19 CFR 102 - RULES OF ORIGIN

Currently, for any merchandise valued over $2,000, CBP requires importers to provide a surety bond, complete CBP form 7501, and pay a minimum of $25 in Merchandise Processing Fees (MPF). The final rule increases the limit, from $2,000 to $2,500, for which merchandise may qualify for an “informal entry”, thereby eliminating the need for a surety bond, expediting the customs clearance process, and reducing the required MPF amount to $2 (assuming the entries are filed electronically). CBP is increasing the informal entry limit to mitigate the effects of inflation and in addition, to meet a commitment of the Beyond the Border Initiative between the United States and Canada, to increase and harmonize the value thresholds to $2,500 for expedited customs clearance from the current levels of $2,000 for the United States and $1,600 for Canada. This document also removes the language requiring formal entry for certain articles that were formerly subject to absolute quotas under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing because CBP no longer needs to require formal entries for these articles. This document also makes a technical conforming amendment to reflect a recent statutory amendment that increased the ad valorem Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) from 0.21 percent to 0.3464 percent. Finally, this document makes non-substantive editorial and nomenclature changes.

This document sets forth technical corrections to part 102 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect recent changes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. The affected provisions in part 102 of title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations which are based in part on specified changes in tariff classification, comprise a codified system used for determining the country of origin of goods imported under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), determining whether an imported good is a new or different article of commerce under the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement and the United States- Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, and for the country of origin of textile and apparel products (other than those of Israel).

Currently, for any merchandise valued over $2,000, CBP requires importers to provide a surety bond, complete CBP form 7501, and pay a minimum of $25 in Merchandise Processing Fees (MPF). The final rule increases the limit, from $2,000 to $2,500, for which merchandise may qualify for an “informal entry”, thereby eliminating the need for a surety bond, expediting the customs clearance process, and reducing the required MPF amount to $2 (assuming the entries are filed electronically). CBP is increasing the informal entry limit to mitigate the effects of inflation and in addition, to meet a commitment of the Beyond the Border Initiative between the United States and Canada, to increase and harmonize the value thresholds to $2,500 for expedited customs clearance from the current levels of $2,000 for the United States and $1,600 for Canada. This document also removes the language requiring formal entry for certain articles that were formerly subject to absolute quotas under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing because CBP no longer needs to require formal entries for these articles. This document also makes a technical conforming amendment to reflect a recent statutory amendment that increased the ad valorem Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) from 0.21 percent to 0.3464 percent. Finally, this document makes non-substantive editorial and nomenclature changes.

This document sets forth technical corrections to part 102 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect recent changes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. The affected provisions in part 102 of title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations which are based in part on specified changes in tariff classification, comprise a codified system used for determining the country of origin of goods imported under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), determining whether an imported good is a new or different article of commerce under the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement and the United States- Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, and for the country of origin of textile and apparel products (other than those of Israel).