US customs clamps down on vague cargo descriptions

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CBP said that from October 7, carriers and other parties electing to file ACAS data to CBP are required to provide a precise description of the cargo.

Until then, a warning period has been put in place. Daily warning messages will be sent to the main ACAS contact each day with a summary of each vague description from the previous day.

As an example, this means that descriptions such as “gift”, “daily necessities”, “accessories”, “parts” and “consolidated” will no longer be accepted. Further examples can be found here.

“ACAS filers are expected to process these warning and rejection notifications and work to correct the issue with the shipper and bill of lading issuer for compliance on that shipment,” CBP said.

“ACAS filers, whether air carriers or parties electing to file, are expected to screen data for compliance with cargo declaration regulations.

“Corrective action is expected immediately. If CBP identifies any enforcement concerns, CBP may take additional actions.”

Qantas Freight said that from October 7 any non-compliant, vague descriptors will be rejected and freight will not be loaded at origin until the cargo descriptions have been amended to be compliant.

“Please note that if a hold is placed on one House Air Waybill (HAWB), the entire Master Air Waybill (MAWB) will not be uplifted,” the carrier said. “If a MAWB/HAWB is co-loaded on a ULD with other MAWBs, the entire ULD will be held from uplift.”

The last few months have seen the US become increasingly strict on imports into the country.

In July, the US began a clamp down on e-commerce shipments when it suspended “multiple customs brokers” from its Entry Type 86 Test programme that covers the duty-free import of shipments worth less than $800 into the US.

There have also been reports of greater scrutiny of Type 86 shipments causing hold-ups at borders and cancelled flights.

The US said that over the last 10 years the number of shipments entering the US claiming the de minimis $800 exemption has increased significantly, from approximately 140m a year to more than 1bn a year.

This exponential increase in de minimis shipments makes it more challenging to enforce US trade laws, health and safety requirements, intellectual property rights, consumer protection rules, and to block illicit synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and synthetic drug raw materials and machinery from entering the country.

Meanwhile, new security requirements for air cargo shipments from Europe and CIS countries were added by the US in mid-August following reports of two packages containing incendiaries having caught on fire within European parcel networks.

The new requirements led to Korean Air Cargo placing an embargo on shipments from Europe and CIS countries to the US until November 18.

Freight forwarders have highlighted the challenges they face in meeting these new requirements.

And more could be on the way, with the Biden administration hoping to implement stricter rules on e-commerce goods being imported into the country under the de minimis exemption.

If implemented, the requirements would mean that any products that are part of the Section 301, Section 201, or Section 232 trade enforcement actions would no longer be covered by the exemption.