The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $207,200 civil penalty against J.R. Simplot Company of Boise, Idaho, for allegedly violating Department of Transportation's Hazardous Materials Regulations.
The Justice Department announced on September 28, 2011 that six Japanese freight forwarders have agreed to plead guilty and to pay criminal fines totaling $46.8 million for their roles in a conspiracy to fix certain fees in connection with the provision of freight forwarding services for air cargo shipments from Japan to the U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents executed five federal search warrants in an intellectual property rights investigation related to counterfeit goods in Tampa during the week of September 23, 2011. While this investigation is ongoing, preliminary estimates indicate that the search netted about 50,000 counterfeit items with a manufacturer suggested retail price of nearly $5 million.
In the final results of the November 1, 2007 -- June 9, 2008 AD new shipper review of fresh garlic from China and a subsequent remand redetermination, the International Trade Administration used incomplete price information from the sole publicly available price quote it located in India and made assumptions as to the unit of measure and type of sale quoted (the ITA assumed that the units offered were ounces and that the seller, who did not answer calls, was a manufacturer). The ITA then combined that price with other, much lower prices from quotes placed on the record by the respondent, but gave them less weight in the normal value. The Court of International Trade faulted this approach and remanded the issue to the agency. However, the CIT upheld the ITA’s assumptions as to the quantity and type of sale represented by the online offer it located. (Slip Op. 11-112, dated 09/07/11)
The Court of International Trade has ruled to move to trial a case involving BP Oil Supply Company's challenge against a U.S. Customs and Border Protection denial of BP protests claiming substitution drawback on unused merchandise. The CIT ruled that a jury could return a verdict on dispute over facts surrounding the commercial interchangeability and prior use of the merchandise for which BP sought drawback.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio has announced that Zhi Xian Zhou has been indicted on charges that he intentionally trafficked and attempted to traffic over 1,000 items. These items include designer handbags, wallets, scarves, sunglasses, watches, key chains, lighters, bracelets, earrings and other jewelry, and sports caps. Each of these items contained counterfeit marks, logos, labels and hangtags that were identical to and substantially indistinguishable from registered marks used on genuine merchandise. Zhou also has a standing order for removal from the U.S. and was wanted for deportation.
On September 21, 2011, the Justice Department announced that the owner of two Petersburg, Virginia retail stores, Belal Amin Alsaidi, was arrested on charges related to his alleged sale of counterfeit goods. According to the indictment, between May 2007 and April 2009, Alsaidi allegedly purchased apparel and shoes that he knew were counterfeit from an individual in New York and then sold this merchandise at his two stores. He allegedly sold goods bearing fake trademarks for companies such as Nike, NFL, Lacoste, True Religion and Coogi.
The Court of International Trade has ruled against Toyota1 and denied its request to resubmit claims for NAFTA duty drawback on entries of unused automobile service parts imported into the U.S. and later exported to Canada. The CIT found Toyota's drawback methods failed to calculate the average inventory turnover period on a part-specific basis and would have resulted in Toyota receiving drawback for parts imported more than three years before being exported. The CIT also ruled that Customs was not responsible for Toyota's untimely drawback claims and amendments.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that an electronic waste recycling company, Executive Recycling Inc., its chief executive officer, and its former vice president of operations were indicted on charges in connection to the failure to file a notification to export hazardous waste; exportation contrary to law; and destruction, alteration, or falsification of records.
In the August 2006 -- July 2007 AD administrative review of certain frozen fish fillets from Vietnam, the International Trade Administration valued whole pangas fish (retailed as catfish) at 98 Bangladeshi Takas per kilogram, based on a 2000-2001 financial statement of a Bangladeshi producer, adjusted for inflation. The ITA found that other, more recent price sources were unsuitable or had not yet been sufficiently vetted, including a Food & Agriculture Organization price survey that cited a much lower average value. Vietnamese producer QVD Food Co., Ltd. challenged the ITA’s choice of surrogate values for fish and its calculation of expense ratios.