2010 - Page 2 of 10 - Customs & International Trade Law Firm

Why is U.S. Customs Issuing So Many Requests for Information (CBP Form 28)?

WARNING! U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a record number of CBP Form 28s (Request for Information) and CBP Form 29s (Notice of Action) so far this year. Import Specialists of CBP at ports of entry all over the United States are sending out these forms to importers demanding responses. If the responses are not satisfactory, the CBP officer will demand payment of customs duties. What an importer states in its response to CBP may result in CBP taking no further action, assessing customs duties, issuing a monetary penalty notice, or even referring the case for criminal prosecution.

A CBP Form 28 is entitled “Request for Information”, and it demands that a response be submitted by the importer of record, in writing to CBP, within 30 days of the date of the Request. The response is typically signed and dated by a company official, usually a corporate officer or manager. Moreover, the company employee who signs the form certifies that the statements made by the company are true and correct. The person who signs the CBP form is reminded that false statements on the form to CBP may result in criminal prosecution against that person.

CBP may demand records and assess penalties, demand payment of duties, or take other legal action up to 5 years after an entry of a shipment is made in the United States, according to 19 U.S.C. 1509, 19 U.S.C. 1621, and 19 CFR Part 151. A Request for Information form may be the first step for CBP to discover violations committed by an importer. […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-04-09T12:54:13-04:00November 7, 2010|U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|0 Comments

Seminars – Importing Food Into the United States

The Customs and International Trade Department of the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff* regularly holds workshops. Attendees learn the most recent information regarding compliance with the import and export requirements of the various Federal agencies of the United States Government. Our next workshops will focus on one of my favorite subjects – FOOD, and its increasing regulation by the FDA. The workshops take place in both Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The 2010 Import/Export Fall Workshop Series hosted in cooperation with the Office of Economic Development & International Trade of Miami-Dade County (OEDIT) is entitled “Importing Food into the United States for International Trade Professionals”. The speakers are from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Miami Imports Branch and ABC Research Corp., a food testing laboratory, and the Customs and International Trade Department. The presentation will be from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 4, at the Miami Free Zone. The workshop will focus on food, but also include cosmetics, medical devices, and dietary supplements, all of which are also regulated by the FDA. For more information, you may contact me or the OEDIT at 305-375-1254 or e-mail oedit@miamidade.gov. The seminar is open only to Miami-Dade County companies.

On Tuesday, November 16, 2010, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the Port Everglades Administration Building, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, my law firm, in cooperation with Broward County’s Office of Economic and Small Business Development, and the City of Hollywood, will host “Importing Food Products in Compliance with FDA and U.S. Customs Rules”. The seminar is open to all persons and companies. Registration for the seminar may be easily done on-line. The seminar […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2015-12-28T14:17:35-05:00October 27, 2010|Food|0 Comments

10 Symptoms To Diagnose You as a Road Warrior

I have traveled way too much recently, and thought I would help you out with some simple test questions to identify if you too are a road warrior who needs a break. If more than 5 of the below 10 test sample comments seem all too familiar, I recommend you slow down or go home. Enjoy this blog post, and let me know the results of the test questions for you.

1. TripAdvisor.com becomes your most commonly used Internet site.

2. You are daily checking your hotel points and frequent flier program balances.

3. It is no problem to pack clothes and various accessories into a 22 inch carry-on for a 5 night trip.

4. You travel with an iPod, Blackberry cellphone, Kindle e-reader, Bose acoustic noise-canceling headphones, and laptop, but still think you are forgetting to bring some electronic gadget.

5. You wander the Brookstone store at the airport, and realize you own a heck of a lot of the stuff on display.

6. You buy shoes, shirts, and get a haircut at the airport instead of in your own home town.

7. You know what city you are in, but not certain of the time zone, so you call the hotel front desk to find out.

8. You tell yourself that a five or six hour, cross-country trip from Miami to Los Angeles is no big deal compared to the international flight you recently took to Hong Kong.

9. You actually recognize many of the TSA screeners at the airport.

10. Someone asks you for your home phone number, and you have to […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2015-12-01T01:48:53-05:00October 12, 2010|International Travel|0 Comments

10 MOST COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

I have been an international trade attorney for over 20 years. In that time, I have represented a few thousand companies involved in the importation, exportation, and international transportation of merchandise. I have seen respectful, efficient U.S. Government employees and the most uncaring bureaucrats, importers who care about the law and others who only care how to get around it, and customs brokers who always try to do the right thing and others who you wonder how they ever passed the broker exam and the background check. I have listed the 10 Most Common Misconceptions in International Trade.

I have actually heard intelligent people who are CEOs or General Counsels of their companies say the most surprising things to me over the years.

1. It is ok to bring in up to $100 worth of Cuban cigars into the United States.

2. Dietary supplements that are “all natural” are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and, therefore, can make all kinds of medical claims.

3. The U.S. Government does not care about the value of cargo being exported from the United States because there are no duties, taxes or fees paid to the U.S. Government on exports.

4. If an airlines passenger brings into the United States over $10,000 in cash, the passenger must pay a tax to U.S. Customs or the IRS.

5. If an importer uses a customs broker to file an entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and some false information is provided to U.S. Customs, only the customs broker is liable to U.S. Customs, not the importer.

6. No one […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2015-12-01T01:47:51-05:00September 26, 2010|Export, Import|0 Comments

Food Facility Registration Mandatory With The U.S. FDA

On December 12, 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. That Act basically required that companies shipping food to the United States must first be registered with the FDA, and that importers of food must provide “prior notice” to the FDA of any particular shipment before it physically arrives in the United States. Over the past 7 years, has the Bioterrorism Act lived up to its expectations to protect the American consumer from eating dangerously contaminated food?

In an article entitled “Scrap the Bioterrorism Act” published in February 2004, I criticized the Act as not going far enough because it did not require (1) FDA Inspectors to be located in foreign countries sending us food, (2) cooperation with foreign food inspection governmental authorities, and (3) mandatory recall authority to the FDA for contaminated foods. In a May 6, 2010 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled “Food Safety: FDA Could Strengthen Oversight of Imported Food,” it came to exactly the same conclusions.

As stated in the GAO report:

The FDA physically examines approximately 1 percent of imported food.

Imported fish and other seafood is of particular interest to the FDA. Obviously, FDA Inspectors cannot physically inspect every shipment of imported seafood, but every shipment that contains FDA-regulated products that enters the United States is electronically reviewed by the FDA to determine if the shipment should be physically examined or a sample laboratory tested. Hence, the prior notice information enables FDA, working closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to more effectively target

By Jennifer Diaz|2015-12-28T14:17:11-05:00September 18, 2010|FDA Issues, Food|0 Comments

Previous 123 Next