WHAT THE LAW DOINCongress, in plain words

The law › Title 19, Customs Duties › Chapter 1A

19 U.S.C. 81c: Exemption from customs laws of merchandise brought into foreign trade zone

Created in 1970 by Public Law 91-271. Changed by 12 later laws. No bill we track in this Congress changes it.

3 other sections of the Code cite this one, including 19 U.S.C. 58c, 26 U.S.C. 5003, 26 U.S.C. 5214.

7 parts of federal rules cite it as their authority, written by Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Department of the Treasury (5), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security; Department of the Treasury (2).

This Congress

No bill we track in the 119th Congress changes this section.

    How it got here

    2020

    • Pub. L. 116–260 substituted "(subject to section 4534(e) of this title)" for "(subject to section 508(b)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930)" in seventh proviso. (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021) Law text · (a)
    • Pub. L. 116–113, which directed amendment of the flush text of subsec. "(a)(2)" by substituting "goods subject to USMCA drawback, as defined in section 4534(a) of this title" for "goods subject to NAFTA drawback, as defined in section 3333(a) of this title", "a USMCA country, as defined in section … (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act) Law text · (a)

    2003

    • Pub. L. 108–77, §§107(c), 203(b)(5), temporarily inserted before period at end "Provided further, That no merchandise that consists of goods subject to Chile FTA drawback, as defined in section 203(a) of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, that is manufactu… (United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act) Law text · (a)

    1999

    • Pub. L. 106–36 struck out second period at end of last sentence. (Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 1999) Law text · (a)

    1996

    • Pub. L. 104–295 added subsec. (e). (Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 1996) Law text · (e)

    1993

    • Pub. L. 103–182, in provisions following par. (2), inserted second proviso relating to goods subject to NAFTA drawback, and in last proviso inserted ", if Canada ceases to be a NAFTA country and the suspension of the operation of the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement thereafter… · (a)

    1990

    • Pub. L. 101–382, §481, substituted "on or before December 31, 1992" for "before January 1, 1991". · (b)
    • Pub. L. 101–382, §484F, designated existing provisions as par. (1), struck out "domestic" before "denatured distilled", inserted provisions relating to withdrawal free of tax from a distilled spirits plant, and added par. (2). · (c)

    1988

    • Pub. L. 100–449 temporarily inserted provision directing that, "with the exception of drawback eligible goods under section 204(a) of the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988, no article manufactured or otherwise changed in condition (except a change by … · (a)
    • Pub. L. 100–418 substituted "January 1, 1991" for "June 30, 1986". · (b)
    • Pub. L. 100–647 added subsec. (d). · (d)

    1986

    • Pub. L. 99–514 added subsec. (c). · (c)

    1984

    • Pub. L. 98–573 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), redesignated former pars. (a) and (b) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively, of subsec. (a), and added subsec. (b). · (a)

    1970

    • Pub. L. 91–271 substituted references to the appropriate customs officers for references to the collector of customs wherever appearing.

    Text, outline and history from the official U.S. Code (2024 edition) on GovInfo, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Changes made after that edition appear under This Congress.