Import Archives - Page 39 of 92 - Customs & International Trade Law Firm

UK Joins Kimberley Diamond-Trading Process

What’s the Kimberley Process?

Established in 2003, the Kimberley Process (“KP”) is a multilateral trade regime created to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds, also known as “blood” diamonds, are rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflicts aimed at undermining legitimate governments. Under the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, participant states implement safeguards on shipments of rough diamonds and certify them as “conflict-free.” The regime is credited with removing 99.8 percent of conflict diamonds from the global supply chain. The Process comprises 83 countries, and a number of civil society organizations and industry associations. The participants include all major rough diamond producing, exporting and importing countries.

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By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-07T15:03:58-04:00February 2, 2021|Best Practices, Customs Expert, Enforcement, Export, Pre-compliance|4 Comments

BIS Publishes First Military End User List

In a Final Rule, published on December 23, 2020, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) amended the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) by creating a “Military End User (MEU) List”. The list includes the first tranche of 103 entities consisting of 58 military end-users in China and 45 in Russia. BIS determined that these companies are ‘military end users’ for purposes of the ‘military end user’ control in the EAR that applies to specified items for exports, reexports, or transfers (in-country) to China, Russia, and Venezuela when such items are destined for a prohibited ‘military end user.’

Prior to this final rule, exporters, reexporters, or transferors were responsible for identifying these entities as ‘military end users’ themselves, assuming they were not otherwise individually informed. The MEU List (which is now searchable on the consolidated screening list) allows the public to be informed of BIS’s determination so all potential exporters are informed simultaneously.

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By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-07T15:03:05-04:00January 28, 2021|Export, Import, ITAR, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|0 Comments

FTC issues a Record Breaking $1.2 Million Penalty

Co-Authored by Denise Calle

Chemence Inc., a glue maker, is once again in a sticky situation with The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for allegedly making deceptive claims that its products are made in the United States. In a proposed Consent Order, Chemence agreed to pay $1.2 million for its violation of the FTC Act for violating a 2016 federal court order to cease deceptive marketing tactics, as well as mandated an annual compliance report. The FTC now seeks Public Comment on the proposed consent agreement. The comment period closes on February 8, 2021. Thereafter, FTC will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement or make it final and force Chemence to pay the $1.2 million penalty.

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By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-07T15:02:04-04:00January 26, 2021|Best Practices, Enforcement, Expert, Export, Import, International Business, International Law, International Trade, Pre-compliance|0 Comments

US Imposes additional tariffs on EU goods

On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), announced the revision of its Section 301 Action: Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Aircraft Dispute (86 FR 674).

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By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-07T15:01:00-04:00January 19, 2021|COVID-19, Customs Expert, Enforcement, Export, HTSUS, Import, International Business, International Law, International Trade, Investigation, Special 301, Supply Chain, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)|0 Comments

Comment on FDA’s Proposed Rule – French Dressing

On December 21, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a rule to revoke the Standard Of Identity (SOI) for French dressing. FDA found that French dressings’ current standard of identity “no longer promotes honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers”. Effectively the amending of the SOI may allow producers more flexibility, keeping the market competitive with nonstandardized foods.

According to the Federal Register Notice, the proposed rule would not require anything new from salad dressing manufacturers. Rather, by providing the flexibility for innovation, the amendment to French Dressing’s SOI presents an opportunity for social benefits at no cost to the industry or consumer.

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