SWEEPING US SANCTIONS AGAINST
IRAN WILL AFFECT RUG IMPORTS
WASHINGTON, DC -- On Thursday, July 1, US President Barak Obama signed a sweeping new law that will ban many US imports from Iran. Rugs will be included in the embargo. The ban on Iranian rug importation will become effective Sept. 29, 2010. |
Brenda Jacobs, Washington Trade Counsel for the Oriental Rug Importers Association, has written ORIA members explaining how the new law will affect the US Iranian rug importing business.
"No Iranian carpets will be permitted to enter the United States or its customs territory, including from a customs warehouse, after September 28," she said..
"It is the date of entry for consumption that controls whether an imported carpet is subject to the embargo. The date of export from Iran is irrelevant," she explained. "Iranian origin carpets must be presented for entry for consumption to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and/or withdrawn from warehouse by September 28."
Therefore, the embargo will apply to any Iranian carpets that are in a customs warehouse and have not yet been entered for consumption into the US after that date.
"Under CBP rules, entered means that the appropriate documentation has been filed with the port to secure the release of the merchandise or to withdraw it from warehouse, along with any estimated duties that may be due. If entry documents are submitted before merchandise arrives within port limits, the time of entry is when the merchandise arrives within the port limits," Jacobs said.
"For merchandise being withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, the time of entry is when a properly completed Customs Form 7501, and any other required documentation, is filed with CBP and estimated duties, if any, are deposited," she explained.
"ORIA members would be well advised to plan to present Iranian carpets for entry to CBP prior to September 28," she concluded.
The Obama administration has said repeatedly that implementing the sanctions does not signal an end to its two-track policy of mixing engagement and pressure. The White House hopes the measures will convince Iran to come back to the negotiating table.
According to the Department of Commerce, imports of wool rugs from Iran amounted to $43.4 million in 2009, compared to $56.2 million in 2008.
In 2009, worldwide shipments of wool rugs into the US amounted to $562.7 million.
For the first four months of 2010 imports of Iranian rugs amounted to $15.6 million.