CBP and other agencies involved in trade still have some ways to go before resolving an ongoing debate on how to describe goods in Section 321 shipments, said Christa Brzozowski, deputy assistant secretary for trade and transport at the Department of Homeland Security, at the U.S. Air Cargo Industry Affairs Summit Sept. 6 in Washington. The government still needs to work through process issues related to what goods are eligible for expedited release, and what role partner government agencies (PGAs) will have in the process, before considering whether to require 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers or written descriptors, she said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 28 - Sept. 3:
A former New York resident was arrested and charged with smuggling and conspiracy for an alleged scheme to import some $250 million in counterfeit footwear and apparel by way of importer identity theft, the Justice Department said in a press release. Su Ming Ling purportedly provided stolen identities to five separate customs brokers in Illinois and California to bring in 200 shipping containers of counterfeit goods from China, DOJ said.
No new lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 21-27, nor were any appeals of Court of International Trade decisions filed that week at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, according to the CIT and CAFC Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) filing databases.
CBP on Aug. 29 issued additional guidance on cargo affected by port closures from Hurricane Harvey. For now, nothing needs to be done for entries and entry summaries that have already been filed, even for cargo diverted to other ports. Pending entry summaries for entries already filed at affected ports should be filed at the same port, while pending entries should be filed at the new port of arrival, CBP said. In the long-term, the trade community should expect the Port of Houston and other affected ports to be closed for the “foreseeable future” and plan their shipments accordingly, said Gary Schreffler, acting chief of CBP’s Cargo Control & Release Branch, during a call held Aug. 29.
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 23 ordered a Texas company and its owner to pay a penalty for negligent misstatements on import documentation, though at a level far below what the government requested. Neither Deladiep or its owner and sole corporate officer John Delatorre appeared in court to defend themselves, but CIT nonetheless cut the penalty by 80 percent to $17,548.12, finding the violation of 19 USC 1592 did not warrant the $87,740.60 maximum.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 14-20:
A recent Court of International Trade decision reaffirms the right of importers to use tariff engineering to obtain lower duty rates, customs lawyers said after the Aug. 9 decision was released publicly on Aug. 16. The addition of stripped-down seats to a Ford Transit Connect cargo van and their removal immediately after importation constitutes “legitimate tariff engineering” to obtain a lower duty rate applicable to passenger vehicles, CIT said.
CBP posted its updated Fish and Wildlife Service ACE implementation guide to its website on Aug. 11. The updated FWS partner government agency (PGA) message set now includes only two FWS flags, with one indicating a commodity always requires clearance by FWS and the other covering commodities that are “likely to contain commodities” that require FWS declarations and may be disclaimed. The new message set also adds a new ACE input for designated port exception permits, as expected (see 1703010042).
The U.S. government filed a federal court complaint on Aug. 10 alleging a Florida importer of wooden bedroom furniture sought to evade antidumping duties and customs fees by misclassifying and undervaluing its furniture imports. Blue Furniture Solutions evaded “millions of dollars” in duties and fees by classifying its wooden bedroom furniture as metal and office furniture to avoid a 216.01% antidumping duty rate, and stating false values of its imports on entry documentation.