The opinions expressed are those of David Hsu and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its partners, or its clients. The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice on any subject. No recipient of content from this site, clients or otherwise, should act on the basis of any content in this site without seeking the appropriate legal or professional advice based on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the recipient's state.
From October 25 to October 28, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati seized shipments containing 795 pieces of counterfeit designer items. The items were examined and determined to be counterfeit by CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE). The CEE is composed of the agency’s trade experts – if genuine, would have had a combined Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $3.16 million.
The shipments arrived from Hong Kong and were destined to locations in Texas and Florida. The counterfeit jewelry contained logos from LV, Chanel, Van Cleef, Tory Burch, Gucci, Cartier, Tiffany, Rolex and more.
All the counterfeit items were seized and referred to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further investigation.
If you have had your shipment seized, contact trade and customs attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288, or attorney.dave@yahoo.com
Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in New York seized hair dryers on behalf of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The hair dryers were seized because the CPSC determined did not provide immersion protection in compliance the Standard for Safety for Household Electric Personal Grooming Appliances. Immersion protection reduces the risk of electrocution when products contact or are immersed in water.
A total of 65 hair dryers were seized by the CPSC due to a risk of a product hazard. The hair dryers were also seized on the basis of intellectual property rights (IPR) violations.
If you have had your goods seized for CPSC or IPR violations, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
If you are also aware of importers who are violating any CPSC, IPR or other violations, contact David Hsu also for your options.
This past July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized shipments containing counterfeit merchandise bearing protected brands or trademarked logos of teams within Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), and the National Football League (NFL).
For example, CBP officers in Cincinnati 100 shipments containing counterfeit merchandise with a total Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $155,919. An additional 34 shipments were abandoned by the importers.
In the past year, the People’s Republic of China is the primary source of counterfeit and pirated goods seized in the U.S., accounting for a total estimated MSRP value of almost $1.8 billion (USD) and about 60% of the total estimated MSRP value of all seizures for intellectual property rights.
If you have had your goods seized for suspicion of being counterfeit, contact trade and customs attorney David Hsu by text/call at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
According to a news release from the Office of the President of Taiwan sent on June 1, 2023:
Taiwan and US sign first agreement under 21st century trade initiative
On June 1, the first agreement under the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st-Century Trade was signed at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Washington Headquarters by Representative to the US Bi-khim Hsiao (蕭美琴) and AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson. President Tsai Ing-wen affirmed the signing of this agreement and said that she looks forward to Taiwan and the US building an even closer partnership, which will bring about more opportunities for Taiwan’s economy and industries.
President Tsai stated that the initiative is the most comprehensive trade agreement signed between Taiwan and the US since 1979, and that aside from creating more opportunities to develop our bilateral trade, it represents a key step in Taiwan’s efforts to sign trade agreements with major trading countries. This first agreement lays the groundwork for negotiations on seven different topics: labor, environment, agriculture, digital trade, standards, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices. The president further stated that following negotiations, the areas covered in this initiative will be expanded, setting a firm foundation for a future Taiwan-US free trade agreement. She also expressed hope that our two sides will continue to strengthen trade ties around this framework.
President Tsai praised and thanked Minister without Portfolio John C. C. Deng (鄧振中) for leading the Executive Yuan Office of Trade Negotiations and for coordinating with Representative Hsiao and different government agencies to facilitate this historic breakthrough in Taiwan-US trade development. However, as our mission has not yet been completed, President Tsai encouraged everyone across government to keep working to enhance our trade capacity, ensure our economic security, and achieve the best possible results for Taiwan and the US.
Last year, the U.S Government, through the Department of Homeland Security implemented the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) under the authority of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in an effort to eliminate goods suspected to be made with forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Customs has stopped about 4,300 shipments for UFLPA review and or enforcement of goods valued over $1.3 billion. Other statistics in the past year include 300 engagements with industry members, NGO’s, Congress and the media regarding the law. After one year, CBP is still committed to expand the UFLPA entity list of potential entities.
If you have an UFLPA issue, or want to take discuss UFLPA compliance and risk mitigation for your imports, contact David Hsu by text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, or DH@GJATradelaw.com.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), officers at Philadelphia International Airport seized $200,000 in unreported currency from a New Jersey traveler bound for Nigeria. Prior to the seizure, CBP Officers explained the currency reporting laws. Afterwards, the traveler declared to CBP he possessed $11,000. However, during a search of his baggage, officers discovered $200,068 in U.S. dollars and about $251.00 in Nigerian naira.
The total seizure of $200,319 represents the thrid largest unreported currency seizure since 2003. After seizing the funds, CBP remitted about $1,250 back to the traveler for “humanitarian purposes”.
If you have had your currency seized by CBP, contact currency seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, DH@GJATradeLaw.com.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was signed into law by President Biden in December 2021 and took effect in June 2022. The UFLPA requires importers and manufacturers to prove any goods made in Xinjiang, or include Xinjiang in the supply chain, are free from the use of forced labor. If the importers cannot prove forced labor was used in the production of the goods or components, then the goods would not be allowed entry into the US.
Additionally, importers can request a review from CBP of their supply chain, and if approved, the UFLPA will not apply to their goods.
From June to December 2022, half of all shipments held for inspection by CBP were related to solar panels or related components that are used by the solar industry. Out of those shipments held for inspection, about one-third were released after inspection.
As a background, since 2014, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has engaged in repressing the Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in the Xinjiang region in far-west China. Some methods of repression include human rights abuses, mass detention, re-education camps and forced labor. The PRC claims the actions are counter terrorism efforts and camps provide vocational training.
If you have had your goods investigated for suspicion of forced labor or if your company would like to apply for a Customs review of your supply chain, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com; DH@GJATradeLaw.com.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers during routine x-ray screenings found an image of a skull-shaped object in one of the bags. US Fish and Wildlife Services evaluated the skull to be a young dolphin skull.
In general, some types of fish, wildlife, and or products made from fish and wildlife are not permitted to be imported or exported. The list of prohibited items includes wild birds, mammals, marine mammals, fish, reptiles, or any animal part or product – including skins, bones, tusks, feathers or eggs.
If you have had certain fish, wildlife or products permitted seized by Customs, contact customs seizure attorney David Hsu by phone or text at anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com; dh@gjatradelaw.com.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcement today (Thursday, February 2, 2023); imports of products made by Indian healthcare company, Global Pharma Healthcare Private Limited and sold under the brand names “EzriCare” or “Delsam Pharma” are restricted from importation to the US.
The import ban is a result of a recall of the eye drops due to violations of manufacturing regulations by the manufacturer, lack of microbial testing and concerns over tamper-evident packaging. The violations have led to a potential bacterial contamination that increases the risk of eye infections that may result in blindness or even death.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims at least 55 people around the US have been impacted by the bacterial contamination. So far one person has died from the infection and 5 of 11 patients with infections in their eyes have lost their vision.
The eye drops are top sellers on Amazon and also available through Walmart. If you or your company are on the FDA “red list”, contact attorney David Hsu by phone/text at anytime, 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com; dh@gjatradelaw.com.
This past week, US Customs and Border Protection issued a detention notice to AP Moller-Maersk A/S under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, signed by US President Joe Biden in 2021. The UFLPA requires companies to document goods from or produced in Xinjiang are not produced using forced labor.
Since 2021, CBP focused on cotton, tomatoes and polysilicon from the Xinjiang region and this recent detention notice now includes aluminum to the list.
The UFLPA requires companies to perform due diligence of their supply chain and the implementation of compliance programs to ensure the products they import do not contain any cotton, tomatoes, polysilicon and aluminum that may have been produced by forced labor.
Contact David Hsu if you or your company needs a compliance program or want to evaluate their supply chain by phone or text anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com; dh@gjatradelaw.com.
