Your Customs & International Trade Law Expert
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NEWSLETTER - August 2019!
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Real Life Stories (see our
Success Stories
section below for the outcomes!):
- Our client received a Request for Information from CBP.
- Our client realized they committed negligence when importing, prior to CBP commencing an investigation.
- Our client had a FDA Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) inspection.
Articles
- CBP Wants to Hear From You on Its Proposed New Rules for Customs Brokers!
- Top 5 Strategies to Mitigate the Impact of Tariffs
- China Trade War Intensifies
- CBP’s Section 321 Data Pilot Program to Begin August 22
- Jennifer Diaz Featured On Legal News And Review Radio
- List 4 Split Into Two HTS Lists
- Wondering If Your Exclusion Request Has Been Granted or Denied? Find Out Here!
- Section 301- List 4 Tariffs in Effect Starting September 1
Video Spotlight
- La Aduana y Protección Fronteriza de los Estados Unidos Incautó mis Bienes. ¿Qué hago? / My Goods Have Been Seized By Customs – What Do I Do?
Upcoming Events
- September 25 - FCBF - Complying With CTPAT's New Minimum Security Criteria (MSC)
- October 9-10 - 2019 Florida International Trade And Cultural Expo (FITCE)
- October 24 - Tampa - OWIT International 19th World Conference
Past Events
- August 21 - FCBF General Membership Meeting Luncheon: Focus on Perishables
- July 23-24 - Recap Of The 2019 CBP Trade Symposium
Did You Know?
- #DYK DTL Provides Customized Training Sessions?
- #DYK DTL Can Assist You With A Notice of Action (CBP Form 29)?
- #DYK CBP Has Its Own Newsletter?
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- CBP questioned whether our client was properly utilizing the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). DTL successfully responded to a CBP Request for Information (CBP28) providing confirmation that CAFTA-DR was properly used leading to CBP confirming the CBP 28 will be closed out with no further action taken!
- Our client received a CBP 28, which led to further reviewing its import transactions. During the review, our client realized they committed negligence when importing, and CBP had NOT yet commenced an investigation. We submitted a Prior Disclosure to CBP. CBP accepted the disclosure with no penalties assessed!
- DTL successfully assisted our client to prepare for FDA's FSVP inspection. FDA issued a 482d to our client and conducted a Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) inspection. DTL was proactive in assisting our client in responding to questions from FDA during the inspection. At the conclusion of the inspection, the FDA did not take further action and did not provide the importer with Form FDA 483a (or any FSVP observations)!
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CBP WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU ON ITS PROPOSED NEW RULES FOR CUSTOMS BROKERS!
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CBP proposes a new rule to formalize the process used by Customs Brokers of verifying the identity of their clients, specifically importers and nonresident importers. CBP believes the broker is uniquely situated to collect the information necessary to authenticate an importer’s identity at the time a Power of Attorney is obtained. The purpose of placing a verification burden on brokers is to ensure that importers are conducting legitimate trade transactions. The Federal Register Notice announcing the proposed rule clearly states brokers are subject to hefty monetary penalty for failure to collect the required information. If you have comments or concerns, now is the time to speak up! Brokers, importers, and the general public, have until October 15 to submit comments on the proposed rule.
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Many importers, exporters, and international businesses alike may be unaware that avenues exist to ensure that their products remain unabated by protectionist trade policies (think China tariffs).
This blog provides an easy reference overview of five (5) proven and legitimate options for duty-saving opportunities.
We recommend U.S. importers, exporters, and manufacturers to consider these five (5) options as they apply to all products from virtually any country subjected to a tariff, including Section 201 tariffs for solar systems, Section 232 tariffs for aluminum and steel, and the infamous Section 301 Tariffs in place for Chinese originating goods and violations of trade agreements, as well as acts, policies or practices that are unjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory and that burden or restrict U.S. commerce.
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Today, the Trump administration’s China trade war intensified as it announced plans to increase tariffs on Lists 1, 2, 3, and 4!
The president connected the additional tariff hikes to China’s new retaliatory tariffs (as a result of US’s imposition of List 4 tariffs) on $75 billion-dollar in US products, mainly impacted the agricultural and auto industries, or President Trump’s base (as previously reported here). So what are the changes?
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CBP'S SECTION 321 DATA PILOT PROGRAM TO BEGIN AUGUST 22
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Tasked with the protection of the nation, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) siphons the protection of our ports to United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). With the continuous threats to safety and integrity of the country, CBP is conducting a voluntary test to collect certain advanced data related to shipments potentially eligible for release under section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
In order to cope with the e-commerce trend, CBP will allow online marketplaces, and other non-traditional partners to participate in the pilot program. If you wish to participate in the program, DTL can assist you in submitting the required application to the Department Of Commerce. While the Pilot opens on August 22, 2019, and is set to last for roughly one year, CBP may accept potential participants after the program’s commencement until a sufficient number of participants has been identified.
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JENNIFER DIAZ FEATURED ON LEGAL NEWS AND REVIEW RADIO
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Board Certified Customs and International Trade Attorney
Jennifer Diaz was featured on “Legal News & Review (LNR).” She discussed
“The Complexities of International Trade Law”, including current United States Trade Policy and the legal consequences for importers and exporters that do not comply with U.S. Customs and other government agency rules. Listen to the podcast
here. Legal News and Review is an award-winning podcast that has been on the air for over six years. Earning the Award of Excellence from the Florida Bar, attorneys and hosts Philip Bell, Eric Yankwit, and Gary Singer guide listeners through the various disciplines of law by featuring expert attorneys from different fields.
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LIST 4 SPLIT INTO TWO HTS LISTS
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On May 17, 2019, USTR published a list
of products imported from China that would be potentially subject to an additional 10 percent tariff. This new tariff will go into effect on September 1 as announced by President Trump on August 1.
Certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security and other factors and will not face additional tariffs of 10 percent.
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WONDERING IF YOUR EXCLUSION REQUEST HAS BEEN GRANTED OR DENIED? FIND OUT HERE
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Since the inception of the Trade War with China, the Office of the United States’ Trade Representative (USTR) has provided citizens, primarily those in industries directly affected by the imposition of ad valorem duties (tariffs), the opportunity to request that certain products be granted exclusions. Each list of tariffs has its own specific process to ensure that concerned citizens may voice their opinions as to why given products should not be subjected to additional duties upon importation, as prescribed in the Section 301 investigation.
Many exclusions relating to the same item (HTS) are submitted on behalf of different parties. We highly encourage industry to work together in requesting exclusions (this is a great benefit of industry associations – as long as your HTS is one they are fighting for). Once a specific HTS is granted the exclusion, all products within that same HTS, regardless of who submitted the request, are granted the exclusion benefits. This means competitors are able to work together to alleviate the impact of the trade war on their industry as the request for an exclusion is HTS specific, not product-specific.
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SECTION 301- LIST 4 TARIFFS IN EFFECT STARTING SEPTEMBER 1
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Despite the reignition of tensions in May, hopes of reconciliation began to grow in the preeminence of the G-20 international economic forum, held in June. While substantial progress was not made, President Trump and potential dictator for life Xi Jinping appeared to slow the escalation, coming to a bilateral good-faith agreement. Supposedly, the two nations agreed that the United States would soften the sanctions imposed on Chinese tech giant, Huawei, contingent that China begins to repurchase American agricultural products, as well as halt their exportation of Fentanyl.
The tentative “cease-fire” also intended to delay the United States’ imposition of the threatened list 4, which would levy a 25% ad valorem on roughly $300 Billion worth of Chinese goods. The new round of tariffs looms over China, considering that 2019 proved to be their worst fiscal year in recent memory. In fact, this is the most sluggish Chinese economy in nearly three decades, which many directly attribute to President Trump’s vigilant economic policies.
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La Aduana y Protección Fronteriza de los Estados Unidos Incautó Mis Bienes. ¿Qué Hago?
My Goods Have Been Seized by Customs – What Do I Do?
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SAVE THE DATE! - SEPTEMBER 25TH
Jennifer Diaz will moderate a seminar for FCBF on: "COMPLYING WITH CTPAT'S NEW
MINIMUM SECURITY CRITERIA (MSC)"
Featuring CBP!
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2019 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND CULTURAL EXPO (FITCE)
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Broward County invites you to join us on October 9-10, 2019 for our 5th Annual Florida International Trade and Cultural Ex
po (FITCE 2019) where our President,
Jennifer Diaz
will be a moderator on October 10th at 12:30PM EST for the panel discussion
"
How to Import into the United States of America
" featuring speakers from CBP, FDA, and CPSC.
FITCE 2019 welcomes local and international companies to the Greater Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a unique opportunity to engage high level government leaders, international trade experts and delegations from around the world to participate in dialogues relating to international trade, foreign direct investment and culture.
FITCE 2019 expects to attract over 1,500 attendees including approximately 250 international businesses and approximately 1250 local businesses, multi-cultural global trade representatives from over 52 countries, federal, state and local trade agencies, and government leaders from around the world.
Online registration is now open! Cost:
FREE
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Join Us for #OWITConTampaBay
YEAR OF THE WOMAN
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As President of the Organization for Women in International Trade (OWIT), I am pleased to invite you to attend
OWIT’s 19th World Conference hosted by
the OWIT Tampa Bay Chapter on October 24, 2019! Our theme is "
Year of the Woman"
.
As our borders get closer together and distances become irrelevant, it is
OWIT’s aim to support women around the world by building their wealth through international expansion opportunities
. With only one in five exporting firms led by a female entrepreneur,
women are under-represented in international trade, and we plan to do something about it.
OWIT’s vision for its members and participants is ambitious:
to empower women in both developed and emerging nations and throughout the world to powerfully shape international trade.
Unique to this conference, the day before, October 23rd, OWIT is offering a tour around Orlando’s innovation and technological facilities to provide education on the latest resources available for technology and women-owned small businesses.
The day after the conference, I will hold an OPEN OWIT International Board meeting where all are welcome to participate and learn more about OWIT's work around the globe.
Join us!
Jennifer Diaz, Esq.
OWIT International President
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GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING LUNCHEON: FOCUS ON PERISHABLES
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On August 21, our Associate Attorney,
Denise Calle represented Diaz Trade Law accepting DTL's membership certificate at Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders' (FCBF) informative lunch on perishable logistics.
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RECAP OF THE 2019 CBP TRADE SYMPOSIUM
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) held its annual
Trade Symposium
on July 23 – 24, 2019, in Chicago, IL. With over a thousand attendees, this year’s trade symposium provided a high-level overview of the Agency’s current stance on various issues and the need for stronger partnership between all stakeholders, including the trade community. DTL was on the ground meeting with CBP to get answers to our client’s questions and ensuring we keep our readers in the loop on CBP’s TOP trade priorities. The two-day event included panel discussions and one on one meetings with the Directors and Executive Directors other Centers of Excellence and Expertise, along with exhibitor booths that ranged from CBP Enforcement of Forced Labor, AD/CVD, and IPR to USDA and FDA.
Here is a detailed recap of who, what, and when:
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#DYK DTL PROVIDES CUSTOMIZED TRAINING SESSIONS?
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Diaz Trade Law
specializes in personalized training for importers and exporters, organizations and government agencies.
Jennifer Diaz
is an active speaker offering customized seminars and training, either web-based or in person, on all aspects of import and export compliance and enforcement topics. If you are interested on a personalized training on any of our
practices area
contact us at
info@diaztradelaw.com.
Popular Training & Seminar Topics:
- Import 101 – covering Tariff Classification, Valuation, Country of Origin Marking, Duty Preference Programs (Free Trade Agreements, GSP, Chapter 98), Intellectual Property Right Protection (Including Customs Recordation), C-TPAT and 10+2
- Customs Enforcement – covering CBP Form 28, CBP Form 29, Prior Disclosures, Detentions, Seizures, Penalties and Liquidated Damages.
- Export 101 – Export Compliance topics including. Classification, Licenses, ITAR, CCL, Voluntary Disclosures, Export Compliance Programs, Red Flags, and Customer Screening.
- Pre-Compliance – What You NEED to Know to Stay Compliant and Penalty Free
- How to Import your Food, Drug, Cosmetic, Medical Device and Dietary Supplement in Compliance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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#DYK DTL CAN ASSIST YOU WITH A NOTICE OF ACTION (CBP Form 29)?
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If U.S. Customs is not satisfied with an importers response to a Request for Information, U.S. Customs will then send a Notice of Action, also known as Customs Form 29.
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How Can Diaz Trade Law Help?
It is essential that importers contact an expert upon receipt of a Request for Information or Notice of Action as they often lead to penalties if not responded to properly. 19 U.S.C. 1592 is the statute CBP references when issuing penalties for negligence, gross negligence or fraud – depending on the degree of culpability CBP believes you had at the time of your non-compliance. Diaz Trade Law provides expert counsel to assist in responding to Customs Form 29.
If you interested in having a consultation
please call 305-456-3830 or email
info@diaztradelaw.com
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#DYK CBP HAS ITS OWN NEWSLETTER?
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The new monthly Trade News Snapshot is an overview of the latest updates on CBP’s trade facilitation and enforcement efforts around the globe. The Snapshot highlights CBP’s important trade programs, initiatives, and operations for our trade partners and the public. CBP works with partner government agencies and the trade community to facilitate legitimate trade that supports economic growth and shield the American public and businesses from unsafe products, intellectual property theft, and unfair trade practices.
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Click Below to Explore our Areas of Expertise
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