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This rule requires the United States Postal Service (USPS) to transmit certain advance electronic information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for international mail shipments pursuant to section 8003 of the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2018 (STOP Act), title VIII of Public Law No. 115-271, the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act). Section 8003 of the STOP Act amends section 343(a)(3)(K) of the Trade Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 1415) to require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prescribe regulations to require the transmission of advance electronic information for international mail shipments. This rule also sets forth the applicable civil penalties for international mail shipments that are in violation of section 343(a)(3)(K) of the Trade Act of 2002 as prescribed by section 8007 of the STOP Act.

Overall Description of Deadline: Section 8009 of the STOP Act provides no later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, such regulations as are necessary to carry out this subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle shall be prescribed. The STOP Act was enacted on October 24, 2018. Section 8003 of the STOP Act amends the Trade Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of the DHS to issue regulations regarding advance electronic data for mail importations.

Statement of Need:

The United States is experiencing the worst drug overdose epidemic in its history since the 1990s.  In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the consumption of illicit opioids, such as heroin and its synthetic analogues, such as fentanyl.  Synthetic opioids circulating in the United States generally originate internationally (principally from China and Mexico) and arrive into the United States through the international mail system.  CBP is responsible for screening inbound international mail for and removing packages with dangerous goods (including but not limited to opioids) from the mail stream before delivery to intended recipients in the United States.  The number of packages flowing through the international mail system has increased dramatically in recent years.  This increased volume of parcels coupled with the urgency of the opioid epidemic requires that CBP utilize its resources more effectively to target and intercept packages with illegal goods.  There is currently no requirement in the CBP regulations regarding the transmission of Advance Electronic Data (AED) for mail shipments. 

On October 24, 2018, Congress enacted the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2018 (STOP Act), primarily to fight the influx of deadly opioids, particularly synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, coming to the United States in international mail shipments.  This rule is necessary to implement the requirements of Section 8003 and 8007 of the STOP Act and to better enable CBP to target and intercept mail packages with opioids and other illegal goods. Section 8003 of the STOP Act amends section 343(a)(3)(K) of the Trade Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 1415) to require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prescribe regulations to require the transmission of advance electronic information for international mail shipments.  Section 8007 amends section 436 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1436) sets forth the applicable civil penalties for international mail shipments that are in violation of section 343(a)(3)(K) of the Trade Act of 2002.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

This rule will impose costs on the U.S. government and foreign postal services. The costs to the U.S. government include systems modification, systems maintenance costs, and opportunity costs. Costs to foreign postal services include accelerated systems modification costs and opportunity costs. This rule will result in a public health benefit through the prevention of importation of synthetic opioids, which will in turn lead to fewer opioid overdose fatalities.