Tacoma, Washington - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations officers seized a shipment of more than 300 potentially unsafe mattresses Wednesday worth more than $50,000 at the Port of Tacoma.

The merchandise was seized due to consumer safety concerns for the flammability of materials used in the manufacturing process.

“CBP is focused on identifying and intercepting imported consumer products that do not meet our country’s consumer product safety standards.  The enforcement of U.S. consumer safety laws at our ports of entry is, and will continue to be, a high-priority,” said Mark Wilkerson, director of CBP’s Area Port of Seattle. “The importation of unsafe consumer products threatens the well-being of the American people and can damage the economy of the United States.”

CBP is responsible for enforcing nearly 500 U.S. trade laws and regulations on behalf of 47 federal agencies, facilitating legitimate trade, collecting revenue, and protecting the U.S. economy and its consumers from harmful imports and unfair trade practices.

With the growth of foreign trade, unscrupulous companies have profited billions of dollars from the sale of pirated goods and merchandise that fails to meet safety standards. To combat the illicit trade of merchandise violating laws relating to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), trademark and copyright holders may register with CBP through an online system. Such registration assists CBP Officers and Import Specialists in identifying merchandise that violate U.S. law.

CBP’s IPR and consumer safety enforcement strategy is multi-layered and includes seizing illegal merchandise at our borders, pushing the border “outward” through audits of suspect importers, cooperating with our international trading partners, and collaborating with industry and governmental agencies to enhance these efforts.