Thursday, March 28, 2024

Trump Admin Seizes Thousands Of Illicit Goods Entering U.S. From China

Operation Mega Flex, a Customs and Border Protection initiative aimed at”protecting U.S. businesses and consumers from unfair Chinese trade practices,” has yielded more than 4,200 seizures of illicit goods and 2,400 agriculture violations over the past 15 months.

According to Customs and Border Protection:

The seizures included counterfeit goods, illegal narcotics, fake identity documents, prohibited plant and animal products, and other items that threaten the health and safety of consumers, undermine the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, and put U.S. agriculture and the environment at risk.

Operation Mega Flex is a CBP-led, interagency effort that was initiated in July 2019 to measure compliance and assess illicit networks in the international mail environment through periodic enhanced inspections. The ongoing operation is part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to protecting U.S. businesses and consumers from unfair Chinese trade practices. CBP conducts Mega Flex operations at international mail facilities and express consignment hubs nationwide in close coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The explosive growth of e-commerce has generated a substantial increase in international mail and express consignment shipments. Foreign sellers, particularly those in China, are exploiting this trend to ship counterfeit and other illicit goods into the United States and to commit other trade violations.

CBP personnel have seized numerous shipments of unapproved pills from China that claim to treat COVID-19
Unapproved pills seized by CBP in Indianapolis.

“The Trump Administration and CBP are strongly committed to putting an end to both the Made in China contraband inundating America through small parcels and the role that e-commerce platforms are playing in facilitating such illegal trafficking,” said Dr. Peter Navarro, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. “If e-commerce platforms like Alibaba, Amazon, and eBay fail to increase their scrutiny of China’s contraband trafficking and continue to refuse to accept their full and fair share of policing this dangerous problem, they will be held accountable. American lives and livelihoods are both at stake, and the Trump Administration and CBP will continue to do everything necessary to protect both.”

Weapons suppressors seized by CBP in Miami as part of Operation Mega Flex
Firearm suppressors seized in Miami by CBP.

“Every day, hundreds of thousands of parcels arrive from China through the international mail, many of which contain illegitimate goods that threaten our economic security and the health and safety of American consumers,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Mark A. Morgan. “Through Operation Mega Flex, CBP is taking decisive action to address unfair trade practices and stopping dangerous goods from entering the United States.”

READ MORE HERE.

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