On April 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted a notice that it has created a special email address in order to assist importers who are experiencing delays bringing COVID-19-related supplies into the U.S. According to the notice, the primary reason for the delays is confusion relating to the difference between personal and commercial shipments.

Prior to contacting the FDA, importers are request to have the following information:

• entry number (which you can get from your entry filer);
• port of entry;  and
• other shipment details.

A map of the FDA’s import offices, email contact and additional information are available in the FDA’s notice.