2009 - Customs & International Trade Law Firm

CBP Symposium Highlights

The annual CBP Symposium, held at the D.C. Convention Center, Washington, D.C. from December 8-10, 2009, was the 10th year of this very successful event. Over 850 attendees were initially greeted by outgoing Acting Commissioner Jay Ahern. The Symposium agenda was a smorgasbord of information that was appropriate for anyone with a serious interest in international trade and logistics. Highlights included presentations from Assistant Commissioner Dan Baldwin, Office of International Trade, Rich DiNucci, Director, Secure Freight Initiative (“10+2”), Bob Swierupski, Director, National Commodity Specialist Division, and Brenda Smith, Executive Director, Trade Policy and Programs, about what the international trade community should expect in 2010 from CBP. Special Presentations were made by Jeremy Baskin, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and Domenic Veneziano, Director, Division of Import Operations and Policy, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Mr. DiNucci’s presentation on Importer Security Filing (ISF) stated that CBP has received from January 26, 2009 through December 6, 2009 3.65 million ISF filings from over 1,900 ISF filers representing 103,000 ISF importers. There is now a 95% acceptance rate on ISF filings. As you know, the enforcement mode for ISF begins January 26, 2010, and there will be a $5,000 penalty issued by CBP for a violation per ISF transmission or $10,000 maximum per ISF filing. Importers should be familiar with the ISF Interim Final Rule, the FAQ on ISF, and the Mitigation Guidelines issued by CBP.

Therese Randazzo, Director, IPR Policy and Programs Division, stated that CBP had issued over 1,000 fine notices, pursuant […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-04-09T12:55:16-04:00December 15, 2009|Import, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|0 Comments

Importer Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Freon

On November 20, 2009, in Federal Court in Miami, Florida, Mr. James Garrido and the company he controlled, Kroy Corporation, pled guilty to charges related to their illegally smuggling into the United States certain restricted ozone-depleting substances, in violation of the Clean Air Act enforced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are ozone depleting substances and include CFC-22 which is otherwise known as R-22 or popularly known by its trademark name, Freon, owned by DuPont. CFC-22 is a widely used refrigerant for residential heat pump and air conditioning systems.

In 1988, the United States ratified the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. By ratifying the Protocol, the United States committed to a collaborative, international effort to regulate and phaseout ozone-depleting substances. The United States amended the Clean Air Act (CAA) in 1990 to include Title VI, Stratospheric Ozone Protection. The Clean Air Act established a schedule to phase out the production and importation of CFC-22. Individual companies are licensed annually by the EPA to import specified maximum quantities of CFC-22. By 2030, the CFC-22 will be completely phased out.

Neither Mr. Garrido nor Kroy Corporation were ever licensed by the EPA to import CFC-22. They imported approximately 420,000 kilograms of CFC-22 valued at about $4 million over 2 years in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 545(smuggling). They intentionally misdescribed the CFC-22 on documentation presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection as another refrigerant, R-134A, which did not require any special license from the EPA. As stated […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-04-09T12:57:25-04:00December 5, 2009|Import, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)|0 Comments

As a Subscriber, You Are Invited to This Thursday’s Holiday Party

With the overwhelmingly positive response to my new Customs and International Trade Blog, I am inviting each of you to the Customs and International Trade Department’s Holiday Party, this Thursday, December 3, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at my Coral Gables, Florida, office.

Where: 121 Alhambra Plaza, 10th Floor (parking provided in the building)

The following link contains a Map to Coral Gables Office.

Plenty of food and drink provided, so just bring your holiday cheer.

RSVP required to Jennifer Diaz at jdiaz@becker-poliakoff.com or 305-260-1053.

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-04-09T12:57:31-04:00November 29, 2009|Best Practices, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|0 Comments

Bid Now for Right to Ship Chicken Legs to Nicaragua

Nicaragua
Central America Poultry Export Quota, Inc. (CA-PEQ)
Notice of Open Tender
Bids open: November 20, 2009
Bids due: December 4, 2009

Central American Poultry Export Quota, Inc. (CA-PEQ) invites bids for the right to ship U.S.-origin chicken leg quarters to Nicaragua duty-free under a CAFTA tariff-rate quota granted by the Republic of Nicaragua to the United States. The export item is chicken leg quarters, (SAC Nos. 0207.13.93; 0207.14.93; 1602.32.00.10 which correspond respectively to HTS Nos. 0207.13.99.20; 0207.14.99.20 and 1602.32.00A referred to in the text of CAFTA-DR). The product must be imported into Nicaragua between January 1st and December 31, 2010. Certificates of Quota Allocation are being offered duringthis open tender for 487 metric tons in total.

Any person or entity incorporated or domiciled, and with a legal address, in the United States is eligible to bid. Bids must be received by CA-PEQ not later than 5 p.m. (EST) on December 4th, 2009. The minimum bid quantity is 1 metric ton; the minimum bid price is $22.04/metric ton. Bids must be submitted in dollars and cents per metric ton. Bids should not be submitted in amounts that include fractions of a cent. If a bid is received in an amount that includes fractions of a cent, the administrator will ignore the fractions of a cent and consider only the amount that was […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-03-26T14:41:34-04:00November 24, 2009|FDA Issues, Food, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)|0 Comments

Everything You Need to Know About Exporting

In the next few weeks, I am giving lectures and doing a webinar on the general topic of export compliance. In my legal practice over the past 20 years as a Customs and International Trade attorney, I am increasingly involved with clients on export compliance and penalty matters. The laws and regulations have changed dramatically over the past few years, as has the name and number of Federal agencies enforcing them, plus the penalties for non-compliance are much higher now.

Please call (305) 260-1053 with any questions regarding the below seminar/webinar (or compliance generally).

(1) On Wednesday, November 18, from 9 to 12 noon at the Doubletree Miami Mart, on behalf of the Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association, I am lecturing on complying with the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) requirements. The seminar is entitled “Export Controls Compliance and Best Business Practices,” and it will cover everything from identifying the correct ECCN (Export Commodity Classification Number) in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), to submitting an export license, to the decrementing of the license by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to interacting with Special Agents of the BIS’s Office of Export Enforcement conducting an investigation, to negotiating a favorable resolution after a Notice of Proposed Penalty has been issued against the company for an export violation. I will also cover the various trade embargoes and sanctions with countries and foreign nationals […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2015-11-30T19:44:20-05:00November 16, 2009|Export, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|0 Comments

12 Next