CBP "Completes" its Document Exams of Certain Knit-to-Shape Garments
According to U.S. government sources, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has "completed" its document exams of certain entries of knit-to-shape garments in HTS 6110 which claim a country of origin other than China (i.e., the entry claims that the garment's panels are knit-to-shape in a country other than China and then sent to China to be linked and looped).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Sources had previously stated that the first set of document exams began on May 10, 2004, the second set of document exams began during the week of June 14, 2004, and the third set of document exams began on July 12, 2004, with each lasting approximately 30 days.
Sources currently don't anticipate a fourth set of document exams; however, CBP's analysis of the results of the three sets of document exams (the results should be available in approximately one month) will help CBP determine whether any retesting or other action is necessary.
(According to a Textile Development Memo issued by the United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA), and confirmed by U.S. government sources, the countries targeted in the first, second and third sets of these document exams (i.e., the country of origin listed on the knit-to-shape garments' label) were:
- sup>st set - Fiji, Kazakhstan, New Zealand
- sup>nd set - Australia, Israel and Japan
- sup>rd set - Great Britain
U.S. government sources had previously stated that CBP conducted these document exams as it had found evidence that quota was being circumvented in certain situations, with both the knitting-to-shape and the linking and looping occurring in China, without claiming China as the country of origin.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/18/04 news, 04051810, 06/15/04 news, 04061510 and 07/20/04 news, 04072010 for BP summaries on 1st - 3rd sets of document exams.)