United States Customs and Border Protection import specialists seized counterfeit bearings with a domestic value of $14,652 and an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of nearly $130,000 had they been genuine product.

In the month of May, CBP import specialists at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport seized four shipments totaling more than 1,200 bearings that arrived from China via truck from Los Angeles seaport containing counterfeit trademarks.

CBP officers and import specialists are aggressively working together to intercept shipments containing counterfeit and pirated items. “CBP is charged with enforcing trade laws and we continue to devote substantial resources to target, intercept, detain, seize and forfeit shipments of goods that violate these laws,” said Warren Eales, CBP acting port director, Phoenix. “In this instance, the import specialists determined that the circumstances and details surrounding the shipments appeared suspicious and they took a closer look.”

CBP has targeted and seized an increasing number of counterfeit products that pose safety threats to American consumers. These products range from electrical articles such as power cords and lights that can catch fire or shock consumers, batteries that may explode or leak mercury, personal care items like toothpaste and shampoo that may contain harmful bacteria, computer network components and semiconductors that can cripple infrastructure vital for national security, or bearings that may be substandard and could unexpectedly fail at a critical moment in an important piece of machinery, vehicle, aircraft, etc.

Import specialists are trained to target and examine shipments which are suspected of violating trademark and copyrights laws. They are also trained in product identification and trademark verification. In fiscal year 2008, CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized more than $272.7 million worth of counterfeit items nationwide.

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