Two importers each will pay seven-figure sums to settle False Claims Act lawsuits related to the undervaluation of their customs entries and underpayment of duties, DOJ said Aug. 11. Apparel importer Luchiano Visconti and its manager, Sasha Hourizadeh, will together pay $3.64 million to settle allegations they sent fraudulent invoices to their customs broker that understated the actual price paid. In a separate settlement, Eos Energy Storage will pay $1.02 million to resolve allegations that it failed to declare assists and other additions to transaction value.

Two importers each will pay seven-figure sums to settle False Claims Act lawsuits related to the undervaluation of their customs entries and underpayment of duties, DOJ said Aug. 11. Apparel importer Luchiano Visconti and its manager, Sasha Hourizadeh, will together pay $3.64 million to settle allegations they sent fraudulent invoices to their customs broker that understated the actual price paid. In a separate settlement, Eos Energy Storage will pay $1.02 million to resolve allegations that it failed to declare assists and other additions to transaction value.

The U.S.'s "unreasonable delay" in asserting claims seeking to collect antiduming duties on entries of canned mushrooms brought in between 2000 and 2001 warrants dismissal of its case at the Court of International Trade seeking the duties, surety company American Home Assurance Co. (AHAC) argued in an Aug. 1 reply brief. Responding to the court's request for more briefing over AHAC's affirmative defense and claims of prejudice, the surety company said that it has not been able to actually provide significant evidence of actual harm "despite best efforts," but that the case should be decided on statute of limitations grounds (United States v. American Home Assurance Company, CIT #20-00175).

CBP will increase Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) fees by 18.629% to adjust for inflation in fiscal year 2023, the agency said in a notice. Affected fees include the merchandise processing fee, vessel and truck arrival fees and the customs broker permit user fee. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, passed in 2015, required that CBP make inflation adjustments and fee limitations when deemed necessary (see 1512040024). The fees are effective Oct. 1, the start of FY23.

Byungmin Chae, who is contesting results of his customs broker license exam, filed his informal reply brief July 25 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Court of International Trade had dismissed five exam questions Chae appealed (see 2206060055). At the trade court, Judge Timothy Reif said CBP was right to dismiss Chae's appeal of four of the questions but said the agency wrongly denied the test taker's appeal for the fifth question. The reversal of the remaining question wasn't sufficient for a passing grade because Chae was two questions shy of the 75% threshold needed to pass the test. In his informal reply brief to the Federal Circuit, Chae said he is appealing only three questions from the April 2018 customs broker license exam (Byungmin Chae v. Secretary of the Treasury, CIT #20-00316).

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is seeking feedback from its members on the recently implemented Ocean Shipping Reform Act. In a July 25 email to members, the group asked for questions, experiences and concerns with OSRA, including how “your operations are being impacted” by the new measures. Members should send their input to mmontgomery@ncbfaa.org. OSRA was signed into law in June (see 2206160064) and already has resulted in a new Federal Maritime Commision complaint submission process for certain carrier charges (see 2207150031).

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is seeking feedback from its members on the recently implemented Ocean Shipping Reform Act. In a July 25 email to members, the group asked for questions, experiences and concerns with OSRA, including how “your operations are being impacted” by the new measures. Members should send their input to mmontgomery@ncbfaa.org. OSRA was signed into law in June (see 2206160064) and already has resulted in a new Federal Maritime Commision complaint submission process for certain carrier charges (see 2207150031).

The House Commerce Committee voted 53-2 Wednesday to advance bipartisan, bicameral privacy legislation to the floor (see 2207190040). Some California Democrats criticized the strength of the bill, saying they may not support the measure on the floor. Some questioned whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will bring the legislation up.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

CBP improperly denied of protests of antidumping duties on wire rods from Korea due to a missed deadline even though the protests were filed within 180 days of liquidation and liquidation was suspended when CBP says the deadline for protests began to run, Kiswire said in a July 19 complaint to the Court of International Trade (Kiswire Inc. v. United States, CIT #22-00181).