Updates from the Cross Border Shippers

[sin-n-dex]

Chit Chats posted on their blog:

https://chitchats.com/blog/president-trumps-tariffs-on-canada-and-e-commerce

Trucks going over on May 2 and May 3 were denied. They are going to fine their customers $1000 for trying to sneak China made goods in with the shipments (and cancel their account, and report them to CBP to make it difficult for that shipper to violate again), plus make the shipper liable for any fines from US Customs.

I was at Stallion today, they had 10 bags of rejected items. Two or three contained letters, mine were nicely wrapped in coloured paper with rubber bands so I found my stuff very easily. I've spent my afternoon printing tracked labels for all these packages to try to send again.

Several bags were third party labels (in November we were told that wasn't allowed, but people kept doing it and Stallion didn't intervene until Customs refused a bunch of packages). From what I was told the packages that came back were refused while others were accepted (this was from last Tuesday).

While I was at Stallion, a guy came in to complain his shipment hadn't been moving. He went to get his phone and came back and it was discovered the shipments he sent (he said there was 10 with the same stuck status) were rejected at the border. After he left, I was told by the agent that people are trying to sneak their China goods on the truck and misdeclaring the country of origin.

From what I was told, the search on packages isn't quite as random as getting on the truck and opening random stuff to see what it is. They are looking at what's declared and selectively opening anything that could suspiciously be from China. (This is not an official communication, I had some concerns about my shipments even though they're not from China and was told customs knows what it's supposed to be when they open it). So basically various toys and games and things that are likely to be made in China are being selected. I will find out later if my packages are opened when my customers respond to me (someone will tell me). 

I didn't check DYK's FB page yet to see what they have to say, but they were having problems at the Montana Border on Friday.

C.

[byto253]

Chitchats sent this email.

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Our May 2–3 crossings were denied after some clients misdeclared Chinese-origin goods to evade tariffs. To prevent future issues, we’re enforcing strict penalties for misdeclarations. Please visit our May 5 blog update to review penalties and learn how to declare correctly.

If you declared properly but experienced delays, we’re working to remove noncompliant shipments so your packages can resume their journey as soon as possible.

In addition, U.S. Select will temporarily not qualify for DDP postage. In the meantime, please use U.S. Edge for prepaid tariffs.

Thank you for your understanding.

Thank you for choosing Chit Chats.
The Chit Chats Team

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From the blog linked in the email:

Why Accurate Declarations Matter & Repercussions

• Any discovered misdeclared shipments during a CBP (U.S. customs) inspection will result in the entire truck being turned around. In other words, the action of misdeclaring your shipment not only affects you, but all other Chit Chats clients on the same border-crossing.

• To protect compliant shippers and keep operations running smoothly, we will be implementing the following penalties if you are found to misdeclare the Country of Origin, value, or any other shipment detail intended to evade tariffs by your local branch or during CBP inspection. All of the following penalties can occur even on your first offense:
  • $1000 CAD Chit Chats Administrative Fee
  • Disposal of misdeclared shipments
  • Termination of your Chit Chats account (CBP will retain your information, making any future attempts to circumvent tariffs highly likely to fail.)
• Beyond our internal measures, CBP can impose civil penalties up to $50,000 USD and bar you from shipping to the U.S. in the future—regardless of carrier or method.