US Customs releases textile & apparel enforcement report

According to the report, the Textile Product Verification Teams (TPVT) of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) visited 57 factories in 3 countries in the 1st Half of Fiscal Year 2012. CBP found that 19% of the visited factories showed evidence of illegal transshipments and 32% showed evidence of incorrect trade preference claims.

During the 1st Half of FY 2012, CBP seized 3,654 targeted textile and apparel shipments worth USD 5.21 million for intellectual property rights (IPR) and issued 10 commercial fraud penalties worth USD 27.76 million. CBP also initiated 20 textile and apparel audits in the 1^st Half of FY 2012 and completed 17 audits which resulted in recoveries worth USD 962,000.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing US regulations, including trade, customs and immigration.

One of the missions for CBP is to provide the public with improved information concerning the trade community’s rights and responsibilities under customs regulations and related laws. Any imported merchandise related to health, safety or conservation laws that is restricted or prohibited may be subject to be seized and forfeited by the CBP.

SGS Global Softlines has an extensive network of over 30 laboratories worldwide, with a strong team of committed professionals from multi-disciplinary backgrounds.

SGS Global Softlines