On June 14, the House passed the Securing the International Mail Against Opioids Act of 2018 (H.R. 5788). Also referred to as the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2018 or STOP Act of 2018, the bipartisan bill was sponsored by Congressman Mike Bishop (R-MI-8) and cosponsored by Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-9), David G. Reichert (R-WA-8), Mike Kelly (R-PA-3), Pete Sessions (R-TX-32), J. French Hill (R-AR-2) and John J. Faso (R-NY-19). It passed 353 to 52.
The aim of the bill is to prevent the shipment of synthetic opioids and other narcotics into the U.S. through the international mail system. It will require the USPS® to transmit advance electronic data (AED) to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for at least 70% of international shipments (including 100% from China) coming into the U.S. by the end of 2018 and 100% by 2020.
Currently, the USPS only collects data on 40% of inbound international packages. If, by 2021, the USPS allows international shipments without AED to enter the country, it will face civil penalties.
To cover the additional customs processing costs, most inbound foreign packages would face an additional $1 fee.
The bill now heads to the Senate.