Executive Order on Counterfeits Says Foreign Mail Could Be Blocked If Contraband Shipments Don't Decline
In addition to a directive to change the issuance of importer of record numbers and to increase penalties for those who help ineligible importers (see 2001310062), an executive order issued Jan. 31 tells CBP, in consultation with the U.S. trade representative, to develop compliance scores for each country's mail system. Checks of small packages that come through the mail will be used to evaluate the rates of counterfeit goods and contraband arriving from those countries, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said.
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Those checks, he said, found that 3 percent of packages have counterfeit goods, and 7 percent have contraband, such as gun silencers, pork infected with African swine flue, or fake driver's licenses. He said an acceptable rate of counterfeits and contraband “should be well under 1 percent.”
Once the compliance score is determined, the order says, CBP will evaluate each country's postal system quarterly, and if they fall below the compliance threshold two months in a row, their packages will be priority for targeted inspections. If a country's postal system falls below the threshold six months in a row, CBP “may require additional information” on those shipments. And, if the information is not provided, “CBP, shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and international agreements, implement all appropriate measures to prevent importation into the United States” from that country through its postal service. The order also says that if a country is noncompliant for eight consecutive quarters, CBP might prevent importation through the mail even if more information is given.
Within 90 days, a report must be submitted to the White House by CBP, in consultation with the U.S. Postal Service, on what CBP could do to noncompliant countries' goods “consistent with its existing authorities.” The order also calls for CBP to publish guidance on its implementation of determining non-compliance within 90 days.
Within 210 days, the Department of Homeland Security is to report to the Office of Management and Budget on whether the fees collected by CBP are sufficient to cover the costs of processing, inspecting and collecting duties and taxes on parcels.
The order is silent on evaluating express shipments' compliance in contraband and counterfeits, but Navarro said they also have problems. “DHL Cincinnati has kind of stood out as an outlier relative to FedEx in Indianapolis or Memphis or UPS in Louisville,” he said during a conference call with reporters the evening of Jan. 31.