Customs Lawyer Reports Increase in Wood Packaging Material Penalties; CBP Mitigation Guidelines Coming
Importers should be aware of a recent uptick in wood packaging material enforcement by CBP, Ted Murphy, a customs lawyer with Baker & McKenzie, said in a recent blog post. "In the past month or so, CBP has issued sizeable penalties (i.e., hundreds of thousands of dollars) to several clients who sought to import merchandise on non-compliant WPM," Murphy said. "Given the amount of the penalties being assessed (which are for the full domestic value of the imported merchandise; not just for the value of the WPM) and the lack of clarity around how much mitigation CBP will ultimately afforded (if any), this is an issue that all importers should take additional steps to address."
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CBP is working on mitigation guidelines for WPM penalties "and has prioritized their completion," an agency spokesman said. CBP takes the threat of invasive pests seriously and the WPM enforcement is meant to prevent such pests from entering the U.S. in wood packaging, the spokesman said. "The policy change to issue penalties for each WPM violation has raised awareness of WPM regulations," he said.
CBP issued guidance on WPM violations in November 2017 stating that it planned to increase the frequency of penalties for WPM violations. "CBP wishes to work with the trade community by implementing outreach to educate the users of WPM," the CBP spokesman said. "Information on compliant versus noncompliant WPM is given to help the importer or broker when making arrangements for the importation of goods. By being compliant, the importer avoids penalties.
CBP generally treats "importers as the responsible party with respect to WPM compliance (regardless of whether the importer is actually responsible for the WPM)," Murphy said. "We, therefore, recommend that companies remind their foreign suppliers/carriers of these requirements and their responsibilities under your contract." CBP's spokesman said it "commends the recommendation put forth by Mr. Murphy that companies require compliant WPM from their suppliers. By requiring compliant WPM, awareness and knowledge of compliance will extend to foreign parties, and they will be motivated to supply compliant materials in order to have repeat business."