U.S. Customs seizes money (currency, cash, checks, etc.) every day from unsuspecting international travelers who fail to declare carried money over $10,000 or who fail to declare the correct amount. If your money has been seized (i.e., you are now a currency seizure “claimant”), and you obtained your money from legitimate sources and intended to [...]
On Wednesday February 18, 2015, Scott Johnston spoke to the Houston Customhouse Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (HCBFFA) at its Export Controls & Compliance Luncheon. The presentation focused on Freight Forwarder best practices and current topics in export controls. If you would like more information or a copy of the presentation, please send us a [...]
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) has upheld the Department of Commerce’s (“Commerce”) imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties for certain tires from China, as well as the Court of International Trade’s (“CIT”) decision on the same matter. The decision also recited the lengthy procedural history involved in the GPX case. Previously [...]
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has announced that Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings (“SOHL”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd., agreed to enter a guilty plea and pay a $232,708,356 penalty for willfully facilitating illegal transactions and engaging in trade with Iran and Sudan. The total penalty includes a $77,569,452 criminal forfeiture and an additional $155,138,904 criminal [...]
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove license requirements for certain items exported to India. The BIS rule removes India from Crime Controls columns 1 and 3, and Regional Stability column 2 on the Commerce Country Chart. The rule does not eliminate licensing requirements for export [...]
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it seized or required exportation of more than 730 items for importation without the necessary emission controls under the Clean Air Act. The seized items included ATVs, motorcycles and generators. CBP announced civil penalties for the importations in addition [...]
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) have adopted final rules amending the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR). The OFAC rule creates a general license for certain software, hardware, and services incident to personal communications. The general license authorizes the exportation of certain fee based software and services incident [...]
On December 29, 2014, U.S. importers of Chinese drill pipe and drill collars (collectively, “drill pipe”) all breathed a sigh of relief when the Department of Commerce published its decision to revoke antidumping and countervailing duty orders against Chinese drill pipe. This publication would seem like a great victory for importers in the oil and [...]
CBP announced that it processed more than $2.4 trillion in trade in 2014, representing a four per cent increase from 2013. CBP also announced that it collected more than $34 billion in duties in 2014, a two per cent increase from the previous year. The announcement also highlighted seizures of goods violating intellectual property rights, [...]
The importer’s legal burden is to “get it right” upon entry. This means that if the importer makes an error as to the tariff classification, the value, the applicability of NAFTA or other free trade agreements, trademarks, compliance with DOT, EPA, FDA, CPSC, USDA, FCC or other agency regulations affecting importation, or any other kind [...]