This article helps explain the system somewhat. Note this reference:
"U.S. Customs is purchasing software to help analyze and target small shipments but doesn’t have enough resources to inspect most packages, said Karen Lobdell, a senior manager for Thomson Reuters’ global trade automation platform."
This is actually an AI system that cost nearly $100 million. It analyzes the data that all shippers from China (mostly 3PL containers) and India (mostly mail) have to supply the US so they can "target" which packages to inspect. Among other things. if a shipper or recipient has had contraband seized before, a parcel will be flagged as a target. While that's obvious, it also does things like looking for changed address and name spellings, seen as an attempt to evade customs notice.
If there's enough "red flag" packs in a shipment, they tell the 3PL to divert the container from China to a customs facility, if it's mail from India, they tell the USPS to divert the bag to the International Mail Facility.
It's a lot easier to deal with a small bag with a few hundred parcels from India than a container with 20,000 looking for 2 or 3 parcels of interest. As that quote says, they don't have the resources (yet).
I believe the sudden increase in India seizures is a test run of the new software on the small, easily digestible low volume of packs from India, before getting to work on the Chinese shipments when the new laws pass and they massively expand inspection capability. This has been in process for years, and just about ready to go.
"Type 86" is the program that allows Chinese 3PLs to "self report" contents of their containers and bypass customs inspections. They're all freaking out because once the new laws go into place, any 3PL found to be accommodating illegal goods via false declarations will be suspended from Type 86 privileges, and effectively put out of business. The US will soon require those 3PLs to verify the identity of the shipping companies, and the specific person providing the content info for each package, using ID. That means when one of our China vendors here claims "perfume", and it turns out to be steroids, that company, and that individual popping up on future electronic manifests will result in that entire container getting detained for inspection. The shippers will start blacklisting the companies and individuals shipping sketchy products so they don't risk their legit business. It's already happened a few times, including when QSC had packs returned to them during a group buy and had to find a new shipper.
www.freightwaves.com/news/us-customs-tightens-enforcement-on-low-value-e-commerce-trade
