Customs Lawyer Reports Increase in Wood Packaging Material Penalties
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 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 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 issued guidance on WPM violations in November 2017 that it planned to increase the frequency of penalties for WPM violations (see 1711030034).