The United States Association ofImporters of Textiles and Apparel(USA-ITA) last month issued a bulletinto its members stating that reports fromimporters indicate that the Bureauof Customs and Border Protection(Customs, CBP) is closely monitoringdocumentation for shipments of apparelfrom Hong Kong.

USA-ITA noted that Customs’ scrutinyof shipments from Hong Kong followsa series of joint textile factory visits,that were conducted by US and HongKong officials in December of 2006.

"The joint visits are part of theongoing co-operation between theCustoms authorities of Hong Kongand the U.S. to facilitate legitimatetextiles and clothing trade between thetwo places, as well as to combat illegal transhipment of textiles and clothingproducts," said Cheung Sai-yan, headof Trade Controls for Hong Kong’sCustoms and Excise Department.

In the current edition of Customsand Border Protection Today, Customsstated that more than $100 millionin wearing apparel and textile goodsthat were misrepresented, smuggledor illegally transhipped in an effortto circumvent textile trade laws andregulations were seized by Customsduring fiscal year 2006.