Customs Ends Effort to Change First Sale Rule

Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday it was formally ending its effort to reinterpret the “first sale” rule for placing value on imported products. The announcement took effect immediately.

The statement in the Federal Register closes the books on one of the hottest issues between the government and the trade community. Under first sale, import valuation is based on the sale price that a foreign merchant or broker pays a manufacturer for goods destined to the U.S.

By The Numbers: U.S. Trade.

In January 2008, Customs proposed a reinterpretation of the valuation rule so importers would have to value goods based on the price they paid the foreign third party. Importers protested vigorously, and Congress wrote a provision into a food and energy bill that forced Customs to study the issue for a year before making any change in the first-sale rule.

-- Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com.