The latest Textile Enforcement Statistics released by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show a 68% hike in duties collected on textile and apparel products imported into the US in the second quarter of fiscal year 2020.
The rise relates to textile-related Section 301 duties on items caught up in the ongoing US-China trade war are excluded – which includes most apparel and footwear. The additional tariff rate currently stands at 7.5%, with duties collected jumping to US$3.7bn in the second quarter, up from US$2.2bn in the previous three months.
Other CBP enforcement activities related to textile and apparel products in the second quarter saw the number of non-IPR seizures (including smuggling) increase from 183 to 187 but the value of these seizures fell from US$2m to US$1.6m.
The total number of IPR-related seizures increased from 1,441 (US$6.9m in value) to 1,745 (US$5.3m in value). CBP issued three commercial fraud penalties and 79 cases of liquidated damages for textile shipments.
The statistics highlight CBP’s findings from the foreign factory visits of Textile Production Verification Teams (TPVTs). During this time period, CBP visited one country, 13 factories, and found 69% discrepant.
The CBP statistics also include information about cargo examinations and audits.
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By GlobalDataCBP says it recognises the importance of textile trade and the critical need for enforcement in this sector.
“Textile and apparel goods have some of the highest duty rates of all commodities imported into the US making them susceptible to fraud. Textile risks include: schemes designed to circumvent textile tariff and trade laws include false invoicing, false marking and labelling, false claims of origin, illegal transshipment, misdescription, undervaluation, false declarations of right to make entry, false trade preference claims, and outright smuggling.”
