Lawmakers finished up work on a conference version of long-debated customs reauthorization legislation that combines the underlying concepts of the Senate- and House-proposed customs bills, said Conference Committee members on Dec. 9 (here). Notably, the compromise legislation (here) would impose the ENFORCE Act's firm deadlines on CBP to investigate claims of antidumping and countervailing duty evasion, and would require new regulations on customs broker identification of importers, under threat of penalty. A new provision in the legislation -- absent from either chamber's original bill -- would hold CBP to stricter deadlines for reliquidating entries. The bill could go to a vote on the House floor as early as Dec. 11, a congressional staffer said. The lawmakers also released a summary (here) and joint explanatory statement (here) on the bill's provisions.

There’s still space for importers, customs brokers and software developers that want to participate in pilots of Environmental Protection Agency filing in the Automated Commercial Environment, said Roy Chaudet of EPA’s Office of Information Collection during a webinar held with CBP on Dec. 8. Among pilots that are limited to nine participants, tests for imports of non-road vehicles and engines and pesticide notices of arrival currently have around two each, and a pilot on hazardous waste exporters has four, said Chaudet. Ongoing pilots with unlimited participation include imports of on-road vehicles and engines and ozone depleting substances.

The Food and Drug Administration is making changes to processes for participation in its Automated Commercial Environment filing pilot and modifying “the data that are required at the time of entry for admissibility,” said CBP in a CSMS message dated Dec. 9 (here). Effective immediately, FDA has removed the requirement for submitting a data element “template” for pre-validation, although it will still provide the template to assist filers and will “provide guidance and support” to “answer any questions,” said the message.

House and Senate lawmakers aim to send a long-awaited customs reauthorization bill to President Barack Obama by the end of this week, said members of Congressional Conference Committee during a Dec. 7 public meeting. While congressional officials said language from the Senate-introduced ENFORCE Act is likely to make it in the bill’s final conference report, an industry lobbyist remains skeptical. Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., joined fellow Democratic conferee Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore. in lauding ENFORCE provisions, which both said will make duty evasion much tougher for importers who might seek to undercut U.S. industry.

President Barack Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act into law on Dec. 4, the White House, said (here). The law (here), which authorizes budgetary resources for surface transportation programs for fiscal years 2016-2020, includes an increase to customs users fees to help pay for the programs. Among the fees set to increase are the merchandise processing fee (MPF) and broker permit fees. The fee changes will be based on the Consumer Price Index and the first adjustment will occur April 1 (see 1512040024).

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, International Wood Products Association and American Association of Exporters and Importers were among groups that asked House and Senate Conferees in a Dec. 3 letter (here) to ditch the provisions of the ENFORCE Act and instead include the PROTECT Act's antidumping/countervailing duty language within a final bill. A final bill may come as soon as this week as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., included "Possible Consideration of the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 644 - Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015" within his weekly schedule (here). The Conference Committee also scheduled a public meeting for Dec. 7 (here).

Congress voted to approve surface transportation reauthorization legislation that would increase customs user fees, including the merchandise processing fee (MPF) and broker permit fees, on Dec. 3. The bill provides funding for federal highway and other transportation projects through 2020. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (here), which also includes reauthorization for the Export-Import Bank, will next go to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., appointed three former House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairmen to complete customs reauthorization legislation, Ryan said (here). The appointments followed a House vote on Dec. 1 that approved proceeding with a conference to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the customs bills (here). Ryan named Reps. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio and Dave Reichert, R-Wash., to represent the House Republicans in the conference committee. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., chose Reps. Sandy Levin, D-Mich., and Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., as the House Democrats on the committee, Pelosi said (here).

FTC Commissioner Julie Brill said she disagrees the agency has been “dramatically shoved aside” with the FCC’s adoption of the open Internet order to halt ISPs from blocking or degrading site services. “It’s important to note how limited the real world impact of this restriction of the FTC’s jurisdiction will be,” she said Thursday at a Georgetown University Law School’s Center on Privacy and Technology event on both agencies enforcing privacy regulations. But Jeff Brueggeman, AT&T vice president-global public policy, said on a later panel the industry is concerned about potential inconsistent enforcement actions by the two agencies.

FTC Commissioner Julie Brill said she disagrees the agency has been “dramatically shoved aside” with the FCC’s adoption of the open Internet order to halt ISPs from blocking or degrading site services. “It’s important to note how limited the real world impact of this restriction of the FTC’s jurisdiction will be,” she said Thursday at a Georgetown University Law School’s Center on Privacy and Technology event on both agencies enforcing privacy regulations. But Jeff Brueggeman, AT&T vice president-global public policy, said on a later panel the industry is concerned about potential inconsistent enforcement actions by the two agencies.