CURRENT ISSUES:

November 5, 2008: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a final rule and draft compliance policy guide (CPG) for "Prior Notice of Imported Food Shipments." The final rule is part of the requirements of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act). This rule is part of FDA's efforts to protect the nation's food supply against terrorism and other food-related emergencies. The draft CPG describes FDA and CBP's strategy for enforcing the requirements of the prior notice final rule while maintaining an uninterrupted flow of food imports.

October 30, 2008: U.S. Customs and Border Protection releases the five-year Trade Strategy regarding facilitation of trade, increased compliance, enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations, and national security. Please contact this office for additional information or click here.

September 8, 2008: The Office of Foreign Asset Controls issues an interim final rule regarding enforcement guidelines of economic sanction programs. Please contact this office for additional information or click here.

August 21, 2008: The Bureau of Industry and Security issues a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations to include on the Entity List and to require export licenses for those persons acting control to the national security of foreign policy interests of the United States. Please contact this office for additional information or click here.

August 7, 2008: Effective October 15, 2008, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin to enforce the existing requirement that all standard maritime containers arriving in the United States, including foreign cargo remaining on board, must be sealed with a high security seal which meets the ISO/PAS 17712 standard. Please click here for additional information.

July 29, 2008: President Bush Signs H.J.Res. 93, the Renewal of Import Restrictions on Burma, and H.R.3890, the Tom Lantos Block Burmese Jade (junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 on July 29, 2008.

July 25, 2008: US Customs and Border Protection has released its Policy Regarding Border Search of Information. You may view the document by clicking on this link.

June 2, 2008: U.S. Census Bureau amended its regulations to require the mandatory filing of Shipper's Export Declaration information through the AES system. The changes are effective June 2, 2008 but will not be implemented until September 30, 2008. Please contact this office for additional information or click here.

April 24, 2008: The United States Environmental Protection Agency has developed a checklist to assist importers in determining how to certify chemical imports under the Toxic Substance Control Act. Please contact this office for additional information or click here.

April 11, 2008: U.S. Customs and Border Protection has clarified the Post Entry Amendment process in that entries that liquidate without consideration of the PEA may be reliquidated by CBP under 19 USC 1501 or the importer may file a separate protest. Post Entry Amendments will not be treated as a protest under 19 USC 1514. Please contact our office for additional information or click here.

March 5, 2008: As one of the largest and most complicated European Union legislations, the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals Regulation (REACH) is expected to be enforced starting June of 2008. This complex legislation, covering 849 pages, has far reaching implications for European suppliers and industrial users of chemicals as well as international exporters of chemicals to Europe. Please contact our office for more information on this legislation, or click here for the full text.

February 19, 2008: In Sakar International, Inc. v. United States, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the seizure of counterfeit merchandise is not an embargo. Please contact our office or click here for additional information.

February 4, 2008: ECCN reporting in AES will change for various license exceptions under the Export Administration Regulations effective April 28, 2008. Please contact our office or click here for additional information.

January 24, 2008: U.S. Customs and Border Protection has proposed to redefine the phase "sold for exportation to the United States" and the valuation methods used for multi-tiered sales transactions. Under this proposal, the price paid or payable in the last sale prior to importation into the United States shall be the dutiable value instead of the price paid on the first or earlier sale. Please contact our office or click here for additional information.

December 14, 2007: President Bush has signed the U.S. - Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act into law. The agreement will not take affect until differences in U.S. and Peruvian law are resolved and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is amended. Please contact our office or click here for additional information.

November 14, 2007: Customs and Border Protection has issued new minimum security criteria for Air Carriers participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. Please contact our office or click here for additional information.

October 19, 2007: The Bureau of Industry and Security will amend the Export Administration Regulations to list the names of end-users in the People's Republic of China that have been approved to receive exports, reexports and transfers of certain items under the "Authorization Validated End-User" (VEU) authorization. This amendment is effective as of November 19, 2007. Please click here for additional information.

September 17, 2007: U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a final rule, effective October 17, 2007, to clarify that to claim an exemption from the merchandise processing fee for unconditionally duty-free merchandise that is originating under the NAFTA treaty, an importer is subject to the same declaration requirements as those for obtaining preferential duty rates. Please click here for additional information.

September 11, 2007: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a Court of International Trade ruling that utilitarian goods are not excluded from classification as Festive Articles. The Court of Appeals also discounted the amended Explanatory Notes, which exclude utilitarian items as Festive Goods, as they are nonbinding and are contrary to the CAFC opinion. Please click here for additional information.

Thank you for visiting and hope you utilize the features and information we've compiled. Please check in with us regularly for the latest news in international trade related matters. At Michael Capuzzi Trade Law, we're here to help you keep up with the ever-changing landscape of trade regulations and compliance programs, and save you time and money!

our mission

Michael Capuzzi Trade Law is committed to excellence in providing results-oriented and cost-effective legal services to the international trade community. Members of our firm are dedicated professionals experienced in international trade matters.

Our goal is to help members of the trade community improve their competitive advantage through proper classification and valuation of imported goods, tariff and tax reduction programs, international trade agreements beneficial to importers, and provide expert legal advice on trade compliance programs for importers, exporters, carriers, and all others involved in the worldwide trade supply chain.

Please Contact us for more details.