compliance Archives | Customs & International Trade Law Blog

Building & Maintaining an Export Compliance Plan

Diaz Trade Law’s President, Jennifer Diaz, Associate Attorney Sharath Patil, are enthusiastic to announce Bloomberg Law published another one of our articles, “Building & Maintaining an Export Compliance Plan”! We also thank our law clerk, Gabi Perez, for her support with research for this article. 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|2022-11-10T15:44:12-05:00October 18, 2022|Bloomberg, Bloomberg Export, International Law, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Uncategorized|Comments Off

Customs Undervaluation – It’s a Crime

Customs Valuation is a procedure to determine the customs value of imported goods. The customs value is essential to calculate the total duty to be paid on an imported good. As part of its agreement with the World Trade Organization (“WTO”), the U.S. is part of an internationally standardized system of valuing imports. This standardized system allows for CBP to protect revenue, ensure reasonable care from importers, and accurately calculate Census trade statistics. Accordingly, it is critical to declare the value of importations accurately and compliantly.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) valuation methodology (as well as a summary of relevant Customs rulings) are described in detail in the Valuation Encyclopedia (i.e., the best resource on valuation inquiries). CBP permits merchandise to be valued according to one of the six valuation methods listed below. The methods are applied sequentially from first to last until an applicable value is determined. If the first method does not apply, the importer must then evaluate the second, and so on, until an appropriate method applies. The only exception to this sequential evaluation requirement is when evaluating between deductive value and computed value – an importer may choose to use the computed value before the deductive value.

Methods of Valuation:

The transaction value of imported merchandise (the majority of imports use transaction value – i.e., the price paid or payable plus assists (see below))
The transaction value of identical merchandise
The transaction value of similar merchandise
Deductive value
Computed […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-09-29T11:30:35-04:00October 4, 2022|Best Practices, International Trade, Seizures, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 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:

[…]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-09-09T15:59:48-04:00September 9, 2022|301 INVESTIGATIONS, China, China Trade War, EAR, Export, Import, International Trade, IPR, Trademarks and Logos, IRAN, Pre-compliance, Reasonable Care, Snapshot, Supply Chain, Trade Policy, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)|Comments Off

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA): What You Need to Know

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and What You Need to Know?

On June 16, 2022, CBP held a webinar on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The UFLPA goes into effect June 21, 2022 so it is critical that importers are proactive about forced labor compliance in preparation for this implementation. During the webinar CBP discussed their recently published operational guidance for importers. This blog article provides an overview of CBP’s current enforcement environment and how UFLPA will change CBP’s enforcement procedures for imports generally, and specifically from the Xinjiang region. For general guidance on preventing the importation of goods produced with forced labor and how importers should audit their supply chain to ensure non-use of forced labor, please refer to our Bloomberg Law article, “U.S. Customs Targets Use of Forced Labor”.

Background

Under Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), CBP derives the authority for preventing the entry into the U.S. market of products made with forced labor by investigating and acting upon allegations of forced labor in supply chains. CBP issues Withhold Release Orders (WROs) and findings to prevent merchandise produced in whole or in part in a foreign country using forced labor from being imported into the United States. CBP defines Forced labor as all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-06-17T18:05:17-04:00June 16, 2022|301 INVESTIGATIONS, Enforcement, Forced Labor, Import, International Trade, Pre-compliance, Reasonable Care, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)|3 Comments

Bloomberg: What is an Importer’s ‘Reasonable Care’ Standard?

Diaz Trade Law’s President, Jennifer Diaz, is enthusiastic to announce Bloomberg Law published another one of our articles, “What is an Importer’s ‘Reasonable Care’ Standard“! We want to thank law student Isha C. Biswas for her amazing support in getting this article to the finish line!

Many mistake the ease of importing to mean there is no liability or obligation on the part of the importer. In our perfect world this article would be required reading PRIOR to importing where importers would learn about their OBLIGATION to use reasonable care when importing, and actually learn what reasonable care means. This article digs in and gives away TONS of practical guidance. 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 and urge you to SHARE with importers!!

[…]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-05-10T12:41:41-04:00May 10, 2022|Bloomberg, Bloomberg Import, Import, International Law, International Trade, Reasonable Care|Comments Off

Draft Guidance on Medical Device Transition Period

In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the FDA took unprecedented action in transforming its enforcement because of the declaration of a Public Health Emergency while also issuing, and continuing, Emergency Use Authorizations. These governmental actions facilitated and increased the importation of necessary medical devices needed to combat the pandemic here in the United States. And now as the U.S. relaxes its pandemic protocol, the FDA is exploring the best way to have medical devices transition back to pre-pandemic regulations and protocol. On December 23, 2021, the FDA issued two draft guidance documents in the Federal Register detailing its proposed medical device transition plans for all medical devices previously imported under the two aforementioned government declarations. And to provide further assistance, the FDA hosted a webinar “Draft Guidances on Transition Plans for COVID-19 Related Medical Devices” providing further explanations to the trade community on what can be expected from the proposed transition plans.

[…]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-03-10T11:56:55-05:00March 15, 2022|COVID-19, Import, Medical Devices, PPE, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)|Comments Off

Customs and Trade Law Weekly Snapshot

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

[…]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-01T11:14:19-04:00January 28, 2022|Export, Import, International Trade, Snapshot, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Uncategorized|Comments Off

Catch Up on All DTL Blogs from 2021

We want to make sure you stay up to date with the hottest trade blogs from 2021. Below is a summary of what you missed by category. Enjoy! […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-04-25T16:57:22-04:00December 30, 2021|301 INVESTIGATIONS, AD/CVD, Best Practices, China, COVID-19, Export, Food, FSMA, Import, International Trade, Pre-compliance, Speaking, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), USMCA|Comments Off

3-Part Podcast Miniseries – Importing, Exporting, and AD/CVD

Diaz Trade Law is excited to announce that three of its attorneys participated in a three-part podcast mini-series on Customs and International Trade law. The podcast is titled “The View from Jamestown” and hosted by Ben Sawicki of The Chemical Company. This special three-part podcast mini-series featured an in-depth introduction to importing, exporting, and anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations (AD/CVD), along with helpful insights on best practices for your business. The three podcasts are great for both beginners and advanced levels. We would love to hear your feedback once you’ve watched!

Watch Now!

[…]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-12-20T10:52:46-05:00December 21, 2021|Best Practices, Export, Import, International Law, International Trade, Speaking, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|Comments Off

Want Customs to Police Your IPR at all 328 Ports of Entry?

Did you know in FY2020, U.S. Customs seized more than 26,000 shipments worth more than $1.3 BILLION due to alleged intellectual property rights (IPR) violations? Ensure you’re on the right side of CBP enforcement and register for Diaz Trade Law’s next webinar “Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Customs (Including an Update on the Amazon Registry) – Amazon Brand Registry“ taking place on December 15, 2021. This one-hour webinar will provide best practices and TOP tips on how one can protect their IPR using U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and effective methods to go after IPR infringers.

Register today to hear directly from DTL’s president, Jennifer Diaz, Associate Attorney, Denise Calle and Of Counsel and IPR Specialist, Augusto Perera, as they teach attendees about intellectual property rights and the best ways to protect them.

[…]