There was much fanfare in the general press in January concerning Department of Justice’s arrest and indictment of 22 executives and employees of companies that transact business involving military and law-enforcement products....
In a January 2010 Alert, we mentioned the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) indictment of John Warwick of Ports Engineering Consultants Corp. (PECC). For more details and background, click...
Over the last year or two, we have heard a good deal about Fusion Centers. These are locations where the federal government electronically shares details about individuals with state and local governments (which also share data...
Another case involving the FCPA has recently made headlines. This one involves bribes allegedly paid to Panamanian port authority government officials in order to obtain and keep contracts having to do with maintaining...
On January 15, 2010, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released its report which contains recommendations for reforming the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The report begins by summarizing some recent...
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has amended the CPSIA by exempting electronic products from the lead limitation provided by Section 101(b)(2) provided the component part is not accessible "if it is not physically exposed...
Reuters is reporting that at the January 22, 2010 Meeting of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body, the United States and Japan blocked requests by Argentina, Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, India and China for a future review of trade...
Given the expanding concern about the safety of the U.S. food supply, Congress is again taking action to change the rules. From what we have seen so far, those changes are likely to be dramatic and potentially quite costly,...
One of the consistent criticisms of C-TPAT is there are no regulations that clarify what rules and procedures apply to the program. This has been especially troubling when it comes to those companies that are suspended or removed...
The American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454, is awaiting action in the U.S. Senate. Certainly, seeking to clean up the environment is a good and proper goal. But is this bill, as proposed, the way to accomplish that...
Most companies have little difficulty determining whether or not their goods are subject to an export license. However, it can be far more difficult to interpret the deemed export rule. "Deemed export" is a term recognized by the...
Originally published in the Journal of Commerce -
Customs brokers and importers have long operated under the reasonable care/responsible supervision standards. Exporters and freight forwarders have been required to meet...
Originally printed in the Journal of Commerce -
As the new year begins, many trade professionals wonder what is 2010 likely to hold? One can never be sure how events will unfold, but from what we know right now, it will be...
In the past, we have commented on the expansion of tools available to federal authorities for the prosecution of export violations. Specifically, 18 U.S.C. § 554 allows prosecution of any individual or entity for...
The FDA has announced the opening of an office in Mexico City to help ensure the safety of food and medical products entering the United States from Mexico. In making the announcement, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg...
Continuing to ramp-up product safety enforcement, DHS has announced the creation of the Import Safety Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC). Modeled after current Customs targeting centers, CTAC is supposed to...
