May 2023 | Customs & International Trade Law Blog

RECAP: World Trade Center Miami World Trade Month Webinars

Last week concluded World Trade Center Miami’s International Trade Weeks Webinars. The two weeks of webinars coincided with World Trade Month and included online presentations from U.S. federal agencies on current federal regulations and updates, classification, and essential import and export information.

The series included sessions from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Headquarters Offices, CTPAT, Fines, Penalties & Forfeitures, and Centers of Excellence and Expertise (Centers). Webinar topics encompassed CTPAT, Forced Labor Enforcement Overview, E-Commerce, Broker Regulatory Updates, IPR & Trademark Policy, U.S. Plant Pest Pressures, Importing Alcoholic Beverages into the United States and many more.

Partner government agencies included:

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
Department of Transportation (DOT)

Participating Centers of Excellence and Expertise included:

Agriculture & Prepared Products: Managed by the Miami Field Office, specializes in agriculture, aquaculture, animal products, vegetable products, prepared foods, beverages, alcohol, tobacco or similar industries.
Apparel, Footwear & Textiles: Managed by the San Francisco Field Office, specializes in wearing apparel, footwear, textile mill products, or similar industries.
Automotive & Aerospace: Managed by the Detroit […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2023-05-31T08:47:34-04:00May 31, 2023|U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|Comments Off

A New Era in Cosmetics Regulation: The Modernization of Cosmetic Regulations Act

In recent years, the cosmetics industry has experienced exponential growth, with new products being introduced almost daily. The average American consumer uses six to 12 cosmetics products daily. This growth has resulted in a need for more comprehensive regulation of cosmetic products to ensure consumer safety. The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) is a new law that aims to modernize and strengthen cosmetic regulations in the United States.

MoCRA was signed into law on January 1, 2022, and replaces the previous Cosmetic Act, which had not been updated since 1938. MoCRA brings significant changes to the cosmetic industry and regulations under MoCRA will impact the entire lifecycle of cosmetics products from manufacturing to marketing.

New MoCRA requirements include:

FDA registration for cosmetics facilities
Product listings for each cosmetic product
Adverse event reporting
Safety substantiation
Compliance […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2023-05-24T12:27:23-04:00May 24, 2023|Cosmetics, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)|Comments Off

Customs and Trade Weekly Snapshot

Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade law news:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

CBP announced that it is changing its processes concerning the publication of the Notice of Seizure and Intent to Forfeit for CBP seizures and administrative forfeitures.
CBP Releases April 2023 Monthly Operational Update
CBP published a new Forced Labor Supporting Documents Submissions Guide
CBP Modifies Withhold Release Order in Response to Smart Glove’s Successful Actions to Address Forced Labor Supply Chain Issues – Smart Glove’s remediation efforts included repayment of recruitment fees, improvements to living conditions, and implementation of new worker-centered policies and procedures.
CBP Provides ACE Portal Modernization – CBP will deploy remaining functionality for ACE Portal Modernization – Phase 3 on May 21. However, prior to deployment, the Trade Transformation Office (TTO) held a demonstration via Microsoft Teams for trade users on Thursday, May 18.
Did you know CBP provides weekly foreign-currency-exchange-rates?
The Congressional Budget Office released a cost estimate for the CTPAT Pilot Program Act of 2023.
CBP issued the notice of determination as to evasion for EAPA consolidated case 7724 filed by the Paper Receipts Converting Association, against U.S. importer, WHP Associates LLC (WHP) for evasion of the applicable AD/CVD orders.
CBP Delays Updated OHBOL Release – CBP said the updated Ocean House Bill of Lading (OHBOL) Release, as well as the OHBOL Release Container Freight Station User Interface (CFS UI), in ACE has been delayed and a new date will […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2023-05-19T12:34:01-04:00May 19, 2023|Snapshot|Comments Off

Can A False Claims Act Qui Tam Case, Alleging Customs Fraud, Be Filed And Pursued Anonymously?

Co-authored by:
Jonathan Tycko – Tycko & Zavareei LLP
Jennifer Diaz – Diaz Trade Law

Introduction

A company you work for, or maybe a competing company, is committing customs fraud. The company is lying about the value of the products it is importing, using improper HTS codes to avoid duties, or importing products that have been transshipped to evade tariffs. What can you do about it? One option is to file what is known as a “qui tam” lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act. A qui tam lawsuit is one that is brought by a private citizen or company against defendant that owe money to the government. When a qui tam lawsuit is successful, the party that initiated the case—called a “relator”—is entitled to a substantial monetary reward, ranging between 15% and 30% of the amount recovered for the government. A qui tam lawsuit has another major advantage: it engages the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in the case, and typically results in the opening of an investigation by DOJ into the allegations made in the case. So, a qui tam lawsuit is a means of bringing allegations of customs fraud to the attention of the government, and triggering a serious inquiry by the government into those allegations.

False Claims Act qui tam cases can be complicated, and many factors go into whether such a case can be successful. In this article, we do not address the substance of the cases themselves. Instead, we address a question we are commonly asked […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2023-05-19T12:31:21-04:00May 19, 2023|U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)|Comments Off

Customs and Trade Weekly Snapshot

Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade law news:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

CBP Seeks Feedback on ‘Ask ACE Chatbot’. CBP has asked the community to try out the now live “Ask ACE chatbot” on the CBP ACE homepage. The Ask ACE chatbot is intended to assist ACE users with general questions related to ACE and redirect users to existing resources that provide more comprehensive information. As it is an automated, digital tool, it will be available to the public online 24/7.
CBP maintains a notional development and deployment schedule (Dev/Dep schedule) of planned ACE enhancements. This schedule reflects those enhancements that have been prioritized and funded, and that CBP has begun developing. In addition to those enhancements found on the Dev/Dep schedule, CBP continues to work through emerging requirements. These emerging requirements will be added to the Dev/Dep schedule as new ACE enhancements when funding is secured and work is underway.
CBP issued a Final Administrative Determination in: Enforce and Protect Act (“EAPA”) Case Number 7699 concerning antidumping duty orders for Forged Steel Fittings From Italy and the People’s Republic of China. The determination affirmed in part and reversed in part the previous ruling from December.
CBP Seeks Feedback from Customs Broker License Exam Test Takers – to continuously improve the experience of its customs broker license exam, CBP has asked for individuals who took the exam on April 26 to share their experiences. Test takers should email their feedback regarding the […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2023-05-12T11:07:48-04:00May 12, 2023|Snapshot|Comments Off

Submitting Voluntary Self-Disclosures to Bureau of Industry & Security

Diaz Trade Law is enthusiastic to announce Bloomberg Law published an update to our previous article, “Submitting Voluntary Self-Disclosures to Bureau of Industry & Security.” The udpate discusses new guidance from BIS regarding failure to voluntary disclose significant violations. Below is the article reproduced with permission for your reading pleasure. You can read the article here (where you’ll have the ability to access all of the great hyperlinks). Please note you cannot click on the hyperlinks below.

We’d love to hear your feedback!

By Jennifer Diaz|2023-05-11T12:56:55-04:00May 11, 2023|Bloomberg Export|Comments Off

Customs and Trade Weekly Snapshot

Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade law news:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Importer WHP Associates LLC issued Notice of Determination as to evasion for entering merchandise covered by antidumping duty orders.
EAC Highsmith speaks at Trade and Customs Seminar in South Korea.
S. Border Patrol conducts border safety event in Presidio
CBP Video Introduces Green Trade Strategy
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a CTPAT Trade Compliance Program FAQ for the trade.

Department of Homeland Security

Chinese national indicted for skirting antidumping and countervailing duties in Puerto Rico after HSI investigation.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

FDA Completes Posting of Deemed Final Orders, completing the process of posting 33 deemed final orders for 32 different monograph therapeutic categories and one for non-monograph conditions as part of over-the-counter (OTC) monograph reform under the CARES Act.
S. Marshals, at the FDA’s request, seized more than 250,000 units of dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients that are or contain kratom, including over 1000 kilograms of bulk kratom.
The FDA published a Conversations with Experts QAthat focuses on the importance of the agency’s engagement with international organizations, including World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization’s Standards and Trade Development Facility, and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Food Safety Cooperation Forum, among others.

United States Trade Representative (USTR)