Opening up US resale market to foreign flagged yachts
The Florida Yacht Brokers Association is pursuing legislative support to remove the restrictions on the cruising licence that forbids offering foreign flagged boats for resale to US residents while in US waters.…
The Florida Yacht Brokers Association (FYBA) is in the process of
requesting legislative support to remove current restrictions in the
cruising licence that forbids offering used foreign flagged boats for
sale to US residents while in US waters.
A cruising licence, normally valid for one year, is obtained from US Customs and Border Protection at the first port of arrival in the US and exempts pleasure boats of certain countries from having to undergo formal entry and clearance procedures. Currently, boats under a cruising licence, while in US waters, are forbidden to offer their boats for sale to US residents until the boat is imported and duty is paid on the appraised value. Only US residents are prohibited from viewing these boats while in US waters.
“The legislation discourages foreign-flagged yachts from coming over to the States," explains Jeff Erdmann, FYBA spokesman and owner of Bollman Yachts brokerage. "We have talked to a number of owners who are reluctant to bring their boats here if they can’t offer them for sale without paying the tax before they offer it.”
And not only is the legislation discouraging boats from coming to the America, it is also putting US residents off from buying foreign-flagged yachts. “Because they can’t be shown the boat while it is sitting in US waters, so they then have to make arrangements to somehow convince the owner that they are willing and able buyers for a similar boat,” adds Erdmann. “They then have to encourage the owner to spend the time, money and effort to transition the boat over to the Bahamas for them even to look at the boat and they still don’t know for sure whether the buyer would actually want the boat.” Such a situation was recently exemplified with the sale of S/Y Felicita West, which had to be taken over to the Bahamas for her sale to take place.
But what stage is the initiative at? “We have delivered the proposal to congress and it is currently being vetted in Washington DC,” Erdmann says. “With the new Congress in place, we are anticipating that there will be a desire to pass some good trade bills. During the last State of the Union Address last January, Barack Obama told Congress that he wanted to see a trade bill on his desk that he could sign but at that time Harry Reid was Senate majority leader and did not even propose a trade bill let alone pass one. Now we have Mitch McConnnell as the new Senate majority leader next January, we fully anticipate they will want to pass legislation to improve their image with the US voters and then ultimately be able to take over The White House in 2016 if they look really good.
The association remains optimistic and Erdmann estimates that, if all goes ahead as hoped, they will be looking at the first half of 2016 when they may see a trade bill pass with the FYBA initiative on it. “I think that with the new Congress and with Barack Obama wanting to finish his term on a positive note, they will want to see some legislation passed that US voters can enjoy and support.”
A cruising licence, normally valid for one year, is obtained from US Customs and Border Protection at the first port of arrival in the US and exempts pleasure boats of certain countries from having to undergo formal entry and clearance procedures. Currently, boats under a cruising licence, while in US waters, are forbidden to offer their boats for sale to US residents until the boat is imported and duty is paid on the appraised value. Only US residents are prohibited from viewing these boats while in US waters.
“The legislation discourages foreign-flagged yachts from coming over to the States," explains Jeff Erdmann, FYBA spokesman and owner of Bollman Yachts brokerage. "We have talked to a number of owners who are reluctant to bring their boats here if they can’t offer them for sale without paying the tax before they offer it.”
And not only is the legislation discouraging boats from coming to the America, it is also putting US residents off from buying foreign-flagged yachts. “Because they can’t be shown the boat while it is sitting in US waters, so they then have to make arrangements to somehow convince the owner that they are willing and able buyers for a similar boat,” adds Erdmann. “They then have to encourage the owner to spend the time, money and effort to transition the boat over to the Bahamas for them even to look at the boat and they still don’t know for sure whether the buyer would actually want the boat.” Such a situation was recently exemplified with the sale of S/Y Felicita West, which had to be taken over to the Bahamas for her sale to take place.
But what stage is the initiative at? “We have delivered the proposal to congress and it is currently being vetted in Washington DC,” Erdmann says. “With the new Congress in place, we are anticipating that there will be a desire to pass some good trade bills. During the last State of the Union Address last January, Barack Obama told Congress that he wanted to see a trade bill on his desk that he could sign but at that time Harry Reid was Senate majority leader and did not even propose a trade bill let alone pass one. Now we have Mitch McConnnell as the new Senate majority leader next January, we fully anticipate they will want to pass legislation to improve their image with the US voters and then ultimately be able to take over The White House in 2016 if they look really good.
The association remains optimistic and Erdmann estimates that, if all goes ahead as hoped, they will be looking at the first half of 2016 when they may see a trade bill pass with the FYBA initiative on it. “I think that with the new Congress and with Barack Obama wanting to finish his term on a positive note, they will want to see some legislation passed that US voters can enjoy and support.”
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