L.A. clothing importer admits to skirting $6.4 million in customs tariffs
| | |

L.A. clothing importer admits to skirting $6.4 million in customs tariffs

A Los Angeles County clothing brand has agreed to plead guilty to submitting fake customs forms to skirt almost $6.4 million in tariffs and to doing business with a woman who has ties to the Sinaloa drug cartel, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Ghacham Inc. and a company executive, Mohamed Daoud Ghacham, 38, will both plead…

Original Certificate Required for Plant Commodities April 1, 2022
| | |

Original Certificate Required for Plant Commodities April 1, 2022

Regulatory Alert: APHIS Original Phytosanitary Certificate and Forms Required Effective April 1, 2022, February 7, 2022   WHAT IS THIS APHIS DATE CHANGE ABOUT? In response to the unprecedented challenges facing the trade from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) allowed importers of plant commodities to upload copies of phytosanitary…

Updates to Harmonized Tariff Schedule of The United States
| | |

Updates to Harmonized Tariff Schedule of The United States

Last year the World Customs Organization (WCO) released 2022 Harmonized Systems Updates. The updates mark the most significant changes in the HTS in over five years. US Importers need to prepare for implementing the new schedule that will go into effect on January 27, 2022.   On December 23, the Presidential Proclamation modification of the Harmonized…

Updates to Harmonized Tariff Schedule of The United States
| | |

Updates to Harmonized Tariff Schedule of The United States

Last year the World Customs Organization (WCO) released 2022 Harmonized Systems Updates. The updates mark the most significant changes in the HTS in over five years. US Importers need to prepare for implementing the new schedule that will go into effect on January 27, 2022.   On December 23, the Presidential Proclamation modification of the Harmonized…

USTR Provides Another Bite at the Section 301 Exclusion Extension Apple
| | |

USTR Provides Another Bite at the Section 301 Exclusion Extension Apple

That title is a mouthful, pardon the expression, but it is a fact that the Office of the United States Trade Representative is accepting applications to reinstate exclusions to the Section 301 tariffs on China. Attentive readers will recall the agency established a procedure under which affected parties (such as importers) could seek removal of specific products…

Export Controls on Personal Protection Equipment and Exceptions
| | |

Export Controls on Personal Protection Equipment and Exceptions

Around the same time the Food and Drug Administration was loosening import requirements for such Personal Protection Equipment as masks and respirators, the Federal Emergency Management Agency imposed export controls on many of the same items. FEMA’s Temporary Final Rule limits exports of N95 filtering facepiece respirators, other filtering facepiece respirators, elastomeric, air-purifying respirators and appropriate particulate…

How to Navigate the Section 301 Tariff Process
| |

How to Navigate the Section 301 Tariff Process

Step One: Know Your HTS Subheading Every product subject to a proposed or ongoing Section 301 tariff action is identified by an 8-digit or 10-digit HTS Subheading. This search engine allows you to search by an 8-digit HTS Subheading to obtain information about a proposed or ongoing Section 301 tariff action. If you do not…

New Section 301 Tariff Exclusion Process for COVID-19-Related Items
| |

New Section 301 Tariff Exclusion Process for COVID-19-Related Items

The Coronavirus pandemic has affected pretty much every aspect of life in the United States. We can now add trade policy to the list. As part of the Federal government’s efforts to address the spread and treatment of COVID-19, the Trade Representative’s office is considering exclusion of medical care products from the Section 301 tariffs on imports from…

Why Drawback? Why Now?
| | | |

Why Drawback? Why Now?

“Drawback is the refund, reduction or waiver in whole or in part of customs duties assessed or collected upon importation of an article or materials which are subsequently exported”  – U.S. Customs and Border Protection   In the Beginning…  It was the 1780s and everything seemed possible: the Revolutionary War had been won, and there was a central government with a…

How do you classify your Thanksgiving
| | | | | | |

How do you classify your Thanksgiving

Early morning wake up call, Brooks running shoes laced up, and hundreds, if not thousands (depending on your location) of running fanatics, donning colorful tutus and silly turkey outfits, all lined up for yet another 5K Turkey Trot.  Meanwhile the kitchen is humming with activity as the non-running crowd begins preparations for the day’s feast….

Frequently Asked Questions about the Exclusion Process from Section 301 Tariffs on China.
| |

Frequently Asked Questions about the Exclusion Process from Section 301 Tariffs on China.

Update on China 301 Tariff Exclusion Requests   Frequently Asked Questions about the Exclusion Process from Section 301 Tariffs on China. Q. How do I file for an exclusion? A. First we need to know which of the three lists of China 301 tariffs your product is on. Q. How can I find out which…