IWLA Meets with U.S. Customs and Border Protection

IWLA recently met virtually with officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) to discuss counterfeits entering the e-commerce marketplace. IWLA requested the meeting to review the report “Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods,” prepared for President Trump by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In the report, DHS outlined a series of actions and recommendations for the U.S. government and the private sector to curb trafficking in counterfeit and pirated goods. The report took particular aim at domestic warehouses and fulfillment centers and called for unprecedented new measures, such as expanded responsibilities for import transactions and enhanced destruction of counterfeit products.

 During the meeting, IWLA leaders described in detail the differences in e-commerce between a 3PL warehouse engaged in fulfillment versus product resellers. CBP said that many of the recommendations in the report were in the early phases of implementation. The meeting was a first step in IWLA’s goal of collaborating with CBP to prevent counterfeits from entering U.S. commerce,  while at the same time ensuring that CBP understands the unique role of the 3PL warehouse in the e-commerce marketplace.

IWLA participants in the meeting were Mark Cabrera, Chief Executive Officer, Saddle Creek Logistics Services; Mark DeFabis, Chief Executive Officer, Integrated Distribution Services; Mike Hart, Vice President of Risk Management, Verst Group; Steve DeHaan, IWLA’s President and CEO; and Pat O’Connor, IWLA’s Washington Representative.