Customs and Border Protection could soon be ramping up efforts to inspect low-value shipments before they make it into circulation.
A shipment is considered low-value when it falls below a certain value threshold — things like some consumer goods ordered off Amazon or other retailers. Those shipments traditionally require less intense inspections from Customs personnel to ensure quick processing time.
But these items have sometimes been found to contain illegal substances like fentanyl or the chemicals needed to make it. CBP says an overwhelming volume of some 4 million low-value shipments processed into the U.S. daily, plus a lack of data about them makes it difficult to identify high-risk packages.
A newly proposed rule by the agency would strengthen inspection and data-collection requirements for the packages.
"Additionally, it will revise the current process for entering low-value shipments to require additional data elements that would assist CBP in verifying eligibility for duty- and tax-free entry by creating a fully electronic process for filers to transmit entry data prior to a shipment’s arrival," a statement from the agency read.
Members of the public have 60 days to comment.