Canada and Mexico Exempt From PPE Export Restrictions, CBP Says

Recently announced restrictions on exports of personal protective equipment (PPE) only apply to commercial shipments, and exports to Canada and Mexico are exempt from the policy, said CBP in a memo dated April 9. The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America included the memo in an April 9 email on COVID-19 developments.

Coming on the heels of a Federal Emergency Management Administration final rule that implemented the restrictions as of April 7 (see 2004080018), the CBP memo says that “FEMA has conveyed to CBP that the focus of this effort is on commercial quantities. Commercial quantities are currently defined as shipments valued or $2,500 and containing more than 10,000 units of gloves, masks, or other commodities referenced above.”

The memo also details several exclusions from the export restrictions for PPE covered by the order. Beyond exports to Canada and Mexico, these also include exemptions for exports to U.S. government entities overseas, as well as exports by U.S. government agencies, U.S. charities, critical infrastructure industries for the protection of their workers, the 3M Company, express and mail parcels below commercial quantities, and in-transit shipments.

FEMA’s export restrictions apply to scarce or threatened PPE, defined as N-95 filtering facepiece respirators, other filtering facepiece respirators (including those designated as N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, or P95, P99 or P100), elastomeric air-purifying respirators, surgical masks and PPE gloves or surgical gloves. “For export shipments that do not meet the exclusions, Ports should first perform document reviews and conduct physical examinations if required to determine if the commodity fits the definition of scarce or threatened as shown above,” CBP said.