Lacey Act

Trade associations spent relatively little on lobbying in the first quarter of 2013, according to public records. Groups like the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association, the American Association of Exporters and Importers and the U.S. Association of Textiles and Apparels Importers spent less than $5,000 each. Customs reauthorization, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and potential trade agreements were some of the biggest issues trade groups lobbied on in Q1, the records show.

Regulatory protections are often outright protectionist policies used to promote domestic industry at the expense of international trade obligations and the U.S. economy, according to a recent policy analysis from the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.

The 11th Circuit Appeals Court’s Decision in U.S. v. Izurieta is representative of the trend toward criminalization of customs violations, and federal criminal prosecutions in general, said several lawyers. The decision won’t have much effect on the ability of the government to prosecute criminal cases for customs violations, they said. But the government’s case suffered from a flawed indictment, and the Justice Department may be more careful in the future when drafting indictments for customs violations, the lawyers said.

The Food and Drug Administration debarred Adrian Vela from importing food or offering food for importation into the U.S. for five years. Vela was convicted in November 2011 in Southern Florida District Court for conspiracy to falsely label and misbrand food, one count of false labeling of seafood under the Lacey Act, and one count of misbranding food, FDA said. In 2008 and 2009, Vela imported shrimp from Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, but directed a Tampa facility to repack and relabel the shrimp as a product of Panama in order to make it more readily marketable. The relabeled shrimp were then sold to a wholesaler in Keene, N.H., which in turn sold the shrimp to a supermarket chain headquartered in Landover, Md., FDA said (presumably the mid-Atlantic chain Giant Foods).

The Food and Drug Administration is debarring Richard Stowell from importing food or offering food for importation into the U.S. in connection with his conviction for mislabeling shrimp imports. Stowell, who was president of Florida-based seafood wholesaler United Seafood Imports, pleaded guilty in 2011 to one count of conspiracy to falsely label and misbrand seafood, one count of false labeling of seafood under the Lacey Act, and one count of misbranding food.

Trade associations focused on customs and other importer issues spent relatively little in Q4 of 2012, according to public lobbying records. Several groups that are heavily involved in policy-making for customs issues don't spend nearly as much as some of the major companies that are involved in the issues, the records show. For instance, the American Association for Exporters and Importers (AAEI) and the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) combined spent less than $10,000 for lobbying in Q4, the records show. Lobbying toward improved enforcement for antidumping/countervailing duties (AD/CVD) was among the issues that gained in attention, the filings show.

CBP Los Angeles will be conducting a trade forum on importing requirements for wood and wood products on Feb. 13 at the Port of Long Beach, it said in a public bulletin. The presentation will be conducted by the CBP National Import Specialist for wood products and by CBP agriculture specialist. The program will cover topics including:

CBP is moving toward testing Simplified Entry for Lacey Act filings, said Vincent Annunziato, director of cargo control and release at CBP, speaking at the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium Nov. 28. CBP recently wrapped up its Phase 1 of Simplified Entry testing when it expanded the pilot to numerous ports, said Annunziato. (See ITT's Online Archives 12081319 for summary of CBP's plans to expand the simplified entry pilot. Simplified Entry allows for filing of shipment information earlier in the import process and is now being tested within air cargo.)

The Agriculture Department is asking for comments on its Lacey Act Declaration for plant and plant products, in light of the 2008 expansion of Lacey Act coverage to illegal logging practices. Comments are due to USDA and the Office of Management and Budget by Nov. 26.

Okeechobee, Fla., resident David Feltenberger was sentenced to 90 days in prison and 90 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring, to be followed by three years of supervised released, a $20,000.00 fine, and 250 hours of community service on charges of exporting turtles to China, the Justice Department said. Feltenberger also agreed to forfeit the illegal catch of turtles and a commercial vehicle used to transport the turtles. He had pleaded guilty July 16. Feltenberger owned a turtle aquaculture facility known as the Big Lake Fish Farm II and possessed an FWCC Turtle Aquaculture Brood Stock Collection Permit. Feltenberger's permit allowed him to collect over 15,000 turtles of various species from the wild for use as brood stock. However, in violation of his FWCC Permit, Feltenberger purchased wild-caught turtles and repeatedly shipped the live turtles to China, in violation of the Lacey Act, the Justice Department said.