Dear Secretary Mnuchin, Director Mulvaney, Administrator Rao, and Commissioner McAleenan:
We write to insist that regulations implementing the duty drawback provisions of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA) are finalized and published in the Federal Register without further delay. TFTEA required these regulations to be promulgated by Feb. 24, 2018. To date, the agencies have failed to meet this statutory mandate.
On June 29, 2018, the Court of International Trade issued an opinion in the case of Tabacos de Wilson v. United States, in which several brokers and importers challenged CBP’s refusal to grant accelerated payment privileges for drawback claims until the regulatory package containing the new drawback calculation method is final. In its opinion, the Court was unequivocal that the agencies’ failure to promulgate the implementing regulations by Feb. 24, 2018 “exceeded a legislative deadline" and violates the law. The Court also stated that if the agencies are unable to issue the regulations by July 5, 2018, then they should consider issuing those portions that satisfy the requirements of TFTEA in advance of any other portions that remain unresolved.
We agree with the Court that the collective failure by the agencies to meet their statutory requirements is unacceptable. We are adamant that the agencies finalize and publish the TFTEA regulations without further delay. We are particularly concerned that non-compliance has greatly complicated drawback claims, particularly given CBP’s refusal to grant accelerated payment until the regulatory package is final. Accordingly, we agree with the Court that the agencies should issue those portions of the regulations that would bring them into compliance with the TFTEA mandate and that it should do so through an Interim Final Rule so that U.S. manufacturers can fully utilize the duty drawback program without further delay, as intended by Congress.
Sincerely,
Kevin Brady
Chairman
Committee on Ways and Means
Dave Reichert
Chairman
Subcommittee on Trade
