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U.S. Customs – Your Personal Policeman at the Border

Many companies mistakenly believe that registering a trademark or copyright with the U.S. Government provides sufficient protection and remedies, and, therefore, do not take the extra step to record those trademarks or copyrights with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (U.S. Customs).

The processes achieve two completely different goals.

Registering a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office gives public notice of one’s ownership of the trademark or copyright. On the other hand, the purpose of recording a trademark or copyright with U.S. Customs is to partner with the agency in preventing the unauthorized importation of merchandise that bears a recorded trademark or copyright. U.S. Customs prevents counterfeit and otherwise infringing products from entering or exiting the United States for registered trademark or copyright holders who have recorded their trademarks or copyrights with Customs. […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-12-07T14:53:59-05:00December 6, 2016|China, Counterfeits, Detention, Enforcement, Import, Intellectual Property Rights, International Trade, IPR, Trademarks and Logos, Pre-compliance, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|8 Comments

Travel to the U.S. with an Unlimited Number of Cuban Cigars and Rum – Courtesy of New Revised OFAC and BIS Regulations

On October 14, 2016, President Obama issued a Presidential Policy Directive on United States-Cuba Normalization to further ease travel and trade restrictions with Cuba. As a result, Monday, October 17, 2016, amendments to both OFAC and BIS regulations will take effect.

Below are the top changes from both OFAC and BIS:

OFAC is making additional amendments to the Regulations with respect to health, trade and commerce, civil aviation safety, travel and related transactions, humanitarian-related activities, and certain other activities. Below is a recap:

Health
- Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are now permitted to engage in commercial and non-commercial joint medical research projects with Cuban nationals. (Section 515.547).

Travel and Related Transactions
- Importation of Cuban merchandise: Not too long ago we alerted our readers that CBP was targeting Cuban Cigars at American Ports. We have BIG news for cigar and rum lovers… As of Monday, October 17, 2016, persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are now able to return home from Cuba (or any other country where Cuban rum and cigars can legally be purchased) with an unlimited amount of rum and cigars. However, the number of cigars and amount rum must be for personal use and such merchandise must be imported as accompanied baggage and are subject to the normal limits on duty and tax exemptions. This is a huge step forward from OFAC’s initial limit of $400 or less (with no more than $100 of such merchandise consisting of alcohol or tobacco products). (Section 515.560(c)(3)).

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By Jennifer Diaz|2026-04-28T07:44:56-04:00October 17, 2016|Best Practices, Cuba, Customs Expert, Export, International Trade, International Travel, Pre-compliance, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|3 Comments

Cuban Cigars Seized by CBP

Mark Twain once said, “I never smoke to excess – that is, I smoke in moderation, only one cigar at a time.”

With the loosening of restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba, including the authorization to import Cuban Cigars (for personal use only, under a certain value), persons under “U.S. jurisdiction” are getting caught right and left trying to take advantage and import more than their share of Cuban cigars to the US. In May of this year, Maxim magazine declared Cuban Cigars are still the worlds best. However, as relations thaw, will the Cuban cigar be able to take back the market share it lost in the past half century when countries like Dominican Republic and Nicaragua have served the US? That is a question recently posed by Will Yakwowicz in an article for Inc. earlier this year.

Although you are allowed to bring Cuban cigars back to the U.S. (if you are on an “authorized trip” to Cuba) there is a limit and the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can, and will, seize any amount over the allowed limit.

What is the scope and limit on how many cigars I can bring in?

Persons authorized to travel to Cuba (see our previous post regarding authorized travel to Cuba) may purchase alcohol and tobacco products while in Cuba for personal consumption. Also, as an authorized traveler you may return to the United States with up to $400 worth of Cuban goods, but only $100 […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-07T11:47:16-04:00September 22, 2016|Best Practices, Cuba, Customs Expert, Import, International Law, International Trade, International Travel, Pre-compliance, Seizure, U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|2 Comments

Build Your Own ‘People to People’ Mission & More Cuba Changes

If you have been following our Cuba updates, you’ll note we’ve been busy. A full listing of all of our posts to get you caught up are all the way at the bottom. Here’s the Cliff Notes version:

On December 17, 2014, President Obama made a historic announcement: “Today, the United States is taking historic steps to chart a new course in our relations with Cuba and to further engage and empower the Cuban people.”
By January 16, 2015, both the U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended its Cuban Assets Control Regulations, and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations with a “Support for the Cuban People” license exception. Both OFAC and BIS’s new rules were effective as of January 16, 2015.
OFAC and BIS issued additional new rules on June 15, 2015, September 21, 2015, January 27, 2016 and again today!

As far as travel goes, the NY Times posted their travel tips, but, here are MY travel tips to you:

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By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-07T11:25:36-04:00March 16, 2016|Best Practices, Cuba, Customs Expert, Expert, Export, International Business, International Law, International Trade, International Travel, U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), U.S. Department of State (DOS), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|2 Comments

Up to 110 Daily Flights from the U.S. to Cuba

If you are in aviation – commercial or private – there are potential new business opportunities in Cuba. The American government and our new friendly neighbor to the south, the Republic of Cuba last sat at the negotiation table to discuss Air Transportation agreements in 1957, as parties to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Nearly sixty years later, on February 16, 2016, the United States government and Cuba entered into an aviation agreement, the U.S.-Cuba Memorandum of Understanding of February 16, 2016, and intend to apply the basis of comity and reciprocity of the agreement.

Immediately after, Anthony Foxx, U.S. Transportation Secretary, Charles Rivkin, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez, Cuban Minister of Transportation and Colonel Alfredo Cordero Puig, President of the Cuban Civil Aviation Institute (IACC), Ministry of Transportation signed the agreement, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) encouraged U.S. air carriers to apply for licensing and authorization to offer flights to Cuba.

While there have been no scheduled flights between the United States and Cuba for over half a century, this agreement grants permission to American and Cuban airlines, cargo and passenger aircrafts, to perform scheduled and charter services between American and Cuban ports for the purposes of international air transportation.

At the outset, countries are able to operate flights to and from the other country (one-way or round-trip flights); combine different flight numbers; make layovers outside of the U.S. or Cuba or within either country, amongst other permissions.

Interestingly enough, […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-07T11:23:49-04:00February 18, 2016|Cuba, Export, Pre-compliance, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|0 Comments

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