Apple Inc.’s recent settlement with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has exposed a potentially costly wrinkle in complying with international trade regulations. While sanctions screening technologies may help a company catch and report errors, this software alone will not absolve faults and shortcomings in a company’s overall export compliance programs.
The
In an August 14, 2019 Notice of Proposed Rule Making, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) announced its intent to increase requirements on licensed customs brokers to verify the identity of the importers with whom they transact. CBP reports that each year, approximately 350,000 importers actively engage with CBP through almost 2,100 licensed customs
In a recent opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the US Court of International Trade’s (CIT) determination of the classification of certain hand tools imported by Irwin Industrial Tool Company (“Irwin”) as “pliers” over US Customs and Border Protection’s (“Customs”) classification of the tools as “wrenches.”
The tools
In recent weeks, the United Stated Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) expanded the scope of sanctions against current and former Venezuelan government officials who have supported controversial President Nicholas Maduro and his regime of corruption and human rights abuses.
The first sanctions implemented against Venezuelan individuals and entities were authorized
A complaint filed in the United States Court of International Trade (“CIT”) late last week highlights the practical challenges and frustration that come from delayed resolutions and parallel proceedings between federal courts and agencies, such as US Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). In the Complaint, One World Technologies, Inc. (“One World”), a manufacturer of garage
In a recent decision, the Court of International Trade (CIT) denied the government’s request for a stay of the preliminary injunction that the CIT had implemented in July, banning the importation of certain seafood from Mexico.
In July, the CIT upheld its preliminary order and granted the preliminary injunction sought by conservation groups
In a recent Opinion, the United States Court of International Trade denied cross motions for summary judgment filed by Ziploc bag producer S.C. Johnson & Son (“S.C. Johnson”) and the U.S. government which sought competing classifications for the well-known plastic bags.
S.C. Johnson argued that the 6 1/2 inch by 5 7/8 inch version
In a recent opinion, the United States Court of International Trade (CIT) upheld its categorical ban of the importation of fish and fish products caught with gillnets in the habitat of the critically endangered vaquita, off the coast of Mexico.
In a July 26, 2018 Order, the CIT granted a preliminary injunction sought by
In a recent opinion, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) found that certain fabric covered pool floats should be classified as plastics — not textiles — for tariff purposes. Despite the textile elements of the floats, the sequential application of the General Rules of Interpretation led the CIT to find that the air-filled
On June 27, 2018, a coalition of U.S. steel users, the American Institute for International Steel (“AIIS”), and two steel trading companies filed a complaint in the United States Court of International Trade (“CIT”) challenging the Trump Administration’s imposition of a 25% tariff increase for steel products. AIIS’ challenge, however, is not made to the