Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye remains fully committed to electronic filing of certificates of compliance, and prefers a data elements approach rather than use of CBP’s Document Imaging System, Kaye said during a meeting at CPSC headquarters on Sept. 9. But with a public workshop on electronic certificates of compliance fast approaching, industry members told Kaye that CPSC needs to work closely with the trade to come up with a system that gives CPSC the information it needs to effectively target risk without crippling express couriers’ ability to quickly process shipments. The meeting included representatives from the the Express Association of America, National Retail Federation, FedEx and DHL.
CBP has decided against going forward with a controversial update to an Informed Compliance Publication (ICP) that would have spelled out the first sale verification measures available to the agency, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said. According to the NCBFAA, the CBP decision was made in response to industry comments, most of which were highly critical of the agency's effort (see 14080624, 14081416 and 14082926). Although CBP has not made any official communication that the ICP revisions will be scuttled, there have been some indications to that effect, said Thomas Travis, managing partner at Sandler Travis, a law firm that has advocated strongly against the ICP updates.
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The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service launched a new website that gives importers another option for filing Lacey Act Declarations electronically, the agency said Sept. 3. The Lacey Act Web Governance System (LAWGS) (here) allows importers and their customs brokers to log into APHIS systems and enter their PPQ Form 505 directly. The new system is not intended to replace filing of Lacey Act Declarations in the Automated Broker Interface, but is instead intended to give remaining paper filers an electronic option. LAWGS will eventually replace all paper submissions, said APHIS.
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CBP should provide more detail on the agency's reasoning behind planned updates to an informed compliance publication (ICP) describing first sale valuation, said the American Association of Exporters and Importers in comments to the agency. AAEI is among a number of commenters that are largely critical of the agency's planned revisions to the ICP (see 14080624 and 14081416). The draft ICP includes a controversial list of documents the agency might request from industry to verify the use of first sale pricing (see 14071025).
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is in the process of surveying CBP officials at individual ports on how they plan to enforce importer security filing (ISF) requirements, the NCBFAA said. CBP headquarters recently revised its strategy for ISF enforcement by giving the ports more discretion as to how to handle ISF violations (see 14052106). CBP has said it hopes the new strategy will allow for more focus on the most serious offenders.
CBP said the following customs broker licenses and all associated permits are revoked without prejudice:
The saga of Coach’s trademark infringement lawsuit against Celco Customs Services has come to an end, with the California-based former customs brokerage withdrawing its appeal on Aug. 11 after settling the case for $8 million in late July. Despite Celco continuing the fight for over a year, the settlement equals the amount awarded by a Central California U.S. District Court jury in April 2013. Celco had argued that brokers can't be liable for trademark infringement because they aren't in a position to know the contents of a shipment. But District Judge Margaret Morrow ruled that Celco could be held responsible because it ignored several red flags related to the power of attorney associated with the importer of the infringing goods.
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