In a challenge of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification of “boots [that] can be pulled on with the hands, and that…extend above the ankle” as "slip-on footwear," brought by plaintiff Deckers Outdoor Corp., the Court of International Trade ruled in favor of CBP. CBP originally classified the entries under HTS No. 6404.19.35, which includes “[non-sports] footwear [with outer soles of rubber or plastics] of the slip-on type, that is held to the foot without the use of laces or buckles or other fasteners,” dutiable at 37.5% ad valorem.
Two Israeli citizens pleaded guilty and were sentenced for smuggling counterfeit and misbranded pharmaceuticals into the U.S., including the erectile dysfunction drug marketed as Cialis, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Two Baltimore warehouse owners pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport stolen nickel briquettes stored next to their warehouse, which had been imported through the Port of Baltimore, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Gregg Lee Purbaugh, 50, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty Monday and his business partner, Kenneth Trainum, 44, also of Baltimore, pleaded guilty April 20. Purbaugh and Trainum, owners of Bear Creek Warehouse Company, each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a Temporary Denial Order (TDO) against Sayegh Group Aviation; Aban Air; Sam Air Corporation Limited; Aviation Legacy (Gambia) Limited; Abdullah Khaled Ramadan; Ali Mahdavi; and Mahmoud Khali Hamze (aka Mahmoud Khalil aka Mahmoud Hamza Khalil), temporarily denying their export privileges for 180 days.for reexport or intended reexport of three U.S.-origin Boeing 747 planes to Iran.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Web site as of April 20, 2012, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching on the listed CBP message number at http://addcvd.cbp.gov.
On April 23, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
During the week of April 16 through April 22, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration modified the following existing Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Food and Drug Administration issued a report titled “Advances in FDA’s Safety Program for Marketed Drugs”, which describes the actions that the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) has taken in recent years to enhance the quality, accountability, and timeliness of its postmarket drug safety decisions. The FDA also issued a companion report, “Regulatory Science in Action: Enhancing Drug Safety & Manufacturing Quality at FDA with Research”, which includes, among other things, a section on recent developments in import screening.
Mexico's Diario Oficial of April 24, 2012, lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy as follows:
The Foreign Trade Zones Board is issuing the following notices for April 23, 2012: