Ambiance Apparel and its owner reached a plea agreement with the Department of Justice concerning charges of undervaluing imported garments to avoid customs duty costs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Central District of California said in an Aug. 26 news release. The Los Angeles company and its owner, Sang Bum Noh, agreed to plead guilty and to pay nearly $118 million, the release said. “Ambiance Apparel -- the operating name for two corporations, Ambiance U.S.A. Inc. and Apparel Line U.S.A., Inc. -- agreed to plead guilty to eight counts, including conspiracy, money laundering, and customs offenses,” it said.
Five people are facing federal charges over allegations of illegal filing of drawback claims, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said in a news release. An Aug. 12 grand jury indictment, which was unsealed Aug. 25, charged Dale Behm of Shell Knob, Missouri; Yong Heng Liang of Daly City, California; Joshua Stanka of Katy, Texas; Joshua Clark of Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas; and Michael Choy of Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, “with conspiracy, wire fraud, and related charges related to an alleged scheme to submit fraudulent claims for refunds on import duties,” the release said.
During the second of two hearings aimed at satisfying primarily Florida and Georgia farmers frustrated with lost market share to Mexican competitors, officials from the Commerce Department, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Aug. 20 heard vastly different views of how Mexican vegetable and fruit producers deserve to be treated (see 2008180034). Blueberry, zucchini, cucumber and bell pepper farmers from Georgia testified again and again that Mexicans can sell these items cheaper than they can, because of much lower labor prices, because of stricter environmental regulations in the U.S., and because Mexican producers have gotten government help to build shade houses, greenhouses and hoop houses.
An Aug. 20 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce virtual hearing on import competition in seasonal produce will include testimony from two Florida and three Georgia members of Congress, a representative of the office of a third Florida Congress member, Farm Bureau executives, and vegetable and berry farmers. It will also include trade groups and a company that oppose restrictions on Mexican produce, among them the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, the San Diego Customs Brokers Association, and milk and corn exporters. The hearing is the second of two that were originally scheduled to take place in Florida and Georgia in April.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is no longer planning to begin Oct. 1 enforcement of Lacey Act import declaration requirements on 29 new tariff lines, the agency announced recently in an email. The delay “will give the trade community time to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for this change,” it said. The agency said in March it planned to implement the sixth phase of Lacey Act import requirements in October (see 2003300011).
An Aug. 20 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce virtual hearing on import competition in seasonal produce will include testimony from two Florida and three Georgia members of Congress, a representative of the office of a third Florida Congress member, Farm Bureau executives, and vegetable and berry farmers. It will also include trade groups and a company that oppose restrictions on Mexican produce, among them the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, the San Diego Customs Brokers Association, and milk and corn exporters. The hearing is the second of two that were originally scheduled to take place in Florida and Georgia in April.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Some tech merchandise of Chinese origin sent to Mexico for minimal handling and then exported to the U.S. is eligible for tariff treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, said Customs and Border Protection in a ruling Friday. Jose Fierro, an El Paso customs broker, requested the ruling less than a week after USMCA took effect July 1. The broker said a client contracted with a Mexican maquiladora final assembly facility for logistical services, and inquired if USMCA treatment would apply. Workers at the maquiladora facility will provide sorting, picking and packing services on the goods, which will be exported to the U.S. "in the same condition as they were imported into Mexico," Fierro told CBP. The goods include computing products of various sorts and a broad variety of goods, including smart speakers, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches and fitness trackers.
Some tech merchandise of Chinese origin sent to Mexico for minimal handling and then exported to the U.S. is eligible for tariff treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, said Customs and Border Protection in a ruling Friday. Jose Fierro, an El Paso customs broker, requested the ruling less than a week after USMCA took effect July 1. The broker said a client contracted with a Mexican maquiladora final assembly facility for logistical services, and inquired if USMCA treatment would apply. Workers at the maquiladora facility will provide sorting, picking and packing services on the goods, which will be exported to the U.S. "in the same condition as they were imported into Mexico," Fierro told CBP. The goods include computing products of various sorts and a broad variety of goods, including smart speakers, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches and fitness trackers.
Some tech merchandise of Chinese origin sent to Mexico for minimal handling and then exported to the U.S. is eligible for tariff treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, said Customs and Border Protection in a ruling Friday. Jose Fierro, an El Paso customs broker, requested the ruling less than a week after USMCA took effect July 1. The broker said a client contracted with a Mexican maquiladora final assembly facility for logistical services, and inquired if USMCA treatment would apply. Workers at the maquiladora facility will provide sorting, picking and packing services on the goods, which will be exported to the U.S. "in the same condition as they were imported into Mexico," Fierro told CBP. The goods include computing products of various sorts and a broad variety of goods, including smart speakers, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches and fitness trackers.