Author Archives: Trade, Customs and Import, Export Attorney

Counterfeit purses, headphones, sunglasses and even coolers seized by Customs.

June 4, 2020 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Seized “Gucci” sunglasses, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport seized counterfeit purses, headphones, sunglasses and Yeti collers valued at over $108,000 if authentic. This seized shipment originated from Hong Kong – where 9 out of 10 seizure cases reported by Customs indicate as the source of the counterfeit goods. I believe the tech goods are likely made across the border in Shenzhen and the fashion items are also made cheaply across the border in Guangzhou.

The exact counterfeit items included Tiffany & Company rings, six Louis Vuitton handbags, seven pairs of Chanel and Guicci sunglasses, Beats headphones, seven Apple AirPod Pros and two Yeti coolers.

My guess is the Yeti coolers are made by one of the vendors on Aliexpress that sells same or similar type coolers, not sure why they would risk a seizure by using the Yeti name.

CBP officers intercepted a shipment and after reviewing the information in the shipping documents, selected it for examination. During the examination, officers discovered three Tiffany & Co rings, six Louis Vuitton handbags, seven pairs of Chanel and Gucci sunglasses, Powerbeats Beats by Dre headphones, seven Apple AirPod Pros and two Yeti coolers.

In general, seized goods suspected of being counterfeit will have samples sent to the CBP’s Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center of Excellence and Expertise’s import specialists to determine their authenticity. At this CEE, the staff will examine the goods and discuss the items with the trademark owners. After examining the goods, import specialists determined the goods were counterfeit and seized the shipment.

If you receive a Notice of Seizure from Customs, you have 30 days to respond. Contact David Hsu for all your customs seizure needs at 832-896-6288, or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Counterfeit Super Bowl rings seized by CBP.

June 4, 2020 By in Super Bowl Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment
Image of counterfeit rings, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers in Kentucky seized over 150 counterfeit Super Bowl championship rings arriving from China. It wasn’t mentioned in the article, but the seizure in Kentucky means it was likely shipped by DHL.

The shipment contained rings from various professional sports organizations such as the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. If authentic, the rings would have an MSRP of $43,450. As the rings likely were not licnsed by the team or organization, they were seized for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violations.

For suspected counterfeit goods, CBP will send an image to the property right holder – if the rights holder says the goods are not authentic, then Customs will seize the goods.

If you have had your good seized by Customs or have received a Notice of Seizure, contact customs seizure attorney David Hsu anytime by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Invasive and destructive beetle larvae seized by Customs.

June 4, 2020 By in fumigation, invasive species, pests, USDA, wood packaging material, wood wasps, wooden packaging materials Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Image of the intercepted khapra beetle larvae, source: CBP.gov

According to a US Customs media release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists intercepted beetle larvae found on a shipment of welding wire from China. The larvae were sent to the US Department of Agriculture for testing and identification and identified as Trogoderma granarium Everts or the commonly known Khapra beetle. As a result of identification, the shipment was sealed to prevent potential contamination with other shipments.

According to CBP, Khapra beetles are dangerous pests that pose a risk to grain and other stored seeds. The Khapra beetle is usually located in burlap bags, corrugated carboard boxes and animal hides. Originally from India, Khapra beetles are found in shipments from Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Asia and some parts of Europe.

If you have received a notice of action or if Customs has found a pest in your import – time is of the essence – contact attorney David Hsu for immediate assistance – phone/text anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Imported drones seized by Customs for not meeting FAA labeling requirements.

June 4, 2020 By in Drone, FAA, Import Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
Image of seized drones, source: CBP.gov

Yesterday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) offiecers in Detroit seized over 4,600 remote controlled helicopter drones from China (see image of seized drones). The value of the drones is approximately $69,000 even though they were declared at $7,000.

The Customs media release did not specify the deficiencies in the labeling – however, since February 2019, the FCC has required all drones to display a registration number among other requirements.

If you are a toy or hobby importer and import drones and want to ensure your imports are compliant with FAA or Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines, contact import compliance attorney David Hsu by phone/text anytime 24/7 at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Chinese-made COVID-19 treatment drugs seized by Customs.

June 4, 2020 By in covid-19 Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
Lianhua Qingwen Capsules from China, source: CBP.gov

While coverage of the George Floyd dominates the airwaves, many people are still concerned about COVID-19 as evidenced by the continued importation of COVID-19 treatment drugs from China.

Specifically, earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Mississippi seized two shipments containing more than 2,000 “Lianhua Qingwen” capsules and “balangen” granules. These two drugs have been touted as treating COVID-19 symptoms.

Customs has seized multiple shipments of these two named drugs and CBP tests reveal the drugs contain sugar and iron. As these drugs do not have FDA approval, they were seized by CBP and will likely be destroyed. The FDA prohibits importation of food, drug, device, tobacco or cosmetic products that are undeclared, misbranded or misnamed. As a rresult, CBP seized the unapproved drugs as they have not been tested and may cause harm or death to US citizens.

Lainhua Qingwen capsules and granules are sold in China and elsewhere in Asia as treating COVID-19 symptoms.

If you have had a Customs seizure, contact David Hsu 24/7 by phone/text to 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com,

Hong Kong could lose special status and trade benefits.

May 31, 2020 By in China Security Law, Export, Hong Kong, Import, Import Export Attorney Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Last year, the US passed a law that requires Hong Kong to retain independence to qualify for the continued favorable trading terms with the US. I mentioned this in my blog post on June 15th, 2019 here.

The bill requires the US Secretary of State to certify each year that Hong Kong remains autonomous from China. If Hong Kong does not pass the certification of independence from China, then Hong Kong would lose trade privileges with the US (goods from Hong Kong will now be subject to duties on goods from China).

Fast forward almost a year later – where in late May China’s central government passed a national security law to apply to Hong Kong (as Hong Kong has not been able to pass such a law since they were handed back to China in 1997). The new security law would ban secession, subversion of state power, terrorism, foreign intervention and allows mainland China’s state security agencies to operate in the city.

After passage of the security law, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Congress that Hong Kong was no longer independent from China – signaling a potential move towards Hong Kong not passing certification.

If Hong Kong loses it’s special status a big impact would be on tariffs on goods from Hong Kong would now apply. This would impact over $66 billion in trade according to 2018 trade numbers. In 2018, Hong Kong was America’s third-largest market for wine, 4th largest for been and seventh largest for agricultural products.

If you have any questions how your imports or exports to and from Hong Kong may be impacted, contact David Hsu 24/7 by phone/text to 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

UK wants group of 10 countries to develop its own 5G technology.

May 31, 2020 By in 5G, Huawei, UK Tags: , , Leave a comment
Photo by Brayden Law on Pexels.com

According to NDTV, Britain is seeking cooperation among 9 other nations to form a group to develop their own 5G technology in an effort to curtail dependence on China’s Huawei. One reason Britain may be leading the way because 35% of their 5G network use Huawei’s equipment. The group of countries are likely the other democractic countries in the G7 nations that include Australia, South Korea and India.

However, the current Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked his government to draft a plan to remove Huawei equipment out of the 5G network by 2023. With a potential exit by Huawei, this would leave only two other companies to fill the void – Nokia and Ericsson.

Relations between the UK and China have worsened following passage of new security laws in Beijing that would apply to Hong Kong. Following the passage of the security law, Britain said they would offer 350,000 Hong Kong nationals holding a British National oversees passports the ability relocate to the UK.

Will new US export controls block Huawei’s 5G ambitions?

May 29, 2020 By in 5G, Export, Huawei, Import Export Attorney Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo by Pok Rie on Pexels.com

As previously posted on my blog, the May 19th Commerce Department export rules are part of the US effort to limit Huawei’s access to semiconductor chips needed to build components in their 5G infrastructure. The new rules prohibit chipmakers located mostly in Taiwan and South Korea from using U.S. origin machines and software to produce semiconductors for Huawei.

Huawei relies on Taiwan and South Korean chipmakers to make the actual chips – however the chipmakers are now subject to the US export rules since the machines and software used are based off American machines from US companies and technology.

These new rules were meant to close a loophole that allowed semiconductor foundries to manufacture chips for Huawei as long as the manufacturing occurred outside of the U.S.

The U.S. government views Huawei as a national security threat because their hardware could potentially allow them to access sensitive information and hand it over to the Chinese government – a claim denied by Huawei.

If you have any questions how the new US export control regulations will impact your ability to do business with Huawei or one of its entities, contact export control attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

Unauthorized COVID-19 medicine seized.

May 29, 2020 By in covid-19, FDA, seizure notice Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment
Seized COVID-19 medicine, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 360 pills of medicine marketed to treating COVID-19. The medicine was a violation of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules preventing unauthorized medical treatments that may mislead consumers by making false claims to prevent or treat diseases or may in fact harm the consumer.

The FDA is especially concerned with unauthorized COVID-19 treatments that are marketed towards curing, treating or preventing serious illnesses.

If you have had your good seized by Customs, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

CBP in Puerto Rico seize counterfeit alloy wheels.

May 28, 2020 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment
Photo by Reynaldo #brigworkz Brigantty on Pexels.com

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, San Juan Field Operations seized a shipment of 844 counterfeit alloy car wheels with an estimated manufacturer suggested retail price of approximately $238,000, if genuine.

The media release quotes CBP officials who claim counterfeit auto parts are safety risks for drivers as the fake rims do not meet industry wide safety standards. The seizure of counterfeit alloy wheels is just one of multiple seizures of car related parts – from fake air bags, fog lights and tires.

If CBP has seized your goods for suspicion of being counterfeit, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.