Halting Flood Of Illicit Packages, Including Fentanyl, Into United States: New Legislation Cracks Down On Smuggling, Imports Made With Forced Labor

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GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCES BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO HALT THE FLOOD OF ILLICIT PACKAGES AND FENTANYL INTO THE UNITED STATES

 

New Legislation Cracks Down on Fentanyl Smuggling, Imports of Products Made with Forced Labor

Editor’s note: Staten Islander News has previously covered the District Attorney’s office’s role in preventing overdose deaths. Stopping the flow of heroin and fentanyl generally rests with the federal government. Staten Island’s Overdose Task Force released a report detailing recommendations for reducing overdose deaths on the island. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), alongside Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Bob Casey (D-PA), announced bipartisan legislation to help Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stop the flow of illicit goods, including fentanyl, counterfeits, and products made with forced labor, into the country by tightening import requirements for low-value packages.

In recent years, the number of direct-to-consumer shipments from foreign corporate giants like Shein and Temu into the U.S. has quadrupled. These retailers are abusing a customs process called “de minimis” entry, which allows packages under $800 to enter the country tariff-free and under a streamlined process. As the volume of packages has increased, CBP has struggled to effectively target shipments and keep out packages containing illicit drugs, counterfeits, products made with forced labor, and other goods that violate U.S. law.

“Tightening import requirements for low-value packages will help keep counterfeits off our streets and fentanyl out of our communities,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The bipartisan FIGHTING for America Act would crack down on the de minimis loophole and help CBP stop unlawful packages and deadly drugs from entering our country. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this important bill passed into law.”

  

The Fighting Illicit Goods, Helping Trustworthy Importers, and Netting Gains (FIGHTING) for America Act would tighten the rules for de minimis entry and help CBP more effectively stop unlawful imports. The legislation would ensure that Chinese corporate giants cannot use the de minimis process to avoid paying tariffs on textiles, shoes, and apparel or evade trade penalties imposed because of Chinese trade cheating. Reducing the overall volume of low-value packages entering under de minimis would lower carbon emissions, promote enforcement of U.S. trade laws, and level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers and workers. The legislation would also improve oversight of the de minimis entry process by (1) requiring CBP to collect more information about commercial packages, (2) facilitating the targeting and seizure of illicit goods, and (3) increasing penalties for bad actors.

 

This legislation is supported by Oregon AFL-CIO, AFL-CIO, National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), Parents Against Vaping e-Cigs (PAVe), Voices for Awareness | Facing Fentanyl Now, National Association of Police Organizations, Fraternal Order of Police, United Steelworkers (USW), United States Footwear Manufacturers Association (USFMA), National Treasury Employees Union, and the Outdoor Industries Association.

A one-pager is available here. A section-by-section outline of the legislation is available here. The text of the bill is here.

Banner Image: Narcan. Image Credit – Pharmacy Images


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3 Comments

  • Avatar We need Kojak says:

    We need to hang the drug peddlers selling this junk in our neighborhoods!!!

    New faces will take their places really fast but that is life. Book ’em! Don’t be lenient. They are selling Russian Roulette death drugs.

  • Avatar Puerto Rican Consciousness says:

    Fentanyl can only be stopped at the level of the streets. It is not like marijuana or cocaine and can slip by easier and a little makes a lot of doses.

    The dealers need to get reported to the police. They did this in Ridgewood in the ’80s when crack was out of control. Fast-thinking Puerto Ricans in the neighborhood who cared started video taping the drug dealers plying their wares. It was a weird scene bc the pushers kney that they were being taped and didn’t care. Also weird bc they still talked to the neighbors who told on them like nothing happened. The dealers never got in trouble, How does that work??

  • Avatar MR. KREUGER says:

    IT’S THE BOYS WHO GET INTO THESE DRUGS FACE IT. YEAH SOME GIRLS BUT MOSTLY THE BOYS. THEY NEED SHOP CLASSES AND ACTIVITIES TO KEEP THEM DOING FUN THINGS SO THEY ONLY EVER EXPERIMENT WITH ALCOHOL LIKE IS NORMAL ONCE YOU’RE OF AGE.

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