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EAPA Action: Determination as to Evasion - Polyethylene Bags

CBP Issues Determination as to Evasion in Enforce and Protect Act Investigation

 

WASHINGTON—On October 21, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued its determination as to evasion against Mac Swed, Inc. (Mac Swed) in its Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) investigation into the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders for polyethylene retail carrier bags (polyethylene bags) from Vietnam. CBP found that substantial evidence that Mac Swed evaded AD/CVD duty orders A-552-806 and C-552-805 by misclassifying the merchandise and misrepresenting the country of origin. Mac Swed did not declare that the merchandise was subject to the AD/CVD orders upon entry and, as a result, no cash deposits were collected on the merchandise. As a result, Mac Swed evaded a significant amount of antidumping duties owed to the U.S. Government.

In light of CBP’s determination that Mac Swed entered covered merchandise into the customs territory of the United States through evasion, and pursuant to its authorities under EAPA, CBP will continue to:

  • Suspend liquidation of unliquidated entries already suspended under this investigation,
  • Rate adjust and change to Entry Type 03 entries subject to this investigation and suspend liquidation,
  • Reject any entry summaries and require a re-file for those entries that are within the entry summary reject period
  • Require “live” entry for all imports of shrimp meeting the evasion criteria, requiring the importer to submit proper documentation and all duties prior to release of the merchandise; and
  • Require single transaction bonds, as appropriate, and evaluate the sufficiency of the importer’s continuous bonds.

These actions do not preclude CBP from taking additional enforcement measures as it determines appropriate under its EAPA or other legal authorities, which include pursuing civil penalties or investigations into criminal violations.

For additional information on CBP and EAPA, please visit CBP.gov. If you suspect an importer of duty evasion, CBP encourages you to submit an allegation through our online portal.

Follow CBP Office of Trade on Twitter @CBPTradeGov

Last Modified: Nov 12, 2020