More Than 100 Shipments Being Held Under WROs at Port of LA/LB
The Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach is "supporting" 17 withhold release orders and "we currently have well over 100 shipments on hold pending determination of admissibility" due to suspicion of forced labor, CBP Port Director for the LA/LB Seaport Donald Kusser said while speaking during a Foreign Trade Association World Trade Week event May 20. Such shipments can remain in CBP custody for "months during the investigatory process," he said.
The growth in e-commerce has driven an increase in containers filled with consolidated shipments with goods for multiple consignees, he said. "This has been a challenge for us, as some of these are entered as Type 01 consumption entries for a single importer," he said. "However, when we inspect these shipments we are finding that they contain packages already barcoded with U.S. shipping labels destined for the true importer or consignee." Such shipments "raise concerns around the issue of right to make entry since the importer of record is not the true owner of the goods," he said.