CBP seizes Egyptian carpets

CBP seizes Egyptian carpets    U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Savannah in Georgia recently seized more than 25,000 carpets from Egypt because they had false country of origin markings to evade import laws, the agency said last week.
   CBP said the fraud was designed to mislead consumers into believing the goods were made in the United States.
   The carpets, which had markings of “Crafted with pride in USA” or no country of origin markings, were discovered in five container shipments and have a total value of $360,544, according to CBP.
   The importer was notified five times during a two month period to properly label its products before the carpets were seized.
   CBP has seized more than $14 million worth of textile goods during the past four months, $4 million in February alone, in a crackdown on import violations.
   The agency said it has hired 45 additional import specialists, lab analysts and other personnel to increase textile law enforcement efforts.
   “The wool, cotton, polyester will not be pulled over our eyes,” Acting CBP Commissioner Deborah Spero said in a statement.