THOMPSON, HINE AND FLORY -2 It is the understanding of MJSA that the Customs Service has earmarked $20 million of its fiscal 1987 budget for enforcement of antifraud laws. As Commissioner von Raab stated, country-of-origin-marking violations are an important aspect of commercial fraud. Under the circumstances, MJSA urges that the Committee on Finance provide a budget that will provide the Customs Service the resources it needs to not only process commercial goods with all due speed, but also to enforce the laws as to country-of-origin-marking. Sincerely yours, Live B Martia Lewe B. Martin Special Trade Counsel, MJSA LBM: jmg Enclosure CC: Senator John H. Chafee 1828M Dr. Matthew A. Runci Department of the TREASURY NEWS U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE WASH, DC 20229 (202)-566-5286 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 16, 1987 CUSTOMS FINDS MANY VIOLATIONS AMONG IMPORTED PRODUCTS U.S. Commissioner of Customs William von Raab said today that a Customs Service study during 1986 revealed that nearly 17 percent of merchandise imported into the United States is improperly marked as to county of origin. U.S. Import laws require that an imported product be clearly marked with its country of origin. The Customs study, which was based on the results of more than 15,200 special cargo examinations, was carried out in quarterly phases throughout calendar 1986. During the first phase of the study, which ran from January 1 through March 31, 1986, Customs officers in ports around the country performed 5,600 examinations and found an average of 14 percent of the imported merchandise to be not legally marked with the country of origin. During the same time, Customs officers in New York found violations as high as 90 percent in a series of 1,500 examinations. Before making their study, Customs officers had estimated that only two to three percent of imported goods may be not legally marked with the country of origin. Only certain commodities were selected for these special examinations; a different group each quarter. During the last quarterly phase, from October 1 through December 31, Customs officers found that the highest percentages of violation of country-of-origin-marking rules occurred among shipments of jewelry and bicycles: 3,347 examinations of jewelry imports showed a violation rate of 21.1 percent: 1,115 examinations of imported bicycles revealed violations in 26.7 percent of shipments. Also during the last phase, Customs officers in San Francisco levied over $500,000 in duties, penalties, and damages for errors uncovered during their examinations under the countryof-origin-marking program. In commenting on the country-of-origin-marking study, Commissioner von Raab said, "During 1986 we discovered the extent of this problem, and we are taking steps to see that we get control over it. This is just another aspect of commercial fraud, an area of law enforcement that is a major program at the Customs Service. (more) - 2 Customs is continuing the country-of-origin-marking program in 1987, under which in the first two months they have already seized merchandise valued at over $1,600,000. For further information call Customs Office of Public Affairs at (202)566-5286. 78-675 (296) C 189 89 |