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SCMP Reporter

The United States Government is believed to have a secret hit list of 54 Hong Kong companies to target with tighter import controls.

 The companies have either been prosecuted or are subject to legal action by Hong Kong authorities for alleged violations of textile export regulations.

 The crackdown is to ensure future exports are made in Hong Kong and not transshipped from the mainland.

 The US Association of Importers and Textiles and Apparel said US Customs previously released the names of 31 Hong Kong companies subject to additional documentation.

 The association said that was 'not the list the US Customs is working off anymore'.

 The internal list is believed to contain the names of 23 other companies pending prosecution for breaches.

 'Customs says all the companies whose names have been provided to the port directors have admitted that they misrepresented the origin of their goods,' an association spokesman said.

 The names would not be revealed until the companies charged with offences had been convicted.

 The association said US Customs had revitalised a regulation that a port director could refuse to release goods if the port was unable to determine the country of origin from information contained in the textile declaration.

 Hong Kong and US authorities have undertaken joint exercises in a bid to stamp out illegal transshipment of goods into the US, including joint inspections of the territory's textile factories and revised documentation and certification.

 The US will now require importers to take steps to ensure they are not buying illegal products.

 For example, an inspection record is required from any importer or agent who routinely visits overseas factories that the production of goods for a particular shipment has been checked.

 In addition, factory production records will need to show Customs clearance records, transaction details such as invoices, and cutting records for products assembled from cut components.

 There must also be export documentation showing the goods purported to be produced by a factory were the ones actually exported.

 The tough importing conditions from one of Hong Kong's biggest import markets are likely to be another setback for an industry already suffering from an increasingly competitive market caused by regional devaluations.

 The association has attempted to identify Hong Kong companies subject to the tougher requirements by asking importers and members to report any information the Government requires for additional documentation.

 Hong Kong government research shows demand for more than 70 per cent of textile products affected by US bonds fell in 1996, the latest year for which statistics are available.

 US authorities were unavailable for comment.



US targets 54 companies for tight import checks