based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He advises clients on all areas of import regulatory compliance, trade remedies, and international trade litigation.

Simeon has extensive experience counseling companies in the areas of business and human rights law, including compliance with global anti-forced labor and human rights requirements. He regularly represents companies before U.S. government agencies on forced labor-related matters, including securing the release of goods detained and seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He also offers deep experience assisting companies in mapping their supply chains, including linking imported products back to their raw materials using enterprise software and other inventory management audit tools. Simeon is highly accomplished in forced labor supply chain mapping and risk assessments, as well as verifying due diligence efforts with on-the-ground visits to client facilities, incorporating third-party intelligence and audit resources.

Simeon’s experience also covers a broad spectrum of trade and customs issues, including those related to import regulatory compliance matters such as valuation, classification, duty drawback, marking and labeling, entry procedures, and penalties; free trade agreements; antidumping and countervailing duty issues; trade litigation; intellectual property issues such as trademark and copyright infringement; the enforcement of exclusion orders issued by the International Trade Commission (ITC); steel and aluminum tariffs under the Section 232 National Security Investigation; and the additional tariffs on products from China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Additionally, Simeon handles antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations before the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) under the Tariff Act of 1930, and litigation involving the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT).

Prior to joining Crowell, Simeon was a trade and finance attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and before that, he served as counsel to Commissioner Irving A. Williamson at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Simeon is a proud graduate of Howard University School of Law, where he served as technical editor of the school’s Human Rights and Globalization Law Review.

Sibilla Grenon

Sibilla Grenon is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group.

Before joining Crowell, Sibilla clerked for the Honorable Timothy M. Reif of the Court of International Trade, where she assisted Judge Reif in cases related to antidumping and countervailing duties, customs,

Sibilla Grenon is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group.

Before joining Crowell, Sibilla clerked for the Honorable Timothy M. Reif of the Court of International Trade, where she assisted Judge Reif in cases related to antidumping and countervailing duties, customs, and matters arising from the Court’s residual jurisdiction. Sibilla also assisted Judge Reif in the adjudication of cases before the Southern District of New York, notably in areas of trade secret and copyright law. Prior to her clerkship, Sibilla was an associate in the litigation group of a law firm where she represented clients on compliance issues concerning privacy and data security for large corporations in accordance with state, federal, and international privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA, CPRA, TCPA, BIPA, and GLBA) and employment matters.

Sibilla is a Rising Leader with the Aspen Strategy Group, a program that cultivates the next generation of rising leaders in national security and foreign policy.

As a law student, Sibilla served as the articles editor for the Georgetown Journal of International Law, a fellow at the Institute of International Economic Law, and was a member of Georgetown’s francophone moot court team of the Concours d’Arbitrage International de Paris.