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.
Author Archives: Trade, Customs and Import, Export Attorney
Another busy day for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working in Dallas where they seized a shipment of counterfeit footwear (Nike basketball shoes) that are reported by CBP to retail for $2,000 per pair. Customs described the shoes as the “Dior X Air Jordan 1” shoes ultimately destined for Mexico. Besides Nike, the shipment also contained shoes featuring registered trademarks by Adidas.
The entire shipment contained over 1,800 pairs of shoes in 60 boxes from Hong Kong and labeled as “Ball Golf”. CBP estimates the seizure is valued at over $4.3 million dollars.
If you have had your shipment seized by Customs, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Ohio seized 54 counterfeit watches from two packages shipped from China – and according to CBP, if authentic would total over $1.9 million.
According to Customs, the fake watches were replicas of luxury brands such as: Audemar Piguet, Rolex, Cartier, and Gucci. The watches were manifested as “timers and “watch” with a declared value of $33 and $200.
Author’s note – usually Customs will detain suspected counterfeit goods and then verify the authenticity of the watches. Authenticity usually occurs by sending photos or samples to the property rights holder. 100% of the time the property rights holder will say the goods are counterfeit. During this period of time, there is nothing for the importer to do, except wait to receive notice the goods will be seized. A “Notice of Seizure” will be sent to the address where the watches were to be sent – after you receive a Notice of Seizure, be sure to mark the date of the letter. You will have 30 days to respond to a seizure notice.
If you have received a seizure notice and want to discuss your options – call David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Every importer of record needs to make declarations to Customs regarding tariff classification, valuation, origin of imported goods and more. Incorrect declarations can potentially lead to long term and expensive problems for the importer.
The NAFTA rules provided a method in which importers could seek guidance from Customs through an advance ruling to predetermine tariff classification, valuation, regional value issues, questions on qualifications of originating good, country of origin marking requirements, and more. NAFTA limited requests for guidance to only importers in the US and exporters and producers in Canada and Mexico who exported their goods to the US.
Fortunately, the new USMCA implemented several key changes. First, the USMCA not only allows an importer, but also allows an exporter, producer or anyone related to the trade transaction to request an advance ruling. Advance ruling requests are no longer limited to domestic residents.
Secondly, the USMCA agreement requires Customs to make a decision within 120 days – increasing transparency and predictability to the advance ruling process. Additionally, the USMCA also identifies the subjects that can be decided through ruling requests – tariff classification, customs valuation, origin of goods, quotas or “other issues agreed upon”.
Lastly, the USMCA offers increased protection in the event of customs modifying or revoking an advance ruling. Under the USMCA, an advance ruling cannot be revoked or modified if doing so will hurt the original ruling requester – unless the requester did not follow the advance ruling or the ruling was based on false information provided by the requester.
The best way to limit your USMCA import liability is to request an advance ruling – taking out the guesswork before the goods are shipped or entered into the US. Please do not hesitate to contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Instead of the usual counterfeit bags, belts and wallets – last week U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers Cincinnati seized over 800 counterfeit batons. The batons were counterfeits of batons and packaged as batons from companies “511 Tactical” and “Armament Systems and Procedures (ASP)” goods.
The batons were manufactured in Shenzhen, China and described as “selfie sticks” and “window breakers”. Customs claims the batons also contained accessories as spear tips.
Author’s note – while not mentioned in the media release, the next step is for Customs to issue a seizure notice to the importer of record, giving the importer an opportunity to petition Customs to release the goods.
Also, in addition to seizing the batons for being counterfeit, CBP likely seized the goods for being mislabeled on the entry paperwork as “selfie sticks” and “window breakers”.
If you have received a seizure notice, or have had your goods seized, contact attorney David Hsu by phone/text at anytime 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com to discuss your options.
President Trump signed Executive Order 13936 in mid-July changing the country of origin marking rules for goods made in Hong Kong – see below for a copy and paste from the CSMS of the new marking rules:
*****
Cargo Systems Messaging Service CSMS #43633412 – GUIDANCE: New Marking Rules for Goods Made in Hong Kong – Executive Order 13936
PURPOSE
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on the new country of origin marking rules for goods produced in Hong Kong based on the President’s Executive Order (EO) on Hong Kong Normalization (EO 13936, dated July 14, 2020).
SUMMARY
On July 14, 2020, the President signed EO 13936 on Hong Kong Normalization. The EO suspends the application of section 201(a) of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, as amended (22 U.S.C. 5721(a)), to 19 U.S.C. 1304, Marking of imported articles and containers. Appropriate actions must be commenced within 15 days (effective July 29, 2020) of the EO’s issue date.
GUIDANCE
The position set forth in this document is applicable as of July 29, 2020. A transition period will be granted for importers to implement marking consistent with this position for imported goods produced in Hong Kong. Such goods, when entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption into the United States, after September 25, 2020 must be marked to indicate that their origin is “China” for purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304.
Transition Period
CBP will grant a 45-day transition period, until September 25, 2020, in order to give the trade sufficient time to adjust to the new marking rules. During this period, Personnel from the Ports of Entry and Centers of Excellence and Expertise (Centers) are directed to neither issue marking notices, nor take further enforcement actions on goods produced in Hong Kong for purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Centers should take measures to inform accounts of these new marking rules for Hong Kong set forth in the EO.
RELATED DOCUMENTS:
Country of Origin Marking of Products of Hong Kong (85 FR 48551, August 11, 2020) The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (85 FR 43413, July 14, 2020) 1997 FR Hong Kong Customs 97-14662 (62 FR 30927, June 5, 1997)
*****
If you have any questions how the new country of origin marking rules will impact your business, contact David Hsu by phone/text anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Another day, another seizure – this time in Chicago on July 28th. CBP officers found 555 counterfeit Nike and Air Jordan shoes, 462 Louis Vuitton branded handbags, totes, backpacks, 165 Gucci handbags, totes, wallets, 13 Beats headphones and 10 Apple Airpods.
The media release noted the poor manufacturing and packaging quality as an indication the goods may be counterfeit. The shipment from Hong Kong (likely another reason why Customs believes the goods are counterfeit).
Author’s note – Customs can detain a shipment for up to 5 days to verify the authenticity of the goods seized. In this instance, CBP asked the importer of record to produce documentation showing they were licensed to import trademarked goods. If an importer cannot show they have a license to import goods of a certain brand holder – then the goods will be seized and a seizure notice will be issued.
Also, if a shipment has been detained for suspicion of violating trademark or copyright violations – the 5-day detention rule does not apply. The reason the 5-day rule does not apply is because CBP will contact the property rights holder and ask if the importer has a license to import the goods. Very rarely will the trademark holder side with the importer.
If you have had your goods seized by Customs, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 to discuss your options. You can also email David at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Another day, another U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) counterfeit seizure. This time, officers in New Orleans seized more than $83K worth of counterfeit goods in early August.
The counterfeit goods include belts, wallets, backpacks, purses from brands such as Gucci, Hermes and Louis Vuitton. In addition, the shipment also contained 10 brush kits from the MAC brand.
CBP seized the goods under 19 USC 1526e for containing the counterfeit trademarks. If you or someone you know has had their shipment seized – contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288, or email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com to discuss your options.
As you are aware, in May 2019 the US Government added Huawei and its affiliated entities to the entity list – preventing US firms from selling technology to Huawei without a license. Huawei was to remain on the list until 2021. However, in May 2020, the US Department of Commerce changed the export rule to stop any shipment of semiconductors chips to Huawei from any company that produced chips using US software and technology, unless they applied for a license.
The May 2020 revised rule had an immediate impact on Huawei. For example, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer) stopped accepting any orders for Huawei in May following the new rule.
Huawei’s consumer business unit CEO Richard Yu, said the chips purchased from foreign semiconductor manufacturers that use US software and technology will stop production on September 15th. Without chips from foreign manufacturers, Huawei will no longer be able to manufacture their Kirin chips.
If you have any questions about Huawei or want to ensure you are not violating any export controls, contact David Hsu by phone/text anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Image of seized disinfecting wipes, source: CBP.gov
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers in Alabama seized over $120,000 worth of disinfecting wipes that were mislabeled and unregistered. The 843 boxes contained 20,016 bottles of disinfectant wipes with no approved markings from the FDA or EPA.
Since June of this year, CBP has seized over 120,000 COVID-19 test kits, 10 million counterfeit face masks, 20,000 chloroquine tablets and over 4,000 tablets of antibiotics.
If you have had your goods seized by Customs, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Indianapolis seized multiple shipments of Zolpidem, 10 milligram tablets, a schedule IV controlled substance used as a sedative.
The packages were sent from the United Kingdom and headed to separate addresses in the US. The shipments were arriving from the United Kingdom and were all headed to separate addresses. The shipper hid the Zolpidem in coffee tins.
If you have had your goods seized by Customs and want to explore your options, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
