Every day, disruption in the international supply chain continues to make headline news. From cars to TVs, Americans are told it is taking longer to get merchandise from overseas into the department stores for purchase. News reports show video of dozens of mega-size cargo vessels off the coast of California waiting to unload containers into the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach. It seems as if the way cargo has moved from overseas to the United States no longer works, or at least is in serious jeopardy. So is our international supply chain functioning properly?
As a U.S. Customs and International Trade lawyer, I have been involved in various matters surrounding the movement of cargo into and out of the United States for more than 30 years. I interact daily with the federal law enforcement agencies tasked with enforcing the laws and regulations at the border, especially the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Trade and Tax Bureau (TTB), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
