In the wake of the 2008 Chinese milk scandal, U.S. Customs has tightened its controls on imports from Asian countries, foretelling a tough road ahead for Chinese businesses in the U.S.

On February 4, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will be expanding its use of a new import screening system, Predictive Risk-Based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting (PREDICT), from Los Angeles to New York, and will implement the new system nationwide by the end of the spring. Though Chinese importers and grocers have not yet received official notification, they foresee stricter customs inspections, particularly of Chinese imports, as potentially damaging to their business.

The new screening system tightens inspections of goods from manufacturers and countries with previous records of violations. According to the FDA, the new system still employs random checks of a small sample of imports, but the criteria for searches will be based on a new risk-assessment system, taking into account previous inspection records, natural conditions in the country of origin, such as floods and droughts, and market conditions.

Based on these criteria, the FDA will calculate a risk coefficient, and those imports with the highest risk will be inspected closely, while lower-risk shipments will go through an accelerated screening process.

Mr. Lin, an importer of goods from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, says that in the past three weeks, customs has tightened its inspections of goods from China. In general, Lin says, freight containers from China are checked with a much higher frequency than others, and since the 2008 milk scandal, U.S. Customs has begun conducting surprise inspections. Goods that in the past were never problematic have since become subject to inspection; new products and goods with previous records of problems are targeted even more, Lin says.

"Business is harder than ever. If a shipment gets checked, it could be delayed for between two and three weeks, and if a problem is found, it is shipped back home and the importer forfeits his investment and profit," Lin laments. "In truth, in most cases, it's simply that the United States and China have different inspection criteria." Recent tension in the U.S.-China relationship has also affected the import business for both sides, Lin adds.

U.S. Chinese Chamber of Commerce President Long Dong, who has been involved in the importation business for over 10 years, says that this move by the FDA is related to recent friction in U.S.-China trade relations. "Whenever there's friction, it is most directly reflected in customs inspections issues," Deng says. He explains that in an ideal world, all foreign exporters would abide by U.S. customs regulations, but this is often difficult to put into practice, as it raises costs for exporters, and consumes time and resources. "And when costs are too high, how will that affect the export business? This has already created an invisible barrier to trade."

Mr. Wang, proprietor of the Chung Fat Supermarket in Flushing, says that though suppliers bear the brunt of the impact, the effects of tightened customs controls have been quite visible in the past two years. Ah Dong, manager of the Hong Kong Supermarket in Flushing, notes that the Department of Agriculture has been inspecting supermarkets more frequently, particularly seafood and dried food products.

In addition, the FDA has established offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, New Delhi, Bombay, Mexico City, Costa Rica, Chile, and other locations to cooperate with local governments, producers, and suppliers, to track supply chains, and ensure that food safety measures are implemented at every step of the process.