Legislation Increases Import Customs Clearance Costs
Important news for U.S. importers: There has been a customs fee increase for imported merchandise to the U.S.
On October 21, 2011 President Obama signed H.R. 2832 into law. This trade legislation amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, increasing the customs user fee for the processing of merchandise entered or released into the United States, sometimes referred to as the merchandise processing fee (MPF), from 0.21% to 0.3464%.
While the percentage change in the fee is substantial, many will not feel the change because the minimum MPF rate of $25 and maximum MPF rate of $485 are not changed by the legislation.
There is a retroactive element to this legislation. The period of increase for the MPF rate is October 1, 2011 to July 1, 2014. This means imports that have been filed on or after October 1 are subject to this customs clearance increase.
Importers who filed between October 1, 2011 (the effective date of this trade legislation) and October 21, 2011 (the date it was signed into law) can be charged the increase.
Of course, the legislation was not written retroactively. It first passed in the House of Representatives on September 7, 2011 and took until October 12, 2011 to resolve differences on the bill between the Senate and the House. The next day it was presented to President Obama.
The final title for H.R. 2832 is the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011. Its reach extends beyond increasing the MPF rate on imported goods to the U.S. The legislation also amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). H.R. 2832 even contains 30 amendments to itself that were added between its introduction to the House on September 2, 2011 and its being 
presented to President Obama on October 13, 2011.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 is just one of many, many pieces of legislation that affect the importing and exporting of goods for international trade.
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