Freight Forwarder Pays $125,000 Mitigated Penalty - Avoid This & Learn 11 Steps to Exporting

Aramex Emirates, LLC, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), agreed to pay a $125,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for the unlicensed export and reexport to Syria, via the U.A.E., of network devices and software without the required BIS licenses. The Under Secretary of Commerce Eric L. Hirschhorn commented:

Today’s settlement shows the importance of compliance with U.S. law by foreign freight forwarders handling items subject to U.S. export controls.

The items in question could be used by the Syrian government to monitor Internet activity and block pro-democracy websites as part of its brutal crackdown against the Syrian people.

CBP Updates Trade Community on GSP Expiration

For those of you that relied on the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and are now subject to duties, CBP sent a notice today that directly impacts you.

A previous post discussed the expiration of GSP and need for congressional action to renew it. GSP expired July 31, 2013. Importers were advised to continue to use the Special Program Indicator (SPI) “A” when importing into the U.S., which would signify a valid claim for GSP but to pay duty subsequent to that date, so that in the event of a retroactive renewal, CBP could process refunds automatically.

Unfortunately, the picture above is still correct - the trade community is in limbo - will we get our duties refunded if we are entitled to GSP?  The answer... Yes, Maybe, No.  Not comforting or reassuring.

Today, CBP advised the trade community that:

PortMiami Tunnel Opening Celebration!

Today was the historic PortMiami Tunnel Opening (where you can watch my video of the first 3 trucks that officially entered the port tunnel)!  A better video can be found here, courtesy of Local 10.

As the Miami Herald reported today, four long years and $915 million dollars went into this tunnel that will now allow both cruise traffic and trucks to bypass downtown Miami and instead, head straight to the highway.

Much needed relief for residents. And... No Tolls!

E-Cigs "Deemed" Tobacco Under New FDA Proposed Rule

 

On April 24, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced what some call a "long- awaited" proposed regulation that will impact the future of the currently booming e-cigarette industry. Currently, e-cigarettes are not a part of FDA's purview and have no FDA oversight - FDA's proposed rule intends to change this in a big way.

Export Penalties Already Total $184 MILLION in 2014 – Want to Learn Who, What, Why & How to Stay Compliant?

Within just the first nine weeks of 2014, almost $182 million dollars in penalties have been assessed against companies for OFAC and ITAR export violations.  Within those same nine weeks alone, companies have been ordered to pay the Department of Treasury almost $25 million dollars more than was ordered in all of 2013. Simply put, compliance is critical, and non-compliance is costly!

Don’t miss this update on export enforcement actions stemming from a busy 2013 and start of 2014.

Trade Day is Coming to Miami!

Trade Day is coming to Miami, courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, (CBP) on April 2, 2014.  The ports of Champlain, Boston, Savannah, Buffalo and Detroit have held Trade Day (some already twice) and we are thrilled CBP's Port of Miami is bringing Trade Day to us.

This is the time to take advantage.  Importers, exporters, customhouse brokers, freight forwarders and all other interested parties in the international trade community - if you have been looking for an informal opportunity to meet one-on-one with government officials that are responsible for processing and facilitating trade related import transactions and enforcing the various Free Trade Agreements and trade laws, this is your chance.

International Travelers Beware - U.S. Customs WILL Seize Your Money...

International travelers often contact me with the same distraught face as the man pictured to my left, after their money is confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as a result of not properly declaring currency on hand. Declaration Form 6059B will look familiar to all international travelers as you fill it out when entering the U.S. Many times, the rationale for seizure is that parties traveling together split their currency, and even though together they have over the $10,000 minimum, the travelers advise they are each carrying less then the $10,000 minimum requirement for reporting (in question 13 of Form 6059B), resulting in ALL of the currency on hand being seized. Recently, CBP seized $82,000 of currency, and arrested the female driver, after discovering three packages of bulk currency hidden within a vehicle as a female driver attempted to exit the U.S. and enter Mexico. During this holiday season, this post will tell you what you need to know to assure it's NOT YOU that has their currency seized when traveling internationally!

Take 2 - Registration Now Opens For CBP's Symposium in DC

Mark your calendars - the CBP 2014 East Coast Trade Symposium is back on and scheduled for March 6-7, 2014, at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The theme remains the same - “Increasing Economic Competitiveness Through Global Partnerships and Innovation”. Based on the overwhelming interest received by CBP for participation at the Symposium, CBP is limiting attendance to three (3) participants per company to afford equal representation from all members of the international trade community. If a company exceeds the limitation, subsequent registrations will automatically be placed on the waiting list.

Registration for onsite participation has increased to $128, and will open TODAY, December 18, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Act fast, this event is usually sold out typically within a day! Attendance at the Symposium is an excellent opportunity to meet with all levels at CBP, so take advantage of this opportunity!

See you at the CBP Symposium!

PortMiami and CBP Join Forces to Bring Back (and Expedite) Transshipment

PortMiami has been working feverishly to bring back transshipment to Miami.

Step one was PortMiami's outreach to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  PortMiami Director Bill Johnson wrote a letter to Acting CBP Commissioner, Thomas Winkowski, dated June 26, 2013, asking CBP to develop a pilot program, "with a transshipment inspection protocol pilot for PortMiami."

Large Seizure by CBP Highlights High Margins of Counterfeiting, and Necessity of Recordation

Co Authored by Michael De Biase 

One of CBP's latest news releases, dated September 27, 2013, noted that more than 16,000 counterfeit Hermes handbags were seized by Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) because Hermes took the extra step of recording their intellectual property with CBP.   Not surprisingly, when you analyze the difference between the alleged value of the counterfeit products (reported to CBP) as compared to the suggested retail price of the genuine goods, you have a grave difference. In this case, $295,665 (value of counterfeit goods) compared to $210,785,475 (value of genuine goods).  That’s over $210 million worth of potential profits for the counterfeiters, at the expense of Hermes – a crime in every sense. Because Hermes recorded its intellectual property with CBP, CBP seized this infringing merchandise, and will also have the ability to issue a penalty for the MSRP of the merchandise. Yes, that means a penalty in the amount of $210,785,475 will be coming to the counterfeiters!

Most often, counterfeiters target large luxury brands whose goodwill and name recognition has a certain element of exclusivity.  While some may not sympathize with profitable companies, what they fail to realize is that counterfeiting hurts in a variety of other ways. Counterfeiting hurts consumers who buy products under the false impression that they are genuine, companies whose goodwill is tarnished by the inferior quality of the counterfeit products bearing their brands, and it hurts those who worked hard to build something of substantial value.  In this case, Hermes lost out on, potentially, more than $210 million dollars in revenue.  That is not only felt by Hermes the corporation, it hurts the retail stores and the malls they’re in, the shipping companies, the raw materials developers, and the families of the employees for all of these parties.

Luckily for importers and consumers, CBP recognizes the importance of intellectual property protection and provides assistance in stopping the infringing products at our borders.  CBP’s Intellectual Property Rights Recordation (“IPRR”) system allows holders of registered trademarks and copyrights to record their registration with CBP, so that CBP can police the borders for infringing goods.  Once recorded, it is entered into a online search system named IPRS. According to the news released mentioned above regarding catching counterfeiting Hermes at the border, once intellectual property is recorded with CBP,

CBP officers are trained to identify and interdict counterfeit goods, and this is a great example of how their training and expertise are employed every day in our ports of entry,” said CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles Todd C. Owen

Considering the incentives for counterfeiters along with the potential losses for intellectual property rights holders, companies that import merchandise must consider recordation a necessity. Importantly, when you record your marks, you must go to an expert in this area - as this is your opportunity to train CBP on the methods of policing your mark - and only trained experts can work on this proficiently so you have the best results with CBP, like Hermes did. To learn more about the top four benefits of recording your intellectual property, review this article.

To get started on recording your intellectual property, or if you have any questions on how to best have CBP police your recorded trademarks and copyrights, please contact me.