OWIT-South Florida - Get to Know this Group

On January 27, 2010 you will have the opportunity to meet the new Board of Directors for the Organization of Women in International Trade's South Florida Chapter-- don't miss this networking opportunity.   OWIT-South Florida is a networking and educational organization that promotes women and men in international trade and commerce.

As the incoming President to this group, I'll admit I'm biased, but, I do have say, this is a great group to get to know.  We have representation on our Board from Adobe, C.H. Robinson, Kroll, Robertson Forwarding, UPS, and Mastercard to name a few.  Meet us personally at my firm, Becker & Poliakoff's Coral Gables office on January 27th, from 6-8 p.m., you'll be glad you did.

Upcoming must attend events:

• February 17, 2010 - Are You "Women Certified?" Delia Passi, founder of Broward-based Women Certified, talks about her firm's mission to teach companies, especially sales people, how to sell to and retain female consumers.
• March 24, 2010 - Crisis? What Crisis? If your firm faces a reputational tsunami, call the "trouble valet."  Judy Miller, CEO, JM Advisory and former Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist, explains how she helps companies in stressful situations avoid reputational meltdown.
• November 2, 2010 - Hear Donna Shalala speak at our annual International Business Women of the Year (IBWOY) awards.

Get Involved!  Join one of our several committees.  Reach out to our Committee Chairs to learn more.

Join OWIT-South Florida on Linked In as well and start a discussion - let us know what you'd like to see with OWIT-South Florida in 2010!

I look forward to making membership in OWIT-South Florida a worthwhile and fun experience. If you ever have questions, comments or program ideas, I am always interested in your feedback and want to make sure this organization is a valuable asset to everyone involved. Please feel free to contact me directly with questions and comments.  See you January 27th!

Intellectual Property Rights are High Priority for CBP

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) takes Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement very seriously, in fact, its a priority.  Shipments not destined for the U.S., that are merely in transit (for example from China for a brief stop in Miami to the ultimate destination in Latin America), are no exception.  The fact that CBP enforces IPR rights for in transit merchandise surprises many -- but lets face it, if CBP is to protect IPR rights, why should it stop at products solely destined for the U.S.?  If you took the time to register your trademark or copyright with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and then took the extra step to record that trademark or copyright with CBP, wouldn't you want CBP to stop infringers, even if they are just passing through for a brief moment?  Check to see if a company has taken that extra step to record their IPR here.

CBP publishes IPR statistics yearly.  The statistics for 2009 were recently published in December of 2009.  There were 14,841 seizures from IPR violations.  Of no surprise, China was the top trading partner for IPR seizures in FY 2009 with a domestic value of $204.7 million in counterfeit merchandise, accounting for 79% of the total value seized.  Footwear was the top commodity seized in FY 2009 with a domestic value of
$99.7 million, which accounted for 38% of the entire value of infringing goods.  Consumer electronics was a distant second at $31.7 million, accounting for 12% of the seizure pie.   Footwear and consumer electronics combined make up half of the total seizures. 

What's important to note is this:

1. Even if your merchandise is in transit, if it doesn't comply with U.S. regulations, it may still be seized and forfeited to the U.S. government.
2. Seek an experienced attorney to respond to your Seizure Notice (we can come up with creative solutions to get your merchandise back).
3. On top of the seizure, you may also receive a penalty (for the MSRP of the goods as if they were genuine).  
4. If you are doing business with a Chinese company (especially if dealing in footwear and/or consumer electronics) do your due diligence first.
5. Create your pre-compliance plan.  Have your trademark license agreements handy and work with counsel to present the agreements to CBP in advance of importation.

January 26, 2010 – Do You Have An ISF Plan?

During the annual Customs Symposium, which took place December 8-10, 2009, Richard DeNucci, the Director of Customs Office of Field Operations, Trade Initiatives, discussed how CBP will enforce ISF(Importer Security Filing, aka 10+2) penalties, beginning January 26, 2010, and provided interesting statistics thus far. ISF will require both importers and carriers to submit additional information pertaining to cargo to CBP before the cargo is brought into the United States by vessel. FAQ’s on ISF filing may be found here.  Non compliant ISF filings can be costly, at $5,000 per violation.

Mr. DeNucci stated that Customs would be “reasonable and equitable” with ISF timeliness issues and will use the “least amount of force to ensure compliance.” When addressing DNL’s (do not loads), Mr. DeNucci stated this “is not something CBP will take lightly.” I personally am interested to see how this plays out, as CBP’s mitigation guidelines are not that forgiving.

From January 26, 2009 to December 6, 2009, there were 3.65 million ISF filings, and 103,000 ISF filers. The most impressive part of this statistic is that 95% of these filers received an acceptance rate, meaning only 5% of the filers would have potentially faced ISF penalties for issues with filing. During this same time period, CBP reviewed more than 6,475 stow plans and 106 million container status messages. Interestingly, CBP noticed the highest volumes of filings on a Friday – apparently everyone is either a procrastinator or a go-getter, filing early.

Important notes regarding ISF:

1. There will be report cards, they will address the volume, error message and timeliness (and will be available through the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) process.
2. CBP discussed a current bill in Congress which states ISF data will only be used for “security purposes” not for “trade compliance.”
3. The main CBP contacts in Headquarters are: Richard DeNucci, John Jurgutis, and Stephen Silvestri.
4. The main CBP contacts in the field are: Edward Moriarty and Joseph Martella .
5. Unified filings (entry + 10+2) may lead to an earlier release.
6. CBP recently updated the “Security Filing Transaction Sets” link which discusses applicable formats to send information to CBP.

With the January 26, 2010 enforcement date around the corner, it is time to make sure you have an ISF plan.

Bid Now for Right to Ship Chicken Legs to Nicaragua

Nicaragua
Central America Poultry Export Quota, Inc. (CA-PEQ)
Notice of Open Tender
Bids open: November 20, 2009
Bids due: December 4, 2009

Central American Poultry Export Quota, Inc. (CA-PEQ) invites bids for the right to ship U.S.-origin chicken leg quarters to Nicaragua duty-free under a CAFTA tariff-rate quota granted by the Republic of Nicaragua to the United States. The export item is chicken leg quarters, (SAC Nos. 0207.13.93; 0207.14.93; 1602.32.00.10 which correspond respectively to HTS Nos. 0207.13.99.20; 0207.14.99.20 and 1602.32.00A referred to in the text of CAFTA-DR). The product must be imported into Nicaragua between January 1st and December 31, 2010. Certificates of Quota Allocation are being offered duringthis open tender for 487 metric tons in total.

Any person or entity incorporated or domiciled, and with a legal address, in the United States is eligible to bid. Bids must be received by CA-PEQ not later than 5 p.m. (EST) on December 4th, 2009. The minimum bid quantity is 1 metric ton; the minimum bid price is $22.04/metric ton. Bids must be submitted in dollars and cents per metric ton. Bids should not be submitted in amounts that include fractions of a cent. If a bid is received in an amount that includes fractions of a cent, the administrator will ignore the fractions of a cent and consider only the amount that was bid in dollars and full cents. Performance security (the lesser of $50,000 or the total value of the bid) must be provided for each bid. The Certifi cates of Quota Allocation will be awarded to the highest bidder(s).

Interested parties may obtain the required bid forms and bid instructions at: http://www.mmsend3.com/ls.cfm?r=180395312&sid=7993497&m=871385&u=cbmedia&s=http://www.capeq.org/ or by contacting the CA-PEQ Administrator, DTB Associates, LLP, 901 New York Ave, N.W. 3rd fl oor – Box 12, Washington, D.C. 20001, U.S. Office phone (202) 684-2512, Fax. (202) 684-2233.

Central America Poultry Export Quota, Inc.
c/o DTB Associates, LLP
901 New York Avenue, N.W. 3rd Floor
Washington, D.C. 20001
Office phone: 202-684-2512 Fax: 1-202-684-2233
E-mail: Administrator@ca-peq.org    http://www.mmsend3.com/ls.cfm?r=180395312&sid=7993498&m=871385&u=cbmedia&s=http://www.ca-peq.org

FDA's PREDICT is Coming!

Beware, FDA will soon have a system to track your performance!

FDA will implement PREDICT (Predictive Risk-based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting and Import Trade Auxiliary Communications System).  Although this is likely the longest acronym known to man, I am looking forward to this new system replace OASIS. 

PREDICT will be FDA's system to target higher risk shipments, and will keep track of importers compliance.  PREDICT will make it essential for importers to cooperate with brokers in advance, and utilize the "Affirmation of Compliance" section on customs entry forms -- which helps provide to FDA a quick mechanism to prove that you are compliant with FDA regulations.

FDA has many outreach events scheduled to get the word out about the new changes coming with PREDICT.  The Florida Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders (FCBF) is assisting to get the word out and has outreach events in Tampa and Miami.

U.S. Customs - Your Personal Policeman at the Border

Many companies mistakenly believe that registering a trademark or copyright with the U.S. Government provides sufficient protection and remedies, and, therefore, do not take the extra step to record those trademarks or copyrights with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (U.S. Customs).

The processes achieve two completely different goals.

Registering a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office gives public notice of one’s ownership of the trademark or copyright. On the other hand, the purpose of recording a trademark or copyright with U.S. Customs is to partner with the agency in preventing the unauthorized importation of merchandise that bears a recorded trademark or copyright. U.S. Customs prevents counterfeit and otherwise infringing products from entering or exiting the United States for registered trademark or copyright holders who have recorded their trademarks or copyrights with Customs.

Can You Afford to Lie to BIS?

Lesson of the day - Don’t Lie to the government!

This case is about making an intentionally false or misleading statement to the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Carol Wilkins, an export manager apparently did, and will now pay $15,000 to the BIS. Important to note is that this export manager was fined individually. RF Micro Devices, Inc., the company Carol worked for, was fined $190,000 separate and apart from Carol. I don't know about you, but shelling out 15k would definitely put a huge dent in my shopping fund.
The BIS Charging Letter discussed Ms. Wilkins' false or misleading statement to the BIS. During the course of a BIS investigation, she allegedly told a BIS Special Agent that all product classifications were confirmed by an outside consultant to be EAR99 (no export license required). Apparently the consultant disagreed, and even kept the documentation in which the consultant had specifically advised Carol that the items were not EAR99, but in fact required a license. Carol might not have realized that the BIS Agents would be resourceful enough to confirm her statements to them by double checking with the consultant. Even I was always taught "trust but verify". Not surprisingly, BIS is no different.
Second lesson of the day, before making a statement you'll regret to government officials, call an attorney first.

How to Get Off the FDA 'Black List'

What is the FDA 'Black List'?
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authority to put an importer, manufacturer, shipper, grower, geographic area of a country, or an entire country on a “detention without physical examination” (DWPE) list (a/k/a the FDA’s 'Black List'). To check if a company you are doing business with is on such a list, check FDA’s Import Alert page. You can search by country, company, etc. If your company is on this list, any merchandise you attempt to import into the United States may be detained by the FDA as soon as it is offered for entry into the United States. An importer will have to prove to the FDA that the merchandise should be allowed to enter the U.S., otherwise, it will be refused entry and must be exported or destroyed within 90 days. The company/country, etc. will remain on this 'Black List' until sufficient information is presented to the FDA that proves the merchandise complies with the FDA requirement.

How to Get Off the Black List
FDA’s Regulatory Procedures Manual provides guidance to those who wish to get off the 'Black List'. The specific method to use to get off the 'Black List' is directly related to why you were placed on the 'Black List' in the first place. For example, if a food product was placed on the 'Black List' because it was deemed “adulterated” or “misbranded” by the FDA, a minimum of five consecutive non-violative commercial shipments must thereafter enter the U.S., and at least one of the five non-violative entries should be audited by the FDA to ensure compliance. The five shipments must be over a reasonable time period, not one day. Separately, a Petition must be filed with the FDA requesting that the importer be removed from the 'Black List'. The Petition must include the specific products being automatically detained, the Entry Numbers, and any other relevant documentation to detail steps taken to prevent entry into the U.S. of merchandise that violates the FDA's many requirements.

It is wise to know whether you or your company are on the FDA 'Black List', to know the FDA requirements to get off the list as soon as possible, and to take action, so that you too, can get off the FDA 'Black List'.

BIS is Coming to a City Near You!

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has posted its seminar schedule from now until September of 2010!  Seminar topics range from "How To Develop and Export Management and Compliance Program" to "Complying with U.S. Export Controls."  The full schedule and registration are here.

Be There or Be Square -- OWIT-South Florida IBWOY Awards

Save the Date!
Please save November 12, 2009, for the Organization of Women in International Trades (OWIT) annual International Business Women of the Year (IBWOY) awards luncheon, honoring exemplary women in the South Florida international trade community. While the details are being fine tuned, I can say that we are doing something different this year. Typically, we raise money for a scholarship for a university student. However, this year, so many of us have been touched by cancer. We recently lost Bunny Schreiber, a beacon in the South Florida trade community, and one of our own Board members is currently fighting cancer. Therefore, this year we would like to raise money for breast cancer awareness and will donate proceeds of our silent auction to the Susan G. Komen foundation. If you have any items you'd like to include in the auction, or are interested in sponsorship, please contact me.
I have to say, I personally have truly enjoyed being a Board member of OWIT for the past four years, and hope you too will get involved! We will elect a new board this December for 2010, please express your interest. We'd love your feedback for future events, and would appreciate new faces on our committees!