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International Trade Today will periodically feature a Q&A with a customs industry professional. Our interviewee for this edition is Cindy Allen, Vice President of Brokerage U.S. for DHL Global Forwarding. Before joining DHL, Allen handled the difficult task of overseeing work on the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) as CBP's Executive Director of the ACE business office. Allen has also served as the Educational Institute Director with National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America and president of the Detroit Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association. She's been a licensed customs broker since 1990.
Federal data security legislation and high-technology payment processing features were among the suggestions industry attorneys and Internet security advocates raised to improve the recent flurry of data breaches. Legislation, if done correctly, would help companies with compliance and improve their data security, said stakeholders in interviews this week. Last week, Target upped to a total of at least 70 million the number of consumers potentially affected by one of the largest data breaches to hit a U.S. retailer (WID Jan 13 p4). Re-evaluating the outdated mode of credit card payment processing in the U.S. would better protect companies and consumers against data theft, said experts. They also raised questions about the power of credit cards companies to effectively regulate alleged data breaches.
Federal data security legislation and high-technology payment processing features were among the suggestions industry attorneys and Internet security advocates raised to improve the recent flurry of data breaches. Legislation, if done correctly, would help companies with compliance and improve their data security, said stakeholders in interviews this week. Last week, Target upped to a total of at least 70 million the number of consumers potentially affected by one of the largest data breaches to hit a U.S. retailer. Re-evaluating the outdated mode of credit card payment processing in the U.S. would better protect companies and consumers against data theft, said experts. They also raised questions about the power of credit cards companies to effectively regulate alleged data breaches.
The final regulations on the Foreign Supplier Verification Program will provide more clarity on the responsibility of U.S. agents for fulfilling program requirements, said Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials at a Jan. 14 webinar hosted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA). Foreign entities will be able to designate a representative that is not the Bioterrorism Act U.S. agent for FSVP purposes, they said. The agency is also considering a system where that U.S. agent or representative must give consent to be identified as such under the FSVP.
A federal District Court in Minnesota will allow a breach of contract lawsuit from C.H. Robinson to go forward, denying on Jan. 8 a motion to dismiss the case. The third-party logistics provider says U.S. Sand and its owners failed to pay for the transportation of 8,500 tons of ceramic proppant and sand from China and Wisconsin to the oil fields of North Dakota.
Tweets, Facebook posts and Google Plus comments have all become endorsement fodder for advertisers due to changes in social media companies’ terms of use. The change has raised privacy and copyright questions, lawyers, academics and privacy advocates told us. Most recently, the concerns were highlighted by a lawsuit against Facebook, the use of a movie critic’s tweet in an ad, and a change to Google’s policy. Companies and marketers contend the changes allow more targeted ads that benefit consumers.
The customs brokers have been and will continue to be a necessary part of CBP's trade mission, but coming regulatory changes may require some "reinvention" within the industry, said Al Gina, a former head of CBP's Office of International Trade. Similarly, CBP made some major adjustments during Gina's time there due to new budgetary constraints, an issue that continues to loom over CBP as it works to develop both long and short-term initiatives, he said. Gina, who recently retired from the agency and is now a partner at CT Strategies (see 13111217), discussed a number of agency initiatives and his new work during a wide-ranging interview on Jan. 9.
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The U.S. government on Jan. 8 told a federal court in New York that it intends to take part in a whistleblower suit against an apparel importer for underpayment of duties. The false claims suit alleges several affiliated apparel companies in New York underreported the dutiable value on invoices provided to CBP for imports of women’s apparel by using a second, unreported invoice for part of the purchase price. That resulted in a loss of revenue to the federal government of at least $3 million per year in unpaid duties, says the complaint.