Category Archives: corona virus

Unapproved and counterfeit goods seized by Customs.

August 8, 2020 By in corona virus, covid-19, FDA Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment
Counterfeit COVID medications, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Baltimore seized unapproved COVID-19 medications, facemasks and test kits earlier this month.

The seized goods included 1,200 pills of COVID medicines, including Hydroxycholorquine sulfate, 2,000 pills of various anti-COVID drugs not approved by the FDA, and 100 unapproved test kids. Besides unapproved drugs and test kits, CBP also seized face masks with registered trademarked logos such as Nike, Adidas, Fila and even Manchester City football club.

This most recent seizure is just one of many seizures of test kits, diagnostic kits, respirators and even unapproved face masks.

If your goods have been seized by Customs, contact customs attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Britain confirmed to quit Huawei in its 5G network.

June 13, 2020 By in 5G, corona virus, covid-19, Ericcson, Huawei, Nokia, UK Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment
Photo by Maël BALLAND on Pexels.com

According to the Voice of America quoting a British political insider – the British government will quit plans to use Huawei technology in its 5G network, with an announcement coming soon. The announcement will also discuss the gradual removal of the current Huawei technology in place. Part of the decision is due to the COVID-19 crisis and public disillusionment with Beijing along with strong opposition to Huawei from senior members.

The VOA article stated initial public support for Huawei changed due to China’s handling of the coronavirus and the situation over Hong Kong. Lastly, the article mentions Britain’s Prime Minister Johnson’s fight against COVID-19 also likely resulted in a tougher view towards China.

In response, Huawei launched an advertising campaign reminding the British public of their 20 year involvement in the UK and their “commitment to helping bring fast reliable mobile and full fiber broadband networks to every part [of] the country.”

The United States will likely welcome the news as they have been lobbying the UK government and according to a statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “The United States stands with our allies and partners” and “stands ready to assist our friends in the U.K. with any needs they have, from building secure and reliable nuclear power plants to developing trusted 5G solutions that protect their citizens’ privacy,” Pompeo said.

It will be interesting to see whether Nokia or Ericcson are picked to replace Huawei in England. Will post more as news becomes available.

Customs seizes Chinese medication for treatment of COVID-19.

May 27, 2020 By in corona virus, covid-19, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

pills

Image of seized pills, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the O’Hare International Airport international mail facility seized medication from China. The medication made claims it could treat COVID-19, violating FDA laws and therefore seized by CBP. CBP seized a total of 9,600 capsules of “Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang”. According to various sources online, Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang is a combination of dozens of herbs in capsule form. According to CBP, the shipment contained an estimated value of $28,797.

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

CBP seizes counterfeit protective equipment and medications.

May 12, 2020 By in corona virus, FDA, PPE, seizure notice, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

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Image of seized medication, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seize shipments of counterfeit personal protective equipment (PPE) and medications to treat the corona virus.

Since late March and the height of the corona virus panemdic, CBP has seized, including but not limited to:

-1,200 “Linhua Qingwen” capsules that are not approved by the FDA for medicine in treatment of COVID-19.
-1,350 counterfeit test kits
-400 counterfeit N95 masks
-2,500 possibly counterfeit medicine such as Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate, Chloroquine, Azithromycin, Lianhua Qingwen and Liushen Jiaonang; and
-67,000 counterfeit ACCU-CHEK test strips.

If you have questions about your shipment seized by Customs and you want a free, no cost or obligation consultation, contact by phone/text David Hsu at anytime: 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

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Image of seized masks, source: cbp.gov

US Senator introduces resolution to withdraw US from the WTO.

May 8, 2020 By in corona virus, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

pexels-photo-616852

Photo by kendall hoopes on Pexels.com

This past Thursday, US Senator Josh Hawley introduced a joint resolution to withdraw the US from the World Trade Organization.

The World Trade Organization was established in 1994 and under the agreement establishing the WTO – Congress receives a report every 5 years on the effects of the WTO on the US economy and enables a vehicle for Congress to revoke the US’ participation in the WTO.

In the joint resolution by Senator Hawley, Hawley writes the coronavirus pandemic has shown China’s use of the WTO to benefit themselves and other elites around the world at the expense of the US.

The full text of the resolution is available here.

More counterfeit COVID-19 test kits seized.

May 5, 2020 By in corona virus, covid-19, FDA, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Test Kit 1

Image of seized COVID-19 test kit, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in New Jersey seized another shipment containing counterfeit COVID-19 test kits. A secondary inspection of the shipment discovered 25 COVID-19 test kits not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This seizure was just 25 out of the 600 COVID test kits seized at the Rochester airport.

All imported test kits are presumed to lack FDA approval as the FDA has only allowed 50 companies to develop and distribute the COVID test kits and the companies that manufactured the seized test kits have not been approved.

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My guess for the large number of imports and seizures of the test kits are due to family members overseas sending kits to their family in the US who want to be sure they do not have the virus and pass on to older family members.

If you have had your good seized by customs and want to know what you can do next, contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu by phone at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

COVID-19 test kits seized by Chicago Customs and Border Protection.

May 2, 2020 By in corona virus, covid-19, Customs Lawyer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

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Seized test kits, source: CBP.gov

Since the start of the pandemic and the nationwide shutdown, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have seized an increased number of unapproved or ocunterfeit COVID-19 tests. For example, at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the international mail facility has seized 11 shipments containing a total of 1,147 test kits. The seized test kits have a value of $10,847 and most of the test kits came from England.

CBP warns the public of the health risks of using unapproved and counterfeit safety equipment. CBP advises the public to go to medical professionals in the US for testing instead of relying on potentially dangerous home testing kits.

According to CBP, the test kits were manifested as “Test Kit Not Restricted” and upon further examination Customs found packages labeled “COVID-19 Rapid Test Device”. As the devises are not FDA approved, they were seized and likely turned over to the FDA to be destroyed.

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

Corona virus’ January and February impact on trade.

April 26, 2020 By in corona virus, Export, Import, Import Export Attorney, international trade, trade law, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

birds eye view photo of freight containers

Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

According to the Financial Times, global trade dropped 2.6 percent in February compared to the same time in 2019. This February drop also follows a 1.5 percent drop from January 2020. Specifically, China had a 7.3 percent fall in imports in January 2020 due to parts of the country shutting down in response to the Corona virus. For February, China had another 3.2 percent drop for the month.

The US did not show any impact in trade volume while the EU trade volume dropped 1.5 percent for February 2020. Will be interesting to see March and April numbers when reported.

General importing/exporting questions? Contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu by phone/email at: attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

CBP seizes non-FDA compliant thermometers.

April 21, 2020 By in corona virus, FDA, Import, Import Export Attorney, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

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Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection media release, CBP officers in El Paso’s Bridge of the America’s facility seized a shipment of “pyrometers” (infrared forehead thermometers) with a value of over $7,000.

Upon examination, the CBP officers found the pyrometers to be non-compliant with FDA regulations. It is important for FDA compliance on these types of thermometers because they can give false readings if they do not meet strict FDA requirements.

If you have had your goods seized for non-FDA compliance, or if you have any questions about ensuring FDA compliance BEFORE you import, contact experienced import and export attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Unlabeled hand sanitizer seized by Customs.

April 19, 2020 By in corona virus, hand sanitizer, Import, Import Export Attorney, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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Actual image of the seized hand sanitizer, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at the Bridge of the Americas international crossing seized a shipment of unlabeled gel product April 15 that was claimed to be hand sanitizer.

The U.S. citizen was driving a car from Mexico and declared they had personal use quantity of hand sanitizer. During a secondary evaluation, CBP offers found 2,205 unlabeled bottles in the vehicle along with 1,000 unmarked masks. CBP officers declared the shipment a “commercial quantity”.

If you have had a shipment of personal protective equipment or hand sanitizing products seized by CBP during the coronavirus pandemic, contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email attorney.dave@yahoo.com.