The Bureau of the Census published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking making several clarifications to its Foreign Trade Regulations.

Background – The Census Bureau’s Role in Trade Enforcement           

The U.S. Census Bureau’s mission is to serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy. As part of this mission, the Bureau is responsible for collecting, compiling, and publishing import and export trade statistics for the United States.

To facilitate the collection of these statistics, the Bureau has promulgated Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) which require certain exporters to file export information with the Bureau. The regulations detail requirements for filing export information, explain filing procedures, and establish penalties for noncompliance. The regulations require export information to be filed on the Automated Export System (AES). The information submitted by exporters to AES is known as Electronic Export Information (EEI).

EEI filings are required for a wide variety of circumstances, including:

• Exports that require an export license under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR)
• Exports containing personal or household goods valued over $2,500 to a foreign destination, other than Canada
• Exports on the EAR’s Commerce Control List (CCL) and destined for China, Russia, or Venezuela
• Exports subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
• Exports containing rough diamonds

Proposed Clarifications

In recent years, the Census Bureau has experienced an increase in the number of inquiries regarding export transactions where a customs broker facilitates the entry of goods into the U.S. and the goods are then stored in a facility or admitted […]