Top Ways and Means Republicans Tell CBP to Finish Drawback Final Rule

The House Ways and Means chairman and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade have told CBP that it's unacceptable that the agency hasn't publish final rules for the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA), since that legislation required the regulations be promulgated by Feb. 24 this year. "We are adamant that [you] finalize and publish the TFTEA regulations without further delay," Chairman Kevin Brady and subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert wrote July 19. "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."

The Court of International Trade ruled last month that CBP was wrong to miss its legislative deadline, but did not grant a preliminary injunction that would force CBP to offer accelerated payment on TFTEA drawback (see 1806290028). Instead, it said the final rule should be published July 5 -- and that hasn't happened. The court offered the companies suing CBP over the drawback claims processing to return to court on July 27 to tell the judge if they've gotten the relief they seek.

Brady and Reichert, in the letter that also went to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the Department of the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget, said: "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."