It was reported that since April 28th. The US Customs has been conducting large-scale inspections of vape-related products at the Chicago port, and has intercepted hundreds of tons of goods.
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Hundreds of tons of vapes were seized at U.S. ports in Chicago
On the evening of May 8th, an insider familiar with the US vape logistics business disclosed that since April 28th. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been conducting large-scale inspections of vape-related products at the Chicago port, and has intercepted hundreds of tons of goods.
According to informed sources, all logistics related to vapes have been required to undergo inspection recently. The relevant goods are currently stranded at the Chicago port in a concentrated manner, awaiting further inspection. However, the insider also pointed out that it is still in the stage of interception and inspection, and it is not yet certain whether the goods will be detained.
After verifying with several enterprises engaged in the logistics business of vapes in the United States. We learned that the Chicago port is indeed conducting inspections on vape products at present, and all related goods have been suspended from shipment. Due to the impact of this inspection, many enterprises engaged in the logistics of vapes in the United States have suspended shipments, including two leading logistics providers in the industry.
Several logistics providers suspend shipments
According to informed sources, in October 2024, the Chicago Port had already experienced a similar scale of vape inspection. Subsequently, on October 22, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an announcement stating that it had jointly carried out law enforcement operations with CBP. After inspecting all goods from China, it seized multiple brands of illegal vape products.
The announcement pointed out that to evade tariff supervision and law enforcement investigation, these unauthorized electronic cigarette products are usually deliberately falsely declared as items unrelated to electronic vaping products and have incorrect values declared at customs declarations. The FDA said that this joint operation seized approximately 3 million illegal vapes, with an estimated retail value of about 76 million US dollars. The seized products have been lawfully transferred to the government and will be handled under the relevant regulations of CBP. This is the highest amount involved in a vape law enforcement operation by the agency to date.
