[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5435 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5435
To prohibit certain entities from entering articles under the
administrative exemption from duties for de minimis entries of
articles.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 5, 2024
Mrs. Blackburn (for herself and Mr. Ossoff) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit certain entities from entering articles under the
administrative exemption from duties for de minimis entries of
articles.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Detection and Exclusion of
Negligent, Illicit, and Extralegal Deliveries Act'' or the ``DENIED
Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN ENTITIES ENTERING ARTICLES BENEFITTING
FROM DE MINIMIS ADMINISTRATIVE EXEMPTION.
Section 321 of Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(c) Prohibition of Exemption for Certain Entities.--
``(1) In general.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection may not admit an article free of duty or tax
under subsection (a)(2)(C) if a covered entity is listed on the
manifest or shipper declaration of the shipment of the article.
``(2) Publication requirement.--Not later than 270 days
after the date of the enactment of the Detection and Exclusion
of Negligent, Illicit, and Extralegal Deliveries Act, and every
90 days thereafter, the Secretary shall publish a list of
covered entities, which shall include, for each such entity, a
description of the violations of law that justify inclusion on
the list.
``(3) Removal from list.--
``(A) In general.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection shall develop regulations
establishing procedures under which a covered entity
included on the list required by paragraph (2) may
petition for removal from that list.
``(B) Requirement.--Under the regulations
established under subparagraph (A), a covered entity
may request removal from the list required by paragraph
(2) by filing a petition pursuant to subparagraph (C)
in which the entity demonstrates that it is no longer
engaging in the violations of law that justify
inclusion on the list.
``(C) Procedure.--
``(i) Administrative review.--Not earlier
than one year after the date on which a covered
entity is included on the list required by
paragraph (2), the covered entity may file with
the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection a petition described in subparagraph
(B).
``(ii) Judicial review.--If the
Commissioner denies the petition filed under
clause (i), the covered entity may seek
judicial review in the United States Court of
International Trade.
``(D) Effect of removal.--Upon removal of a covered
entity under subparagraph (A) from the list required by
paragraph (2), that covered entity is no longer subject
to the prohibition under subsection (a)(2)(C).
``(4) Referral to the forced labor enforcement task
force.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
shall refer any covered entity included on the list required by
paragraph (2) for activity described in paragraph (6)(C)(ii)(I)
to the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force for possible
inclusion on a list maintained under clause (i), (ii), (iv), or
(v) of section 2(d)(2)(B) of the Act entitled `An Act to ensure
that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Autonomous
Region of the People's Republic of China do not enter the
United States market, and for other purposes', approved
December 23, 2021 (Public Law 117-78; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note)
(commonly referred to as the `Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention
Act').
``(5) Penalties.--
``(A) Civil penalty.--Any person that violates this
subsection or the regulations prescribed under this
subsection is liable for a civil penalty in an amount
not to exceed--
``(i) $1,000 for the first violation; and
``(ii) $5,000 for each subsequent
violation.
``(B) Additional penalties.--A penalty imposed
under this paragraph shall be in addition to any other
penalty provided by law.
``(6) Covered entity defined.--
``(A) In general.--In this section, the term
`covered entity' means an entity that--
``(i) is listed on the manifest or shipper
declaration of a shipment to a common carrier,
foreign postal operator, or freight forwarder
for exportation to the United States to be
entered under subsection (a)(2)(C); and
``(ii) has been assessed a penalty
described in subparagraph (B) on more than 2
occasions in a one-year period.
``(B) Penalty described.--
``(i) In general.--A penalty is described
in this subparagraph if the penalty is assessed
under any of the following and relates to an
article described in clause (ii):
``(I) section 592(c)(1);
``(II) section 592(c)(2);
``(III) section 596(b); or
``(IV) section 526(f).
``(ii) Articles described.--An article is
described in this clause if the article--
``(I) is produced with forced labor
(as defined in section 307);
``(II) bears a counterfeit mark
(within the meaning of section 45 of
the Act entitled `An Act to provide for
the registration and protection of
trademarks used in commerce, to carry
out the provisions of certain
international conventions, and for
other purposes', approved July 5, 1946
(commonly known as the `Trademark Act
of 1946' or the `Lanham Act') (15
U.S.C. 1127)); or
``(III) is a controlled substance
(as defined in section 102 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C.
802)) that is not imported in
accordance with applicable law.
``(d) Determination of Application of Exemption.--
``(1) In general.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection shall determine whether a shipment is
eligible to be entered under subsection (a)(2)(C) based on
information provided by the shipper during the entry process.
``(2) Technology.--The Commissioner may identify, test,
obtain, and deploy any technology necessary to carry out
paragraph (1).''.
SEC. 3. REGULATIONS ON ENHANCED DATA COLLECTION FOR IDENTIFICATION OF
PROHIBITED ARTICLES.
(a) Requirement for Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
prescribe regulations requiring the provision of documentation or
information necessary for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to
determine whether the articles for which an administrative exemption
from duties under subsection (a)(2)(C) of section 321 of the Tariff Act
of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321) is sought are articles described in subsection
(c)(1) of that section (as added by section 2 of this Act) or are
otherwise prohibited from entering the United States.
(b) Development of Regulations.--In developing the regulations
required by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall--
(1) ensure the protection of the privacy of proprietary
information (within the meaning of section 777(b) of the Tariff
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1677f(b))), except for information
shared through the International Trade Data System established
pursuant to section 411(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1411(d)), with Federal agencies participating in that system;
and
(2) adhere to the parameters described in subparagraphs (A)
through (E) and (H) through (J) of section 343(a)(3) of the
Trade Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 1415(a)(3)).
(c) International Mail Shipments.--To the extent feasible and
consistent with international law, the Postmaster General shall provide
to the Secretary of the Treasury any information, requested by the
Secretary in regulations prescribed under subsection (a), necessary to
determine whether articles in international mail shipments for which an
administrative exemption from duties under section 321(a)(2)(C) of the
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)) is sought are articles
described in subsection (c)(1) of that section (as added by section 2
of this Act) or are otherwise prohibited from entering the United
States.
(d) Civil Penalty.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall impose a civil penalty
on any person that violates the regulations prescribed under
subsection (a) of not more than--
(A) $2,000 for the first violation; and
(B) $5,000 for each subsequent violation.
(2) Additional penalties.--A penalty imposed under this
subsection may be in addition to any other penalty authorized
by law.
SEC. 4. MODIFICATION TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT OF INTERNATIONAL
TRADE.
(a) In General.--Section 1581 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(k) The Court of International Trade shall have exclusive
jurisdiction of any civil action commenced under section 321(c)(3) of
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321(c)(3)).''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1581(i)(1) of title 28, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``subsections (a)-(h) and'' and inserting ``subsections (a)-(h)
and subsection (k) and''; and
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``subsections (a)-
(h)'' and inserting ``subsections (a)-(h) and subsection (k)''.
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