Better PGA, Industry Engagement Seen by Kerlikowske as Keys to Enforcement
Strengthening ties with partner government agencies and industry has helped CBP to seize shipments that violate intellectual property rights and the greater engagement is hoped to translate into disrupting dumped steel shipments, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said on May 18 during the Global Supply Chain Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (here). The new interagency task force will complement CBP’s recent use of single transaction bonds and imposing of “live entry” requirements on higher risk imports to protect government revenue and to find and deter evasion (see 1603030015)., he said. On May 2, CBP announced the creation of the unit to combat steel dumping and forced labor shipments (see 1605030032).
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There's new pressure on CBP to put “points on the board” against illicit trading practices by the end of the year through the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, he said. Just after the bill’s February signing, “I think I’ve never had more phone calls from members of Congress that were as much about trade enforcement,” he noted. The law also prompts greater CBP-IPR holder information sharing and industry-to-government advising, Kerlikowske said.
The trade community is helping CBP better distinguish between legitimate, low-risk shipments and potentially counterfeit, high-risk goods, Kerlikowske said. He applauded the Express Association of America for its development of a new administrative process allowing the voluntary abandonment of suspected counterfeit goods, which “makes a lot of sense,” especially for small seizures, he said. “There’s nothing more bureaucratic and more time-consuming than trying to get a seizure turned over or forfeited to us in the process, especially when it’s a relatively minor seizure,” Kerlikowske said. “It’s much more easier, much quicker, and frankly also provides a significant amount of pain to the violator when that is handed over to us as a voluntary process.” The program has yielded 2,800 voluntary abandonments and saved the government approximately $2.2 million, according to Kerlikowske’s remarks.
Kerlikowske also thanked industry for its help in transferring filers to ACE, noting that 97 percent of entry filings and 80 percent of cargo release filings were being posted to ACE as of May 18. To expedite trade, in addition to working to improve e-commerce, he noted that the U.S. plans to collaborate more with the Canadian government over the next few months “as the Trudeau Administration takes shape.”
Furthermore, CBP is enhancing its detection and enforcement protocols to improve targeting and analysis of goods, including not only steel, but also drugs such as heroin and its synthetic opioid relative, Fentanyl, Kerlikowske said during the event. CBP is "the head of the spear when it comes to enforcement,” he said. “We do a good job now; we work hard at it, but we can do a better job. We can do a better job of communicating exactly what we are doing.”