In-Transit Shipment Rules Final

The U.S. Census Bureau has issued a final rule amending the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) to clarify Electronic Export Information (EEI) filing requirements for in-transit shipments that enter the United States before re-export.

Gerry Horner, the recently retired Chief of the Census Bureau’s Trade Regulation Branch, commented in a LinkedIn post:

“The trade community, including compliance specialists, and enforcement agencies should celebrate that much of the vagueness has been cleaned up, especially the definition of the Ultimate Consignee!!! Woo hoo!”

Published in the Federal Register under Docket No. 250808-0135 (RIN: 0607-AA62), the rule defines responsibilities for identifying the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) in transactions involving goods stored in warehouses, admitted to Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs), or placed in bonded warehouses prior to export.

Under the revisions, customs brokers acting as the USPPI must have the importer of record’s consent to use confidential entry information in EEI filings.

Warehouse, storage facility, FTZ, or bonded warehouse operators designated as the USPPI must file based on information they have or obtain from other transaction parties.

The rule also updates definitions, mandatory filing provisions, confidentiality requirements, penalty provisions, and voluntary self-disclosure procedures to improve clarity and consistency.

The amendments respond to increased inquiries about in-transit movement scenarios and incorporate public feedback on the October 31, 2024, proposed rule.

Changes include adding one USPPI scenario, refining two others, revising 19 definitions, adding one, and removing one.

The final rule also adjusts filing responsibilities in routed export transactions, clarifies data element requirements, and codifies AES downtime procedures.

Certain proposals—such as requiring entry numbers to link exports with imports—were not adopted; instead, Census will pursue future rulemaking to collect country-of-origin data directly.

Lindsay Wardlaw of Gibson Dunn notes:

 “The definitions of ultimate consignee and intermediate consignees are now clearer. For example, the existing definition of ultimate consignee was expanded to potentially capture purchasers of the shipment, not just end users and FPPIs (though the FPPI is likely to be either the purchaser or the end user anyway).

"This more clearly covers circumstances when the purchaser is a retailer buying for inventory and the seller does not know who the final end user will actually be.

"Also standing out to me is the clarification that there are no circumstances in which a USPPI or other filer may share EEI with a foreign person—including a foreign government or even the FPPI, who may want this information from its authorized U.S. agent for internal compliance purposes.”

The final rule takes effect 30 days after publication. For additional information, stakeholders may contact Epa Uwimana, Chief of the Economic Management Division, Census Bureau, at gtmd.ftrnotices@census.gov.

Clarification of Filing Requirements Regarding In-transit Shipments and Other Provisions