Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act
Key claim: The Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act (HR1268) revises the statutory definition of U.S. customs waters to 24 nautical miles from the baselines, providing statutory authority for prior presidential proclamations that extended the territorial sea and contiguous zone.
Abstract
(HR1268 · 119th Congress) Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act This 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. Latest action (2025-02-12): Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Why this matters
Extending customs waters from 12 to 24 nautical miles expands the geographic zone in which CBP and other agencies can enforce customs, tariff, and import laws against vessels, affecting maritime importers, transshipment operations, and smuggling interdiction. By codifying prior presidential proclamations in statute, the Act removes legal ambiguity about enforcement authority at the outer contiguous zone without changing tariff rates or consumer-facing prices directly.