II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4082 

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase accountability relating to 

articles receiving exemptions from duties for de minimis entries and 

to require regulations on enhanced data collection with respect to such 

entries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2024 

Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase accountability 

relating to articles receiving exemptions from duties for 

de minimis entries and to require regulations on enhanced data collection with respect to such entries, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensure Accountability 

5 in De Minimis Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO ENTER 

2 ARTICLES ELIGIBLE FOR DE MINIMIS EXEMP3 TION FROM DUTIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 498 of the Tariff Act of 

5 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1498) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(c) IMPORTATION UNDER ADMINISTRATIVE EXEMP8 TION ONLY BY CERTAIN PARTIES.—Notwithstanding any 

9 other provision of this Act, an article is eligible for an ad10 ministrative exemption under section 321(a)(2)(C) only if 

11 the article is entered— 

12 ‘‘(1) as international mail; or 

13 ‘‘(2) by— 

14 ‘‘(A) the consignee, the owner, or the pur15 chaser of the article; or 

16 ‘‘(B) if designated by a person specified in 

17 subparagraph (A), a person holding a valid cus18 toms broker’s license issued under section 

19 641(b).’’. 

20 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub21 section (a) shall apply with respect to articles entered, or 

22 withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 

23 the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION TO PENALTIES FOR FRAUD, GROSS 

2 NEGLIGENCE, AND NEGLIGENCE. 

3 (a) DIRECTING OR FACILITATING VIOLATIONS.—Sec4 tion 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘may aid or abet’’ and in8 serting the following: ‘‘may— 

9 ‘‘(i) aid or abet’’; 

10 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

11 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(ii) direct or facilitate a violation of 

14 subparagraph (A).’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), by striking ‘‘or 

16 the aiding or procuring of the entry or introduction’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘the aiding or procuring, or the direc18 tion or facilitation of the entry or introduction or at19 tempted entry or introduction’’. 

20 (b) RECURRING NEGLIGENT OR GROSSLY NEG21 LIGENT VIOLATIONS RELATING TO DE MINIMIS EN22 TRIES.—Section 592(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

23 U.S.C. 1592(c)) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

25 (14) as paragraphs (5) through (15), respectively; 

26 and 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(4) RECURRING NEGLIGENT OR GROSSLY NEG4 LIGENT VIOLATIONS RELATING TO DE MINIMIS EN5 TRIES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A recurring negligent 

7 or grossly negligent violation of subsection (a) 

8 that relates to entering articles for which an ad9 ministrative exemption from duties under sec10 tion 321(a)(2)(C) is sought is punishable by a 

11 civil penalty in— 

12 ‘‘(i) except as provided by clause (ii), 

13 an amount not to exceed the greater of— 

14 ‘‘(I) 10 times the aggregate 

15 amount of the lawful duties, taxes, 

16 and fees of which the United States is 

17 or may be deprived; or 

18 ‘‘(II) $2,000; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) if the recurring violation did not 

20 affect the assessment of duties, an amount 

21 not to exceed the greater of— 

22 ‘‘(I) 200 percent of the aggregate 

23 domestic value of the merchandise; or 

24 ‘‘(II) $2,000. 

25 ‘‘(B) RECURRING DEFINED.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph, 

2 the term ‘recurring’, with respect to a vio3 lation of subsection (a) by a person that 

4 relates to entering articles described in 

5 subparagraph (A), means that— 

6 ‘‘(I) the violation— 

7 ‘‘(aa) is a second or subse8 quent such violation by that per9 son; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) takes place not later 

11 than 3 months after the person 

12 received a penalty claim under 

13 subsection (b)(2) for a prior such 

14 violation and for which the per15 son had the opportunity seek re16 mission or mitigation; and 

17 ‘‘(II) the person has been found 

18 to have repeatedly, over an aggregate 

19 period of 3 months or more, com20 mitted violations of subsection (a) 

21 that relate to entering articles de22 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

23 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF INTERVENING COM24 PLIANT ENTRIES.—For purposes of clause 

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1 ligent violations of subsection (a) by a per2 son that relate to entering articles de3 scribed in subparagraph (A), that person 

4 submits entry documentation with respect 

5 to a shipment of articles described in sub6 paragraph (A) accurately and in compli7 ance with the law, the submission of such 

8 entry documentation shall not prevent the 

9 negligent or grossly negligent violations 

10 from being considered recurring.’’. 

11 (c) DEFINITIONS OF NEGLIGENT AND GROSSLY

12 NEGLIGENT.—Section 592(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 

13 (19 U.S.C. 1592(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(A) GROSSLY NEGLIGENT.—The term 

17 ‘grossly negligent’, with respect to a violation of 

18 paragraph (1) by a person, means that the per19 son committed the violation with— 

20 ‘‘(i) actual knowledge of or wanton 

21 disregard for the relevant facts; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) indifference or disregard to 

23 whether the person was violating para24 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(B) NEGLIGENT.—The term ‘negligent’, 

2 with respect to a violation of paragraph (1) by 

3 a person, means that the person failed to exer4 cise reasonable care and competence— 

5 ‘‘(i) to ensure that documents, data, 

6 and information provided by the person in 

7 connection with the entry of merchandise 

8 are complete and accurate; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) to perform any material act re10 quired by law.’’. 

11 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 592 of the 

12 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592), as amended by this 

13 section, is further amended by striking ‘‘the Customs 

14 Service’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘U.S. Cus15 toms and Border Protection’’. 

16 SEC. 4. DEADLINE FOR INFORMATION SHARING AGREE17 MENTS WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES PARTICI18 PATING IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE DATA 

19 SYSTEM. 

20 Section 411(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

21 U.S.C. 1411(d)(4)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘enters 

22 into’’ inserting ‘‘not later than 18 months after the date 

23 of the enactment of the Ensure Accountability in De Mini24 mis Act of 2024, enters into’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS ON ENHANCED DATA COLLECTION 

2 WITH RESPECT TO DE MINIMIS ENTRIES. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR REGULATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 

7 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec8 tion and pursuant to subsections (b) and (c), shall 

9 prescribe regulations requiring enhanced data collec10 tion with respect to articles for which an administra11 tive exemption from duties under section 

12 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

13 1321(a)(2)(C)) is sought, including obtaining infor14 mation with respect to the origin of materials used 

15 in the production of such articles, in order to ensure 

16 that the articles for which the exemption is sought 

17 are not articles described in paragraph (2) or arti18 cles that are otherwise prohibited from entering the 

19 United States. 

20 (2) ARTICLES DESCRIBED.—An article is de21 scribed in this paragraph if the article— 

22 (A) is produced with forced labor (as de23 fined in section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 

24 (19 U.S.C. 1307)); 

25 (B) bears a counterfeit mark (within the 

26 meaning of section 45 of the Act entitled ‘‘An 


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1 Act to provide for the registration and protec2 tion of trademarks used in commerce, to carry 

3 out the provisions of certain international con4 ventions, and for other purposes’’, approved 

5 July 5, 1946 (commonly known as the ‘‘Trade6 mark Act of 1946’’ or the ‘‘Lanham Act’’) (15 

7 U.S.C. 1127)); or 

8 (C) is a controlled substance (as defined in 

9 section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act 

10 (21 U.S.C. 802)) that is not imported in ac11 cordance with applicable law. 

12 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATIONS.—In devel13 oping the regulations required by subsection (a), the Sec14 retary shall— 

15 (1) solicit comments from and consult with a 

16 broad range of parties that are likely to be affected 

17 by the regulations, including importers, exporters, 

18 carriers, customs brokers, and freight forwarders, 

19 among other interested parties; 

20 (2) ensure the protection of the privacy of pro21 prietary information (within the meaning of section 

22 777(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

23 1677f(b))), except for information shared, through 

24 the International Trade Data System established 

25 pursuant to section 411(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 


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1 (19 U.S.C. 1411(d)), with Federal agencies partici2 pating in that system; 

3 (3) to the extent practicable, avoid imposing re4 quirements pursuant to those regulations that are 

5 redundant with each other or that are redundant 

6 with requirements under other provisions of law; and 

7 (4) include regulations that request the Post8 master General to transmit to the Secretary the in9 formation described in subsection (a)(1), to the ex10 tent feasible and consistent with international law, 

11 with respect to the country of origin of materials 

12 used in the production of articles in international 

13 mail shipments for which an administrative exemp14 tion from duties under section 321(a)(2)(C) of the 

15 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)) is 

16 sought. 

17 (c) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING AND COM18 MENT PERIOD.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 

19 Commissioner, shall— 

20 (1) publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in 

21 the Federal Register; and 

22 (2) provide for a period of not less than 60 

23 days for public comment on the proposed rule24 making. 

25 (d) CIVIL PENALTY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall impose 

2 a civil penalty on any person that violates the regu3 lations prescribed under subsection (a) of not more 

4 than— 

5 (A) $2,000 for the first violation; and 

6 (B) $5,000 for each subsequent violation. 

7 (2) ADDITIONAL PENALTIES.—A penalty im8 posed under this subsection may be in addition to 

9 any other penalty authorized by law. 

10 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

11 (a) REPORT ON ILLEGALLY ENTERED ARTICLES FOR

12 WHICH DE MINIMIS EXEMPTIONS SOUGHT.—Not later 

13 than one year after the date on which the regulations re14 quired by section 5 are finalized, and annually thereafter, 

15 the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

16 in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 

17 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re18 port setting forth, for the year preceding submission of 

19 the report— 

20 (1) the total number of articles— 

21 (A) with respect to which an administra22 tive exemption from duties under section 

23 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

24 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)) was sought; and 


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1 (B) that were seized by U.S. Customs and 

2 Border Protection at ports of entry for entering 

3 the United States illegally; 

4 (2) a description of such articles; 

5 (3) the country of origin of such articles, to the 

6 extent feasible; and 

7 (4) the aggregate fair retail value of such arti8 cles in the country of shipment. 

9 (b) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE ASSESS10 MENT OF SHORTCOMINGS IN INFORMATION SHARING.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

13 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub14 mit to Congress a report assessing— 

15 (A) shortcomings in information shared 

16 through the International Trade Data System 

17 established pursuant to section 411(d) of the 

18 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1411(d)) among 

19 Federal agencies participating in that system; 

20 (B) implications of those shortcomings 

21 with respect to the enforcement of regulations; 

22 and 

23 (C) the establishment of memoranda of un24 derstanding by the Secretary of the Treasury 

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1 national Trade Data System pursuant to sec2 tion 411(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Tariff Act of 1930, 

3 as amended by section 4. 

4 (2) FORM.—The report required by paragraph 

5 (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 

6 include a classified annex. 

7 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE8 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres9 sional committees’’ means— 

10 (1) the Committee on Finance and the Com11 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af12 fairs of the Senate; and 

13 (2) the Committee on Ways and Means and the 

14 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

15 Representatives. 

Æ 


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