This Monday the United States and Canada increased and matched the value thresholds for “expedited customs clearance” to CDN$2,500 and USD$2,500 respectively. Canada also announced that their border agency would match America’s level for low-value shipments that are exempt from NAFTA Certificate of Origin requirements.
This seemingly small but important achievement resulted from the Beyond the Border (BTB) Initiative, a bi-national effort between Canada and the United States to cooperate on security and border management.
...
Now, as reported by Mark Rockwell at Government Security News, the changes to the Informal Entry Limit and Removal of a Formal Entry Requirement regulation brought three changes for merchandise going through U.S. customs valued between $2,000 and $2,500. This merchandise now:
-bypasses surety bond requirements,
-gets a faster clearance process, and
-enjoys a reduced Merchandise Process Fee (MPF) of $2, instead of $25 (assuming e-filing).
And this regulatory change represents smart regulatory modernization for 4 reasons...
The Beyond the Border initiative signed between Canada and the U.S. last year, has as many proponents as it does detractors. While most industry observers support the spirit behind the initiative, when it comes to the transfer of goods across the border, there are noticeable gaps between theory and practical application.
...
Because customs has pushed back border requirement compliance to the shippers, the pressure is actually moving further back into the supply chain, he adds. “If they don’t make an investment in systems that comply, then it’s too bad. Customs would argue, why should we worry about releasing your goods if you don’t make the data available to us?”
...
To date, only larger companies have been able to achieve the status because they are the only ones with the sophisticated tax remittance systems required to qualify. “Beyond the Border is supposed to make it easier for anyone to use it,” Ms. Wagner explains. “But there is a lack of awareness on the part of importers that programs are available and not limited to large entities.”
The lack of awareness and slow uptake will make it increasingly difficult for non-“trusted trader” players to compete, she says. “For Beyond the Border to work, we need that uptake. Otherwise it’s too much investment for too little payoff for businesses.”
...
The data argument may be the most high-profile topic to date, but according to Joy Nott, president and CEO of I.E. Canada (Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters) in Toronto, there’s a much bigger one that dwarfs everything else: harmonizing the overall regulatory environment between Canada and the U.S.
“That’s far bigger than the data elements that customs wants. In fact it has nothing to do with data, and everything to do with standards.”
