The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Jan. 23 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
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Term list: Separate terms with spaces, not commas or semicolons.
Multi-word term: Place inside quotes to ensure an exact match (e.g. "China import").
Acronyms: Use all capital letters to ensure the search is not looking for that letter sequence instead.
Required term: If a term must be included in any resulting articles, prefix it with a plus sign (e.g., +CBP).
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 22 denied Nebraska resident Byungmin Chae's petition for a rehearing of his petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of a question on his 2018 customs broker license exam. The decision marks the end of his legal remedies -- a process that saw Chae, mostly representing himself, take the case through multiple rounds of appeal at CBP, the Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court (Byungmin Chae v. Janet Yellen, U.S. Sup. Ct. # 23-200).
Behrouz Mokhtari of McLean, Virginia, and Tehran pleaded guilty Jan. 9 to two conspiracies to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran "by engaging in business activities on behalf of Iranian entities" without getting a license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, DOJ announced Jan. 9. Mokhtari will forfeit money, property and assets obtained from the schemes, including a Campbell, California, home, and a money judgment of over $2.8 million, DOJ said. The defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison for each of the two conspiracy counts.
Electronics distribution company Broad Tech System and its president and owner, Tao Jiang of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty Jan. 11 to participating in a conspiracy to illegally ship chemicals made or distributed by a Rhode Island-based company to a Chinese firm with ties to the Chinese military, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island announced. Jiang and Broad Tech admitted to violating the Export Control Act and conspiring to commit money laundering.
Logistics provider Your Special Delivery Services Specialty Logistics (YSDS) doesn't meet the criteria to act as the importer of record on a shipment, CBP said in a recent ruling. While the company would have a lien on shipments that it could exercise in the event of nonpayment, that doesn't qualify as enough of a financial interest in the shipment to give it the right to make entry, the agency said.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said the FDA needs to address a few remaining issues in its recently issued guidance document on upcoming cosmetics registration and product listing requirements.
International trade attorney Lindsay Meyer, co-chair of Venable's international trade group, has retired, according to a firm notice at the Court of International Trade. Meyer received her J.D. degree from the George Washington University Law School in 1987 and worked in international trade for over 30 years, covering trade remedies, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and customs and homeland security matters. She also is a licensed customs broker.
International trade attorney Lindsay Meyer, co-chair of Venable's international trade group, has retired, according to a firm notice at the Court of International Trade. Meyer received her J.D. degree from the George Washington University Law School in 1987 and worked in international trade for over 30 years, covering trade remedies, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and customs and homeland security matters. She also is a licensed customs broker.
Ted Mittelstaedt, founder of the San Francisco customs brokerage Mittelstaedt, Galaviz & Mylin, died Jan. 17 at the age of 92 after a brief illness, said his son Edward Mittlestaedt, who also is a customs broker. Ted was a Korean War veteran who got his customs broker license in 1957, MG&M said. He worked at the brokerage through early January.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is asking members to comment on Red Sea shipping experiences ahead of a Federal Maritime Commission meeting on Feb. 7 (see 2401120057). A Jan. 17 email sent by the NCBFAA asked members to share their experiences in the Red Sea and how diversions due to Houthi missile attacks have affected maritime shipping in the region. The association said it plans to compile the responses into an "industry-specific impact statement" that it plans to present at the FMC meeting.