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Image of counterfeit seized watches, source: CBP.gov
Back in mid-September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Kentucky seized 2,168 counterfeit designer watches with a MSRP of $57.84 million.
The shipment from Hong Kong and Turkey were destined for addresses in Florida and Michigan before they were inspected, detained and seized (1/4 of all counterfeit goods seized in the US originate from Hong Kong) The seizure included 21 counterfeit “Richard Mille” watches that would have been worth $25.56 million MSRP if authentic. The $25.26 million seized is only a fraction of the average $650 million of counterfeit watches and jewelry seized per year by CBP.
If you have had your shipment seized for suspicion of being counterfeit, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at anytime to: 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers at the Los Angeles/Long Beach (LA/LB) seaport seized a shipment of counterfeit perfumes valued over $366,000 if authentic.
The shipment of over 80 cartons from Hong Kong contained 3,739 bottles with brand names such as Dior, Chanel and Paco Rabanne according to import specialists with the Consumer Products Mass Merchandising Center (CPMM). The CPMM will contact the trademark or intellectual property rights holder and seize the goods if they are told the goods are not authentic.
If you have had your shipment seized for alleged trademark violations – contact David Hsu to discuss your options by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
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:
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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)
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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.
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.
According a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) media release, CBP officers in Mississippi seized more than $4,000 worth of counterfeit Nike Air Max, Nike Air Jordan’s, and Balenciaga shoes from Hong Kong.
The shoes were shipped in separate packages and described as “casual shoes”. Counterfeit goods entering the US are typically seized under 19 USC 1526 (e) for bearing the counterfeit trademarks.
If you or someone you know has had a shipment of good seized by Customs, there are steps you can take – contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.
According to CBS 2 news in Boise, Idaho – a man in Boise pleased guilty to trafficking in counterfeit cellphones and accessories. Artur Pupko, age 28, pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit cellphones and cellphone accessories on Amazon and eBay.
According to court documents, Pupko would buy bulk products from China, then repackage the products and claiming them as new and genuine. Pupko may face up to 10 years in prison and a $5 million dollar fine. Sentencing will occur on December 17, 2019.
If you have had your goods seized by Customs and are facing criminal or civil penalties, contact experienced seizure attorney David Hsu by text/call at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Louisiana intercepted 180 pieces of counterfeit Cartier jewelry from a shipment from Hong Kong. If authentic Cartier, the bracelets would hold a MSRP of more than $2.6 million.
CBP officers inspected the parcel with a packing list specifying “jewelry accessory”. Upon inspection, they found bracelets packaged in Cartier boxes and determined the poor quality bracelets were counterfeit.
As have been previously posted on this blog, Hong Kong is commonly known by CBP to frequently ship counterfeit jewelry such as watches and accessories such as hats. This seizure is the largest (in terms of dollar value) for the entire year.
According to the website insideretail.hk, it Hong Kong Customs authorities seized counterfeit dolls and toys found in “claw machines” as part of “Operation Octopus”. The total seized value of the goods totaled about $38,000 USD.
The article did not specify what type of dolls were counterfeit, but my guess is the stuffed animals were Hello Kitty, Disney or other licensed plush animals. No photo was included in the article – but most likely the word “dolls” here refers to stuffed animals.
HK Customs seized 2700 dolls, 15 claw machines and 5 change machines.
According to a South China Morning Post article, Hong Kong Customs officials investigated and ultimately raided a cell phone repair shop after receiving complaints from a trademark holder (not specified whether Apple or Samsung complained).
The article claimed the repair shop refurbished devices for clients in the US, UK and Australia that sent second-hand phones for repair at 1/3 the typical rate of an authorized repair facility. The repairs typically included replacing the screen or housing.
HK Customs officials claimed the repair shop used counterfeit parts to repair damaged iPhones, and seized over $120,000 worth of fake goods.
Based on the article, I’m pretty sure Apple complained about the IP violations since most Samsung phones do not have the housing replaced when being refurbished. While not listed in the article, the IP violations probably were for the wordmark “iPhone” or the trademark Apple logo found on the back housing. The iPhone replacement glass do not have any IP marks, so the seized goods were most likely the housings.
If you have any cell phone seizures, contact experienced cell phone seizure attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com or dh@gjatradelaw.com.
According to a Financial Times article, US lawmakers of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China introduced a bill that would require the US Secretary of State to certify every year that Hong Kong remains autonomous from China. If there is no certification of that autonomy, Hong Kong would lose trade privileges with the US that do not apply to mainland China.
While the protests in Hong Kong likely lead to Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam to delay passage of the extradition bill, it is unclear whether this bill had any impact on Carrie Lam’s decision.
Hong Kong’s government argues the extradition bill is necessary to close a loophole that allowed criminal fugitives to remain in the territory to avoid criminal prosecution.
