Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act

Received in the Senate.

May 1, 2024

This bill expands the definition of U.S. customs waters. Currently, customs waters extend four leagues from the U.S. coast. The bill revises this to include the U.S. territorial sea extending 12 nautical miles from U.S. baselines (as established by Presidential Proclamation 5928 from 1988) and the U.S. contiguous zone extending 24 nautical miles from U.S. baselines (as established by Presidential Proclamation 7219 from 1999). This aligns customs jurisdiction with international law limits that were previously proclaimed but not formally incorporated into the customs waters definition.

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Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act This bill extends the customs waters territory of the United States. Under current law, customs waters means waters within four leagues of the coast of the United States. This bill revises the definition to include (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.