I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1057 

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to ensure that merchandise arriving through 

the mail shall be subject to review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and to require the provision of advance electronic information on 

shipments of mail to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2017 

Mr. TIBERI (for himself, Mr. NEAL, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. HUNTER, Miss RICE

of New York, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, and Mr. BUCHANAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to ensure that merchandise 

arriving through the mail shall be subject to review by 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and to require the 

provision of advance electronic information on shipments 

of mail to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Synthetics Trafficking 

3 and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘STOP Act 

4 of 2017’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FORMAL ENTRY REQUIREMENTS—POSTAL SERVICE 

6 AS CONSIGNEE. 

7 Subparagraph (B) of section 484(a)(2) of the Tariff 

8 Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(a)(2)(B)) is amended to 

9 read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(B)(i) When an entry of merchandise is made 

11 under this section, the required documentation or in12 formation shall be filed or electronically trans13 mitted— 

14 ‘‘(I) by the owner or purchaser of the mer15 chandise; or 

16 ‘‘(II) when appropriately designated by the 

17 owner, purchaser, or consignee of the merchan18 dise, by a person holding a valid license under 

19 section 641. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The Postmaster General shall be deemed 

21 the consignee for merchandise, as defined by section 

22 498(c), imported through the mail, and the Post23 master General shall, at the Postmaster General’s 

24 sole expense, designate a person holding a valid li25 cense under section 641 to file the required docu26 mentation or information or ensure that the owner 


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1 or purchaser of the merchandise or a person holding 

2 a valid license under section 641 that is designated 

3 by the owner or purchaser files the required docu4 mentation or information. 

5 ‘‘(iii) When a consignee declares on entry that 

6 he or she is the owner or purchaser of merchandise, 

7 U.S. Customs and Border Protection may, without 

8 liability, accept the declaration. 

9 ‘‘(iv) For the purposes of this Act, the importer 

10 of record must be one of the parties who is eligible 

11 to file the documentation or information required by 

12 this section.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. INFORMAL ENTRIES. 

14 Section 498 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

15 1498) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION TO POSTAL SHIPMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 ‘‘(A) DOCUMENT.—The term ‘document’ 

19 means a piece of written, drawn, printed, or 

20 digital information, excluding objects of mer21 chandise, that— 

22 ‘‘(i) is conveyed in an envelope that is 

23 less than or equal to 165 millimeters in 

24 width, 245 millimeters in length, and 5 

25 millimeters in depth; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) weighs 100 grams or less when 

2 conveyed. 

3 ‘‘(B) MERCHANDISE.—The term ‘merchan4 dise’ has the same meaning as that term is de5 fined in section 401 but does not include a doc6 ument. 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of law, for merchandise meeting the 

9 requirements of subsection (a), the Postmaster Gen10 eral shall comply with the entry requirements of sec11 tion 484. 

12 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—Any regulation issued 

13 pursuant to this subsection shall apply identical 

14 entry procedures for merchandise imported through 

15 the mail as are applied for merchandise imported via 

16 a private carrier.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. DE MINIMIS SHIPMENTS. 

18 Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

19 1321) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(c)(1) For imported articles that qualify for the ad21 ministrative exemption under subsection (a)(2) and that 

22 arrive at international mail facilities in the United States, 

23 the Postmaster General shall be deemed the consignee for 

24 such articles that are considered merchandise, as the term 

25 is defined in section 498(c). 


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1 ‘‘(2) In addition to the parties that are authorized 

2 to comply with the entry requirements of sections 498 and 

3 484, the Postmaster General, as a consignee, may, using 

4 reasonable care, enter such merchandise that qualifies for 

5 the administrative exemption under subsection (a)(2).’’. 

6 SEC. 5. CUSTOMS FEES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (6) of section 

8 13031(a) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconcili9 ation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(6)) is amended to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(6)(A) For the arrival of shipments of mer12 chandise (as the term is defined in section 498(c) of 

13 the Trade Act of 1930) or any other item that is 

14 valued at $2,000 or less (or such higher amount as 

15 the Secretary of the Treasury may set by regulation 

16 pursuant to section 498 of the Tariff Act of 1930 

17 (19 U.S.C. 1498) and subject to adjustment under 

18 subsection (l)) arriving at an international mail facil19 ity: 

20 ‘‘(i) $1 per individual airway bill or bill of 

21 lading (subject to adjustment under subsection 

22 (l)); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) if such merchandise is formally en24 tered, the fee provided for in paragraph (9), if 

25 applicable. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding section 451 of the Tariff 

2 Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1451), the payment required 

3 by subparagraph (A) shall be the only payment re4 quired for reimbursement of U.S. Customs and Bor5 der Protection in connection with the processing of 

6 an individual airway bill or bill of lading in accord7 ance with such subparagraph and for providing serv8 ices at international mail facilities, except that U.S. 

9 Customs and Border Protection may require such 

10 facilities to cover expenses of the agency for ade11 quate office space, equipment, furnishings, supplies, 

12 and security. 

13 ‘‘(C) The payment required by subparagraphs 

14 (A) and (B) shall be paid on a quarterly basis by the 

15 Postmaster General in accordance with regulations 

16 prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. The 

17 payments shall be allocated as follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) 50 percent of the amount of payments 

19 received in this paragraph shall, in accordance 

20 with section 524 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

21 U.S.C. 1524), be deposited in the Customs 

22 User Fee Account and shall be used to directly 

23 reimburse each appropriation for the amount 

24 paid out of that appropriation for the costs in25 curred in providing services to international 


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1 mail facilities. Amounts deposited in accordance 

2 with the preceding sentence shall be available 

3 until expended for the provision of customs 

4 services to international mail facilities. 

5 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding section 524 of the 

6 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1524), 50 per7 cent of the amount of payments received under 

8 this paragraph shall be paid to the Secretary of 

9 the Treasury, which is in lieu of the payment 

10 of fees under paragraph (10).’’. 

11 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Paragraph (10) of 

12 section 13031(a) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget 

13 Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(10)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ in subparagraph (B); 

16 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub17 paragraph (C)(iii) and inserting a comma and ‘‘or’’; 

18 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C)(iii) the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(D) an international mail facility.’’; and 

21 (4) in the undesignated material at the end by 

22 striking the period and inserting ‘‘or referred to in 

23 subparagraph (D) see paragraph (6).’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. MANDATORY ADVANCED ELECTRONIC INFORMA2 TION FOR POSTAL SHIPMENTS. 

3 Subparagraph (K) of section 343(a)(3) of the Trade 

4 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–210; 19 U.S.C. 2071 note) 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(K) The Secretary shall require the Post7 master General to transmit or to ensure the 

8 transmission of the information required in 

9 paragraphs (1) and (2) to U.S. Customs and 

10 Border Protection for all shipments by the 

11 United States Postal Service which includes 

12 shipments that the United States Postal Service 

13 receives from foreign postal operators (ship14 ments from foreign postal operators may be 

15 transported by private carriers). All regulations 

16 issued pursuant to this provision are required 

17 to impose the same information requirements 

18 on the United States Postal Service and private 

19 carriers.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. MANIFEST PENALTIES APPLIED TO THE UNITED 

21 STATES POSTAL SERVICE. 

22 (a) PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE ARRIVAL, 

23 REPORTING, ENTRY, AND CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 Section 436 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1436) 

25 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub26 section: 


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1 ‘‘(e) CIVIL PENALTIES ARISING FROM VIOLATIONS

2 FOR POSTAL SHIPMENTS.—With respect to civil penalties 

3 provided for in subsections (b) and (d) above, the Post4 master General shall be liable for the penalty if the viola5 tion was caused by a foreign postal operator or the United 

6 States Postal Service.’’. 

7 (b) PENALTIES FOR FALSITY OR LACK OF MANI8 FEST.—Section 584 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

9 1584) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

10 subsection: 

11 ‘‘(c) PERSON DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RESPON12 SIBLE SHALL INCLUDE THE POSTMASTER GENERAL.— 

13 For purposes of subsection (a), the Postmaster General 

14 may be the person directly or indirectly responsible for a 

15 discrepancy if the discrepancy is the result of— 

16 ‘‘(1) an omission by a foreign postal operator or 

17 the United States Postal Service; or 

18 ‘‘(2) false information regarding the shipment 

19 that was provided to the carrier by a foreign postal 

20 operator or the United States Postal Service.’’. 

21 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON INTERNATIONAL POSTAL AR22 RANGEMENTS. 

23 (a) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that any provi25 sion in this Act is found to be in violation of obligaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Feb 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1057.IH H1057

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1 tions of the United States under the Universal Post2 al Union, the Secretary of State shall negotiate to 

3 amend the relevant provisions of the agreement so 

4 that the United States is no longer in violation of 

5 the agreement. 

6 (2) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub7 section may be construed to require or permit any 

8 delay in the implementation of this Act. 

9 (b) FUTURE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of State 

10 may not conclude any international postal arrangement 

11 pursuant to the authority set out in section 407 of title 

12 39, United States Code, that is inconsistent with this Act 

13 or any amendment made by this Act. 

14 SEC. 9. APPLICATION OF OTHER CUSTOMS LAWS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—U.S. Customs and Border Protec16 tion shall ensure that all merchandise, as that term is de17 fined in subsection (c) of section 498 of the Tariff Act 

18 of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1498), imported to the United States 

19 through the mail shall be subject to the same import pro20 cedures, legal restrictions, and certifications as merchan21 dise imported by private carriers. 

22 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

23 shall issue regulations pursuant to this Act to ensure that 

24 merchandise imported through the mail is in accordance 

25 with Federal law. 


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1 SEC. 10. COST RECOUPMENT. 

2 The Postmaster General shall ensure that all costs 

3 associated with complying with this Act, as well as all pen4 alties assessed against the Postmaster General, are 

5 charged directly to foreign shippers, foreign postal opera6 tors, or United States ultimate consignees. 

7 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE; REGULATIONS. 

8 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall become effec9 tive upon the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pre12 scribe all regulations required under this Act. 

Æ 


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