CBP detains $10mn worth incorrectly described textile products
03 Feb '06
4 min read
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seized more than $10 million (over the last four months) in goods that were misdescribed in an effort to circumvent trade laws and regulations. CBP plays a critical role in enforcing trade laws and ensuring that appropriate revenue is collected.
Many different schemes are used to evade duty or quotas on textiles being brought into the country.
Some importers circumvent quotas by transshipment-changing the country of origin of their goods. Still others use false documents or labels or provide incorrect descriptions of the merchandise. Textile imports are especially important since they represent 43 percent of all revenue collected.
"CBP is committed to facilitating and stimulating the flow of legitimate international trade and collecting import duties. However, CBP also intends to maintain a robust trade enforcement program and textiles is a priority issue," said Acting Commissioner, Deborah J. Spero.
Import Specialists in CBP with specialized commodity knowledge analyze and review textile imports for possible violations. Focusing on this commodity has paid off with the seizure of several major shipments.
One of the enforcement tools being used is on-site verification of manufacturers. In November 2005, CBP Textile Production Verification teams traveled to foreign factories to review and verify that wearing apparel that is shipped to the U.S. is produced at those facilities.
The Textile Production Verification Teams reviewed 195 high-risk foreign factories. Of these, 70 were closed, 24 refused the team admission, 50 were considered high potential for transshipments and three had evidence that they were engaging in illegal transshipments. As a result of these site visits CBP is currently in the process of seizing shipments with a domestic value of 1.3 million from any factory that was determined closed.
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