The Fed's a cracking down again:
By: Mark Rockwell
Although their multi-million dollar seizures of illegal drug shipments get more headlines, Customs and Border Protection officers have been working to stem a flow of illegally-imported auto headlights that can have dangerous consequences for drivers in the U.S.
CBP’s Import Safety Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC) is on the lookout for illegal imports of noncompliant High Intensity Discharge (HID) conversion kits, light sources, and ballasts, said the agency. Since receiving a commercial allegation in December 2010, CBPS said it has identified hundreds of shipments for examination at various ports of entry across the U.S. including Los Angeles, Anchorage, Cleveland, San Juan, Miami, Detroit, Champlain, Orlando and Seattle. The agency said it has seized more than $5 million in illegal headlights and headlight components since 2009.
On Sept.12 at the port of Newark, CBP officers working closely with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), seized a shipment of 10,740 imported HID conversion kits. The domestic value of the shipment was approximately $570,000, said the agency. The shipment from China had been targeted by the CTAC because of the potential safety threat to the American public, said CBP.
CBP officers seized the shipment after it determined the equipment failed to meet DOT requirements that headlamp replaceable light sources be marked with the light source type, the light source manufacturer's name or trademark, and the DOT symbol indicating certification of compliance with governing regulations. Other DOT compliance issues exist as well. CBP officials have said the headlights pose hazards if they don’t meet regulatory standards.
Automotive headlamps, and replacement light sources and ballasts for those lamps, are regulated by DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said CBP. HID conversion kits are custom light sources and ballasts manufactured to be installed into headlamps that were not designed to use them. When the kits are installed, they pose potential glare hazards to other roadway users. The street value for HID conversion kits can run anywhere from $150 to $500 per kit.
Since October 2009, CBP said it has seized more than 400,000 HID conversion kits and components for violating DOT regulations, equaling a total combined domestic value of approximately $5 million. A significant portion of those shipments arrived into the United States via the air cargo or express mail environment, shipped from numerous southeast Asian countries, it said.
http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/24703?c=border_security