YourVoice.Now Summary
Civil LibertiesDoubles the offshore zone where U.S. customs law applies — from 12 to 24 nautical miles.
Civil Liberties
- Customs search zone — Applies 24 nautical miles offshore, up from 12
The details
Customs enforcement at sea would reach twice as far from shore. Federal law currently treats "customs waters" as ending about 12 nautical miles out. This change extends that boundary to 24 nautical miles. That matches the contiguous zone the United States claimed in 1999. Inside it, U.S. customs and anti-smuggling law would apply to vessels. The change rewrites two statutes: the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Anti-Smuggling Act. It takes effect the day after enactment. A Senate companion, S. 221, makes the same change.
Congressional Summary
Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters ActThis bill extends the customs waters territory of the United States to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.Under current law, customs waters means waters within four leagues (equivalent to 12 nautical miles) of the coast of the United State. This bill provides statutory authority for two presidential proclamations to extend the customs waters to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.Specifically, the bill revises the statutory definition of customs waters to include the waters within (1) the territorial sea of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 5928, dated December 27, 1988, that extended such limits to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States; and (2) the contiguous zone of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 7219, dated September 2, 1999, that extended such limits to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-02-12
- Date Added
- 2026-07-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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