1 / 20

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Textile Law Enforcement Challenges

Department of Homeland Security  Customs and Border Protection. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Textile Law Enforcement Challenges. “And the Plot Thickens” California Fashion Association May 9, 2007. Department of Homeland Security  Customs and Border Protection.

ingrid-small
Download Presentation

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Textile Law Enforcement Challenges

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Department of Homeland Security  Customs and Border Protection U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionTextile Law Enforcement Challenges “And the Plot Thickens” California Fashion Association May 9, 2007

  2. Department of Homeland Security  Customs and Border Protection • Enforce all Laws Involving the Imports of Textile and Clothing Products • Correct Description • Quantity • Value • Country of Origin • Ensure the Compliance of all Import Transactions What is the Role of Customs?

  3. Department of Homeland Security  Customs and Border Protection The Textile Import Industry

  4. Department of Homeland Security  Customs and Border Protection The Textile Import Industry

  5. Textile Trade Preferences • Free Trade Agreements • Guatemala Implemented July 1, 2006 • Peru and Colombia Negotiations Completed • Bahrain Implemented August 1, 2006 and Oman Completed • Thailand Stopped Due to Coup d’Etat • South Korea and Malaysia Negotiations Started

  6. Textile Trade Preferences • Trade Preference Legislation • Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006 aka Haiti HOPE • Allows Cumulation with All U.S. Free Trade and Trade Preference Partners • Allows Third Country Fabric from China with a Capped Limit • Value-Based Rule of Origin as Opposed to a Tariff Shift • Annual Aggregation

  7. Textile Enforcement • Quota Eliminated for all WTO Member Nations EXCEPT China • Safeguard Mechanism Replaced by Comprehensive Quota Agreement • Textile Bilaterals Expire • MOUs; CBP Instrumental in the Negotiation of Agreements with Hong Kong, Macao, the Philippines and Indonesia • Enforcement Focus Unchanging

  8. Textile Enforcement Focus • Textiles and Wearing Apparel Industry Designated As a Priority Trade Issue for FY 07 • Enforcement Focus • Origin Fraud; Illegal Transshipment; Quota Circumvention; Inadmissibility of Merchandise • Enforcement of Various Legislative Trade Initiatives and Free Trade Agreement Preference Claims • Protection of the Revenue • 5 Year Enforcement Strategy Reported to Congress

  9. Textile Enforcement Focus • Risks • FTA and other Trade Legislation • $22+ Billion in Trade Preference Claims out of a Universe of $104.2 Billion in Imports • China Quota • Illegal Transshipment • Misdescription of Merchandise • Smuggling; Unmanifested Goods • General Misdescription to Avoid Duties and Quota • 42% of Duties Collected Involve Textile Goods

  10. Textile Production Verification Teams • In 2006 TPVTs Were Conducted in: • Hong Kong • Macao • Swaziland • Vietnam • Egypt • Mauritius • South Africa • Thailand • Kenya • Chile • El Salvador • Guatemala • Honduras 428 Factories Visited

  11. Textile Production Verification Team Statistics 2006 • 13 Countries Visited • 428 Factories Visited • 8 Transshipment Found • 97 Permanently Closed • 95 High Potential for Transshipment • 20 Refused Admission to the Team • 51% Not Compliant for Illegal Transshipment • 41% Not Compliant for Trade Preference

  12. Seizures for Quota Circumvention Quota Eliminated January 1, 2005

  13. Current Investigation • Seizure of $46 Million in Smuggled Textiles • Criminal Organization Based in Hong Kong • Goods Declared as Furniture; C/O China • Undercover Investigation/Operation • China Quota Circumvention and Duty Circumvention • Loss of Revenue in Excess of $50 Million • Landed Duty Paid Transactions; Middlemen Acting As Importers/Ultimate Consignees Buying from a “Domestic” Supplier

  14. Textile Enforcement • Thailand Ghost Factories • 8 Factories Existed on Paper Only • Were Shipping to the U.S. • Goods Suspected c/o China • CBP Working Closely with Thailand • 328,802 Pieces T-shirts, Underwear, Pants, Jackets, Baby Garments • $727,796 Value of Garments • CBP Requested Redeliveries for Shipments Valued at $3.2 Million Entered from March – May 2006

  15. Textile Enforcement • Identity Theft of U.S. Firms • Shipments of Denim Jeans Stopped at Numerous Ports of Entry • Goods Chinese in Origin Claiming Made in the U.S.A. • Seized by CBP

  16. Textile Enforcement • Use of Counterfeit Certificates of Origin • Russia, the Philippines • Use of Forged Government Communications • Russia • Most of the Counterfeits Link Back to Korean, Hong Kong Trading Houses/Middlemen

  17. Textile Enforcement • Last Year vs. This Year • 64% Increase in Enforcement Actions • 7100% Increase in the Number of Liquidated Damages Penalties • Exclusions of Merchandise Increased by 368% • Detentions Increased by 1000%

  18. Trade Preference Enforcement • Additional 1,377 Targeted Verifications Performed • $53.6 Million in Value • 37% Non-Compliance Rate • $1.7 Million in Additional Revenues Collected

  19. Textile Penalties • 502 Liquidated Damages Penalties Issued Totaling $ 21.8 Million • 65 Penalties Issued Totaling $6.5 Million

  20. Thank You • Questions??????

More Related