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.
Another day, another seizure by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in LAX. The counterfeit shoes were from Hong Kong and labeled as “plastic ornaments”. Upon further examination, CBP officers found and seized 1,755 pairs of shoes with the Nike and Adidas branding.
Image of seized “Nike Air” shoes, source: cbp.gov
Customs then worked with import specialists at the Apparel, Footwear & Textiles Center of Excellence and Expertise (Apparel Center) to verify authenticity. As 100% of the time that occurs – the shoes were determined to be counterfeit and seized by Customs. CBP valued the seizure, if authentic, at $207,000.
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.
As of yesterday (August 18th), at all of the over 450 U.S. ports of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will detain any seafood harvested by the vessel named “Da Wang”, a Vanuatu-flagged, Taiwan-owned water fishing vessel.
CBP’s Office of Trade (OT) issued the Withhold Release Order (WRO) against the Da Wang due to reasonable indications they used forced labor, physical violence, debt bondage, withholding of wages, and abusive working conditions.
If you believe part of your supply chain will be impacted by this WRO, or any of the other pending WRO’s – contact David Hsu by phone or text anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Federal statute 19 U.S.C. §1307 prohibits the importation of merchandise mined, manufactured, or produced, wholly or in part, by forced labor, including convict labor, forced child labor, and indentured labor. This WRO will require detention of seafood harvested by the Da Wang at all U.S. ports of entry. Importers of detained shipments will have an opportunity to export their shipments or submit proof to CBP that the merchandise was not produced with forced labor.
This is the twelfth WRO that CBP has issued since September 2019, and the second against a fishing vessel. All WROs are publically available and listed by country on the CBP’s Forced Labor Withhold Release Orders and Findings page. The Forced Labor Division, established in 2017 within the CBP Office of Trade, leads enforcement of the prohibition on the importation of goods made from forced labor.
CBP is committed to identifying and preventing products made by forced labor from entering the United States to maintain a level playing field for U.S. domestic industry. CBP receives allegations of forced labor from a variety of sources, including from the general public. Any person or organization that has reason to believe merchandise produced with the use of forced labor is being, or likely to be, imported into the U.S. can report detailed allegations by contacting CBP through the e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System or by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT.
Follow CBP Office of Trade on Twitter @CBPTradeGov.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Philadelphia seized 48 shipments of either counterfeit or unapproved e-cigarette pods since June with the 58,538 individual pods worth a combined $500,000 if authentic or if approved for sale.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the importation of tobacco products imported into the US and all products must comply with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) along with the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
This past April, in response to the increase rise in teenage tobacco usage, the FDA issued new measures to regulate the unauthorized importation of flavored cartridge e-cigarettes. Besides unauthorized goods, the seized products also included counterfeit of brand names such as Pop, Puff, Eonsmoke, etc.
If you have had your good seized by Customs on behalf of the FDA, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288, or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Since July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers in Seattle have seized 8 shipments totaling over 2,400 pills of unauthorized influenza treatments for COVID-19. Working with the FDA, CBP prevents unauthorized medicines that may mislead consumers by falsely claiming to treat or prevent diseases.
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.
In late July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Minnesota inspected a rail container for Seattle and seized 15,015 fireplaces for violating intellectual property rights (IPR). CBP estimates the value of the seizure of $523,784 if the fireplaces were genuine.
CBP did not specify which brand of fireplaces were copied and the image supplied by CBP (above) does not specify the name brand.
If you have had your goods seized by CBP, there may be some options available – contact David Hsu by phone/text anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against garments produced by the “Hero Vast Group”. According to Customs, the Hero Vast Group includes entities such as: Shanghai Hero Vast International Trading Co., Ltd.; Henan Hero Vast Garment Co., Ltd.; Yuexi Hero Vast Garment Co., Ltd.; Ying Han International Co., Ltd.; and Hero Vast Canada Inc.
Under 19 USC 1307, you cannot import merchandise mined, manufactured, or produced through use of forced labor such as child labor, convict labor or through indentured labor.
CBP believes the Hero Vast Group is violation 19 USC 1307 by the use of prison labor to produce garments.
If you are subject to a withhold release order and your goods are detained, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com. Our office may be able to
Photo by Harry Cunningham @harry.digital on Pexels.com
With the US, UK, Australia, and India (as of late July) prohibiting the use of Huawei and/or ZTE components from being used in future 5G infrastructure, China’s Huawei has shifted their focus to other parts of the world – this time on the Africa continent.
According to the South China Morning Post, South Africa hosts Africa’s data-only mobile network with stand alone 5G and is teaming up with Huawei and other local telecommunication companies to expand 5G services. Kenya is likely to follow suit this year followed by Lesotho, Egypt, Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal, Morocco, Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon.
Whereas Western governments have criticized Huawei, South Africa’s President and Kenya’s Minister of Information both have publicly supported Huawei and have chosen Huawei for their 5G network. Huawei’s lower equipment price compared to rivals Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung have also helped their success into African projects along with special financing terms for African nations.
If you have any questions how the Huawei export ban may be impacting your business – contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.
In a surprise to no one, it is reported that India plans to implement their 5G network without use of any equipment or technology from China-based Huawei Technologies Corporation and ZTE Corporation.
There are two reasons for India’s decision:
Last month, foreign investment rules were changed that allowed national security concerns with foreign countries that shared a border to India. The new rules allows India to restrict bidding by nations that may pose a national security concern to India.
Border clashes between India and China resulting in 20 fatalities for India and an undisclosed number of Chinese troops.
India’s prohibition on Huawei and ZTE equipment is similar to action taken in the US, recently in the UK and Australia – in which these countries have raised concerns about the alleged Huawei and ZTE links to the Chinese communist government .
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.
