DENIED Act

Bill: 118-s-5435
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]
Introduced: 2024-12-05
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Latest action: action_date: 2024-12-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5435 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Detection and Exclusion of Negligent, Illicit, and Extralegal Deliveries Act or the DENIED Act . 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). . 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. 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) .