Trade Enforcement of Transshipments

Trade Enforcement of Transshipments

The following information is being shared with our esteemed clients as an import alert regarding a recent enforcement action taken by the Federal Government. Western Overseas Corporation is a Customs Trade Partner Against Terrorism (CTPAT) member and in our effort to assist in strengthening the international trade supply chain, and as recommended by the CTPAT program, we will provide informative enforcement results and updates to our clients.

As U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) focuses its trade enforcement efforts on priority trade issues, they are committed to facilitating a proactive, aggressive, trade enforcement system to protect the American consumer and the nation’s economic prosperity.

The following is public information regarding a determination involving the transshipment of cabinets and vanities from China including evasion to entered merchandise.

On January 27, 2022, and updated on March 21, 2022, CBP issued a determination of BGI Group Inc. (“BGI”) doing business as U.S. Cabinet Depot, for evading customs duties in the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) Case 7603. CBP examined the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on wooden cabinets and vanities and components from the Peoples’ Republic of China (China). CBP found substantial evidence that the company imported the merchandise covered by the AD/CVD order by transshipping it through Vietnam to avoid paying AD/CVD duties. CBP actions taken included:

• Suspension or continued suspension of BGI’s entries, subject to their investigation until instructed to liquidate the entries.
• Change any previously extended non-AD/CVD entries to AD/CVD and adjust rates as well as continue the suspension until instructed to calculate the total money owed to CBP on these entries based on current duty rates and the imported goods value.
• Review BGI’s continuous bonds and require single transaction bonds, as appropriate.

The actions taken above do not preclude CBP from taking additional enforcement measures as it determines appropriate under its EAPA or other legal authorities, which include pursuing civil penalties or investigations into criminal violations.

Importers have a need to fully understand what happens when they provide information with the wrong country of origin that is transmitted to CBP with the intent to evade ADD.

Please contact your Western Overseas representative with any questions.