U.S. Customs and Border Protection is advising the trade of future changes to the ABI Harmonized Tariff Extract reference file and to the ABI HTS Query transaction records to display new output records that will identify tariff numbers that have PGA (Participating Government Agency) indicators associated with the tariff number. CBP is also providing the formats for the new record identifiers, for trade programming purposes.
The July 2011 edition of the Justice Department’s U.S. Attorney’s Bulletin includes an article on efforts to enforce the 2008 Lacey Act Amendments, such as the declaration requirement (PPQ 505) for imported plants and plant products. The article provides examples of enforcement efforts to date in cases involving forfeiture, false labeling, and trafficking, but states that so far, Lacy Act Amendments enforcement has been slow and minimal.
An Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service official has stated by phone that he expects the trade to switch to the improved Lacey Act Amendment Plant and Plant Product Declaration Form (PPQ 505, dated August 2011) as soon as possible. He expected that importers could be using the new form exclusively after a few weeks have passed. The revised form PPQ 505 is in landscape format and has a new Supplemental Form (PPQ 505B) for additional articles and parts.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has posted to its website a revised version of the Lacey Act Amendment Plant and Plant Product Declaration Form (PPQ 505) for imported plants and plant products. APHIS has also posted a new Supplemental Form (PPQ 505B) for additional articles and parts.
The Justice Department has issued the July 2011 issue of the U.S. Attorneys' Bulletin on environmental crimes which highlights, among other things, selected environmental crimes statutes and issues that prosecutors are likely to encounter. The Bulletin also discusses the recent amendments to the Lacey Act to combat illegal logging, covering penalties for violations, implementation and phased enforcement of the plant declaration requirement, and issues identified with the Lacey Act to date. The Bulletin also provides examples of Lacey Act enforcement in cases involving false labeling, trafficking, and forfeiture.
The Fish and Wildlife Service and Justice Department report that the owner of a Philadelphia African art store, Victor Gordon, has been arrested on charges of conspiracy, smuggling, and Lacey Act violations related to the illegal importation and sale of African elephant ivory.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 5 - 8, 2011 in case they were missed last week.
On July 5, 2011, the following trade-related bill was introduced:
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 27 -- July 1, 2011 in case they were missed last week.
On June 28, 2011, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced that two commercial fishermen from San Diego plead guilty to illegally fishing for albacore tuna in Mexican waters without the fishing permits required under Mexican law, in violation of the Lacey Act. Nathan Lee, Captain of the ship Two Captains, and Scott Hawkins, Captain of the ship Jody H, admitted that after leaving port in San Diego, they navigated into Mexican waters and caught approximately 800 pounds of albacore tuna. Authorities determined that the vessels were fishing over a hundred miles into Mexican waters near Guadalupe Island when they caught the tuna. Each fisherman was sentenced to a term of three years of probation, and ordered to pay a fine of $500.