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[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)''.
                                 <all>
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