Texas-based industrial equipment supplier Unicat was ordered to pay $1,655,189.57 in unpaid duties to CBP after it illegally evaded tariffs on imported chemical catalysts. The company’s former CEO, Mani Erfan, “devised and implemented a tariff avoidance scheme” in which the company falsely understated the value of its imported catalysts and the duties owed to CBP, DOJ said. The company sourced most of its catalysts from China, the agency said.
The Comfy, a "wearable, oversized item covering the front and back with a hood, sleeves, ribbed cuffs, and a marsupial pocket," is a pullover and not a blanket, the Court of International Trade held on June 16. Issuing a decision after a five-day bench trial held last year, Judge Stephen Vaden said, as a matter of fact, The Comfy doesn't protect against "extreme cold," and that, as a matter of law, the item fits under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 6110, which provides for pullovers.
The importer seeking class certification at the Court of International Trade to obtain refunds for tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act voluntarily dismissed its case June 16. Counsel for the importer didn't respond to a request for comment (Chapter1 v. United States, CIT # 25-00097).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website June 16, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
The U.S. and Morocco have signed a new bilateral container security initiative that will facilitate the transit of cargo between the two countries, CBP said in a June 17 release. The initiative enhances targeting and information sharing to identify and counter customs violations and other threats in the cargo environment. According to CBP, foreign customs administrations work with U.S. counterparts to pre-screen, evaluate and target cargo that poses a potential threat.
The number of audits doubled from April to May, with CBP conducting 67 audits that identified $139 million in duties and fees from imported goods improperly declared, according to the agency's May monthly update released June 17.
CBP is preparing ACE to handle calculating estimated duties from entry summaries that might have more than two Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes attached, according to the agency's latest ACE development and deployment schedule for June.
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President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters as he flew back a day early from the Group of 7 summit in Canada, called both Japan and the EU tough negotiators, but said there's a chance that a deal can be arrived at with Japan.