It is illegal for a U.S. person to support an unsanctioned foreign boycott by: Agreements to refuse or actual refusal to do business with countries that are the subject of a boycott or sanction or with blacklisted companies. Agreements to discriminate or actual discrimination against other person based on race, religion, sex, national origin, or nationality. Furnishing information about business relationships with countries subject of a boycott or sanction or with blacklisted companies. Furnishing information about the race, religion, sex, or national origin of another person Paying, or otherwise implementing letters of credit that include requirements to take boycott-related actions prohibited by the Anti-Boycott regulations. Anti-Boycott Red Flags The following are Anti-Boycott red flags that should trigger additional scrutiny: · Any request or instruction that contains the word “boycott” or “blacklist,” any reference to Israel, Israeli goods or Israeli nationals, or any reference to national origin, ethnicity, religion or gender should be considered boycott-related · Any request to not do business with a certain country (i.e., a country boycott requirement) · Any request to take discriminatory action (e.g., not hire or use anyone of Israeli descent to work or provide services on a contract) · Any request to furnish prohibited…
A carnet or ATA Carnet is an international customs document issued by 70 countries that participate in the carnet program. It is presented when entering a Carnet country with merchandise or equipment that will be re-exported within 12 months. Upon presentation, the Carnet permits the equipment or merchandise to clear customs without the payment of duties and taxes. Payment is not necessary because the Carnet guarantees that the merchandise or equipment will be re-exported within a year. The use of a Carnet is a way of temporarily importing into foreign countries without payment of duties and taxes. Carnets also serve as the US registration of goods so that the goods can re-enter the US without payment of duties and taxes. There are two types of Carnets. The ATA Carnet is used to temporarily import commercial samples, professional equipment, and goods for exhibitions and fairs. They facilitate international business by avoiding extensive customs procedures, eliminating payment of duties and value-added taxes (minimum 20% in Europe, 27% in China), and replacing the purchase of temporary import bonds. The TECRO/AIT Carnet is used between the U.S. and Taiwan only. It appears similar to and serves the same function as the ATA Carnet. TECRO/AIT…
Read More Carnet Shipments – What is the purpose of the ATA or TECRO/AIT Carnet?
Wilton Industries Inc., v. United States case caused a great deal of excitement in the import and legal communities. After all, provided that certain criteria are met, utilitarian articles were eligible for duty free treatment all these years, and the CBP official interpretation was, at best, misleading? The practical benefits, usually coming in the form of duty refunds, are marginal for those importers that are/were not directly involved in these cases. The commodities addressed in Wilton, would not qualify for chapter 95 if entered after February 3rd, 2007, the time when chapter 95 note 1 (v) came in force. Then, one has to consider limitation of Park B. Smith invoked by CBP on April 5th, 2006. It is very important to note, that the question of limitation had almost no mention in Wilton. In the slip opinion it is briefly noted that “neither party has relied in any way on Customs’ recent action seeking to limit the application of Park B. Smith to the entries before the courts in that case.” There are good reasons for no mention: your protests are likely to be denied on the basis of that limitation. With this in mind, the procedural timeline does not…
Background In the importing community most everyone knows that failure to provide reimbursement certificate (stating that importer was not reimbursed) may double importer’s antidumping duties upon liquidation. This is the law, it is codified in 19 CFR 351.402. The same statute also provides for presumption of reimbursement, and thereby doubling of antidumping duties, if the certificate is not provided prior to liquidation. The statute states that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may presume that reimbursement have occurred, however, some CBP officers at some ports interpret “may” as “must.” As a result, antidumping duties double, regardless of the fact that the importer was not reimbursed. Number of rulings and protests filed for further review published in CROSS indicates that a substantial number of importers got burned due to the lack of knowledge and/or control over the administrative process. CBP Headquarters further augmented the issue by publishing Guidance for Certificates of Reimbursement on November 18, 2005. The best way to avoid doubling of antidumping duties is to play by the rules. File or instruct you broker to file the certificate with every entry packet. Make sure that the certificate is in acceptable format. File the blanket certificate with relevant CBP team at…
It appears that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is changing its long time practice with regards to interpretation of Additional U.S. Note 6 (b) to Chapter 69 HTSUS, which dates back to August 8th, 1994, the date of issuance of HQ 955838. The practice pertains to the interpretation of nearest to maximum dimensions. CBP has regarded the word “maximum” in the note as meaning “the greatest possible quantity or degree”; the greatest quantity or degree reached or recorded; the upper limit of variation (Customs Bulletin Vol. 41 No. 23 Pg. 48). Ceramic article, therefore, cannot exceed dimensions specified in the Additional U.S. Note 6 (b). Importers who are bringing ceramic dinnerware / tableware in sets, were stuck to that dimensions or had to pay almost double the duty for articles as being not “available in specified sets.” CBP position now is that an article may exceed the dimensional descriptions of Additional U.S. Note 6 to Chapter 69 and be classified as being “available in specified sets.” The change in interpretation was due to acceptance of several court cases as a precedent for the interpretation. Previously, CBP dismissed any court cases, legislative history and interpretations thereof by claiming that the meaning…
Since November 7th, 2005 artist canvas from People’s Republic of China is subject to antidumping duties of 264.09 percent, unless separate rate is applicable. International Trade Administration assigned case number A-570-899. If artist canvas is assembled in multiple countries that include China, one must be aware of intricacies that surround country of origin determination of this rate sensitive commodity. County of Origin Marking Requirements of Certain Artist Canvases publication in today’s Customs Bulletin issue proves that point. The key factor for the determination played the definition of “wholly assembled.” Artist canvas in question is composed of 100 percent cotton which is woven and spun, and primed with gesso in India. It is then, in primed rolls, shipped to China where it is cut to size and stretched over a wooden frame. Originally, CBP determined that the country of origin is India pursuant to section 102.21 (c) (4). CBP dismissed 102.21 (c) (2) because “no tariff shift occurs at all in this situation.” Section 102.21 (c) (3) was dismissed because subject merchandise is neither knit to shape, nor wholly assembled (in a single country).” In concluding the most important manufacturing and assembly process pursuant to 102.21 (c) (4), CBP outlined two…
Determination of jurisdiction for infrared products can get quite complicated but in the case of infrared motion detectors it is not difficult at all. Two federal agencies (other then Customs and Border Protection) should be thought of when importing similar type of product: Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To distinguish the difference in regulatory oversight think in terms of electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. It is the is the frequency range of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths from thousands of kilometres down to fractions of the size of an atom. Its range includes radio waves and infrared waves. Former is regulated by FCC and the latter, in some circumstances, by FDA. During my tenure with regulatory compliance department for one of the large retailers, I noticed that a customs broker have been requesting and filing FDA 2877 for each motion detector with infrared censor. Customs broker has also been incorrectly using product code 89ILY, which is a medical device. FDA 2877 is required to be filed for each imported electronic product subject to radiation control standards. The table in 21 CFR 1002.1 gives the list of products subject to the performance standards. Since infrared motion detector is not…
Read More Infrared Motion Detectors are not regulated by FDA
We classify a lot of products, usually decorative figurines, that a claimed to be made from “polystone” sometimes mixed with “polyresin” binding material. Most of it goes into statistical reporting number 6810.99.0080. This publication focused on narrowing the definition of artificial stone. It is not just the natural stone binded with plastic resins, cement, or lime… but it also must be “uniformly agglomerated together throughout the body of the article.” If it is not uniformly distributed, then GRI (3) is applicable, where if natural stone is essential character, then it goes into heading 6802. This effectively brings the duty up from zero to six percent. Publication further implies that in order for artificial stone to qualify for 6810, it must be made from “natural” stone. As an example of non-natural stone, publication mentions calcium carbonate in the form of a synthetic chemical. Interestingly, assumed percentage requirement by weight, is not a factor in determining the essential character of agglomerated article. For example, stone uniformly mixed with plastics (polystone/polyresin compound) is 6810 by GRI (1) regardless of weight predominance. Yet, it goes on to say that even in the absence of standard, if natural stone by weight is less than 20…
Read More Informed Compliance Publication on Agglomerated Stone
To get rawhide, porkhide, or avian pet products into the United States, you have to deal with FDA, USDA, and CBP regulations. In addition to regular commercial and shipping documents you also need to provide veterinary certificate and NCIE import permit if pet chews are not plain. A lot can be said about the process, but the purpose of this article is to focus on CBP Agriculture process. Agriculture Specialists currently work under Department of Homeland Security, yet mostly deal with enforcement of regulatory statutes of the United States Department of Agriculture. When customs broker transmits an entry (for example using HTS 0511.99.2000), it goes on automatic hold and EDR (Entry Documents Required). Agriculture Specialist reviews the entry and then makes a decision (to release, to examine, to request further information). As a guidance for appropriate decision, Agriculture Specialists use the Animal Product Manual. Inspector in one of the ports provided a copy of the relevant page from this manual (see left image to your top right). Basically, it is a replication of USDA GUIDELINES FOR IMPORTATION #1119, only in a different format. Sometimes events do not turn out as planned. For example, foreign government veterinarian did not lists porcine…
In today’s issue of the Customs Bulletin, the dimension guidelines for HTSUS 4901.99.0075 were finally published. “Rack size is approximately 6 3/4 inches – 7 inches by 4 1/8 or 4 1/4 inches”
