President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 31 aimed at “ensuring safe and lawful e-commerce for U.S. consumers, business, government supply chains, and intellectual property rights.”
The order noted that “e-commerce, including transactions involving smaller express-carrier or international mail packages, is being exploited by traffickers to introduce contraband into the United States, and by foreign exporters and United States importers to avoid applicable customs duties, taxes, and fees.”
“It is the policy of the United States Government to protect consumers, intellectual property rights holders, businesses, and workers from counterfeit goods, narcotics (including synthetic opioids such as fentanyl), and other contraband now being introduced into the United States as a result of the recent growth in e-commerce,” the order reads. “The United States Government must also protect the revenue of the United States from individuals and entities who evade customs duties, taxes, and fees.”
In order to cut down on the number of counterfeits sold online, Trump has asked the Department of Homeland Security to “consider appropriate measures” to ensure that companies selling goods from abroad arent shipping counterfeits and to identify companies suspected of trying to import goods to the United States despite being banned from doing so.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has also been directed to review its importer of record program and take steps to ensure that importers who have been suspended are not able to re-establish business activity by changing their name or address.
A notice of proposed rule-making will also be issued to establish criteria importers must meet in order to obtain an importer of record number and CBP must develop a criteria to create an international non-compliance metric which will measure the international post carriers efforts to prevent the shipment of counterfeit products to U.S. customs.
The non-compliance metric will “take into account rates of trafficking of counterfeit goods, narcotics (including synthetic opioids such as fentanyl), and other contraband through a particular international post, effectiveness of the international post in reducing such trafficking, including cooperation with CBP, as well as such other factors the Secretary, through the Commissioner, determines advisable. ”
Any postal service that does not meet the minimum requirements and has high rates of contraband shipments may be banned from delivering to the United States, according to the order.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that the trafficking of counterfeit and pirated goods is causing “significant harm” to U.S. workers, consumers, intellectual property owners, and the economy.
“Under President Trumps leadership, the federal government and industry partners are working together to combat illicit trade. In addition, President Trump has ensured that intellectual property protection and enforcement against pirated and counterfeit goods aRead More – Source
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The Epoch Times
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