A federal jury in Los Angeles awarded leather goods-maker Coach an $8 million judgment against a customs brokerage and its owner for violating trademark and customs laws. According to Coach, Celco Customs and its owner Shen Huei Feng “Celine” Wang acted as broker for importers that it knew were bringing in counterfeit handbags and wallets.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- The CBP Centers for Excellence and Expertise will eventually open up participation to entire industries, regardless of trusted trader status, said Anne Maricich, director of the Electronics CEE in Long Beach, Calif. "All of the Centers will be expanding and we have a five year charge to take the entire industry," she said. As a result, the agency is working at how to continue to differentiate the trusted trader member benefits from the rest of the industry that will be covered by the CEEs, she said. Maricich also outlined a number of operational details on the CEEs, including how broker penalties and fines will be administered going forward. Maricich discussed the issue while on a panel at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America conference April 10.
April 15 Mexican Ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza speaks at 21st Century Border Initiative event, 12:30 p.m., 729 15th St. NW, Washington (here)
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Many of the Food and Drug Administration's efforts to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that affect importers are ongoing, said FDA officials during the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America conference April 10. Some of the major parts of the law, such as a new prior notice rule, reinspection fees and foreign supplier verifications, may still be far from full implementation. FSMA became law in 2011. The officials urged the trade to be patient when working with FDA as it works through a reorganization of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (see 12101501).
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Ongoing concern for new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations was evident during the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America conference April 9. While the NCBFAA has repeatedly said the provisions of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) that create new financial requirements for domestic transport brokers don't apply to those engaged in customs business, it was clear there was concern among attendees. MAP-21 exempts from bonding and registration requirements those who provide for domestic transport of good as part of "customs business" and other international transportation.
The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association (NCBFAA) has some serious qualms with a recent CBP proposal that would establish a process for canceling a broker's filer code (see 13022521). CBP, which seems to want the ability to immediately shut down a business, may not understand the severity of what the revocation of a filing code would mean, said Alan Klestadt, a lawyer with Grunfeld Desiderio and customs counsel for the association. Klestadt spoke at the NCBFAA conference April 10. NCBFAA will file comments in opposition and push CBP to withdrawal the proposal, he said. "I believe if this proposal goes forward, almost in any shape or form, even with provisions, the first time they use that authority, we're going to be in court." Even if the regulations go forward as is, "we're going to have to look at our remedies before they flex that muscle, said Klestadt. Outside of a conviction in court, "I can't really see a scenario where CBP can summarily pull a filer code."
CBP is considering continuing education requirements of 40 hours every three years for customs brokers to maintain their licenses, said Elena Ryan, director of Trade Facilitation and Administration at CBP, who spoke via telephone at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America conference April 10 in California. The requirement would amount to about an "hour a month" and it would be up to the broker to decide how they want to spread it out, she said. The framework, which is still in very "preliminary stages" was developed by CBP and the NCBFAA as part of the ongoing review of 19 CFR 111 regulations. The issue has been one of the more controversial aspects of the review (see 13031422).
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- A new National Customs Broker and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) program would make use of the knowledge and relationship brokers' have with their clients by creating a list of importers that brokers have gathered some baseline information on. The program, known as the "Broker Known Importer Program," was described at the NCBFAA conference April 10. The concept is part of CBP's "Role of the Broker" initiative and isn't expected to require major regulatory changes.
"Under the NTTAA, DOE, as a federal department, is required to use technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standard bodies unless these standards are inconsistent with applicable law,” wrote Doug Johnson, CEA vice president-technology policy. DOE has acknowledged that their proposed rules are based largely on the CEA-2043 VA, the test standard used in the industry consensus, but CEA and other industry commenters said the DOE should have to show that the VA is impractical under the law before developing it’s own standards. “U.S. law and good public policy favors simply relying on the standard rather than borrowing from, modifying or reinventing it,” wrote Johnson.
CEA recognizes the “substantial efforts” the Department of Energy and its contractors have made to develop a federal test procedure to measure power consumption of set-top boxes, “but we firmly believe that these resources are wasted and the efforts are misguided,” CEA said in rulemaking comments filed Monday at the DOE (CED Jan 23 p7). “CEA opposes the adoption of a federal test procedure and federal energy standards which are the only credible and legal rationale for a federal test procedure,” it said.