Breaking News

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has updated its "DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU" guidance for exporters. This report includes new summaries of investigations of violations involving export controls against China, Russia, Iran, and other countries, as well as anti-boycott violations and illegal exports., click here.

The U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), issued a Tri-Seal Compliance Note: “Obligations of Foreign-based Persons to Comply with U.S. Sanctions and Export Control Laws” today providing guidance regarding the ability of the U.S. government to hold both U.S. and non-U.S. persons and companies accountable for violations of U.S. sanctions and export control laws., click here.

A Pennsylvania-based company was issued a penalty of $153,175.00 from the Bureau of Industry and Security for failing to report 43 requests from its Pakistani customer to not provide Israeli-origin products. While boycott-related requests of Israeli products are usually received from Arab League countries, the Export Administration Regulations prohibiting compliance with, and requiring the reporting of these requests are not limited to any one country or region., click here.

Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE), an insurance organization based in White Plains, New York, has agreed to pay $466,200 to settle its potential civil liability for 39 apparent violations of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC’s) Ukraine-/Russia-Related sanctions. Between May 2018 and July 2020, PURE engaged in transactions related to four insurance policies involving a blocked Panama-based company (Medallion, Inc.) owned by Specially Designated National Viktor Vekselberg (Vekselberg). Despite being provided with this company’s ownership information in 2010, PURE paid a $7,500 claim and provided insurance coverage and collected 38 premium payments totaling $308,390 for Vekselberg’s property for more than two years. , click here.

In reviewing Bank Secrecy Act filings, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of Treasury identified up to a $1 billion worth of transactions that could have evaded Russia-related export controls and sanctions between 2016 and 2022. Financial institutions that submitted the Bank Secrecy Act reports flagged the transactions as being suspicious based on its review of the transaction information, bills of lading, invoices, and additional research conducted., click here.

Mexico is imposing temporary duties between 5% and 25% on almost 600 tariff classifications for products originating from countries with which it does not have a free trade or preferential agreement. The decree and list of impacted tariff classifications may be found at the link provided, click here.

Just a reminder to register for our upcoming live webinar on July 12, 2023 - Current Status of Audits of IMMEX Companies. Registration for this event will take no more than 60 seconds of your time. , click here.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Mexico is the largest export market for U.S. automotive parts and the fourth-largest producer of automotive parts worldwide. Supporting this robust manufacturing sector is a Mexican government program called Industria Manufacturera, Maquiladora y de Servicios de Exportación (IMMEX). Companies in the automotive industry recognize that participation in the IMMEX program is an integral part of their supply chains and a way to take advantage of the many inherent program benefits. However, IMMEX operations have stringent requirements that are being audited by the Mexican authorities with greater frequency., click here.

If you haven't signed up yet, there is still time to register for our USMCA Advanced Boot Camp Training on April 27, 2023 from 1:30 - 3:00 PM EDT. Please join the experts with the Law Offices of Michael A. Capuzzi, P.A. for this informative webinar to be provided at no charge to you. , click here.

Please join the experts at the Law Offices of Michael A. Capuzzi, P.A. for our USMCA Advanced Boot Camp Training on April 27, 2023 from 1:30 - 3:00 PM EDT. , click here.

Please save the date to join the experts at the Law Offices of Michael A. Capuzzi, P.A. for our USMCA Advanced Boot Camp Webinar scheduled to be held on Thursday, April 27, 2023 from 1:30 to 3:00 P.M. EDT. , click here.

Please join the experts at the Law Offices of Michael A. Capuzzi, P.A. for a USMCA Beginner Boot Camp Training on March 7, 2023 from 1:00 - 2:30 PM EST. , click here.

A recently published study discusses the auto industry and many of their supplier’s reported connection to forced labor in China and around the world. The study describes what researchers found regarding specific companies that are known to supply the auto industry and the connection to the utilization of forced labor. , click here.

Three related U.S. companies involved in fabrication and metalworking have had their export privileges revoked for sending technical data to China without the required export licenses. CAD files, drawings, and other technical product information, including prints marked as being controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations or the Export Administration Regulations, were sent to Chinese manufacturers without the required licenses. Given the repeated violations by multiple companies having common ownership and personnel, the order denying the export privileges was issued without a hearing and is effective immediately., click here.

The U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments regarding the continuation of Section 301 duties for products from China. The additional duties were set to expire starting in July if this required four-year review did not take place., click here.

Toll Holdings Limited, an Australian freight forwarder, agreed to a $6,131,855.00 settlement with the Department of Treasury for 2,958 violations of multiple U.S. sanctions and executive orders. The violations occurred when payments for transportation services involving prohibited destinations or sanctioned entities originated in, or were received through, financial institutions in the United States or with foreign branches of U.S.-incorporated financial institutions. This settlement highlights the need for U.S. companies to assure all foreign operations, including financial services, are in compliance with U.S. sanctions, embargoes, and other restrictions. , click here.

The Court of International Trade issued its opinion in response to the over 3,600 plaintiffs challenging Lists 3 and 4A of the Section 301 Chinese tariffs. The CIT ruled that the U.S. Trade Representative did in fact have the authority to impose the List 3 and List 4A duties. However, the Court did remand the matter back to the USTR stating that the comments received in response to the proposed lists were not adequately reviewed or considered before finalizing List 3 and List 4A., click here.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is requesting public comments on the current automotive provisions of the USMCA. Under the USMCA Implementation Act and related Executive Order, the USTR is to conduct a biennial review of the automotive provisions of the agreement and report its findings to Congress; this is the first of the these required reviews. The USTR is requesting public input regarding areas such as the current operation of the USMCA, steps taken by automotive companies to demonstrate compliance with the automotive rules of origin, and if the current rules of origin are effective and relevant. To review this article in its entirety, please see the following link., click here.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has assessed an $80,000.00 penalty and audit requirements for a company charged with unlicensed exports of EAR99 items to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and two subsidiaries. While products falling under EAR99 generally do not require a license, Huawei and the two subsidiaries were on the BIS’s Entity List that requires a license for all exports. , click here.

The Law Offices of Michael A. Capuzzi, P.A. is proud to offer two new services to further assist our clients – Comprehensive Project Management Services and Global Business Services. , click here.

CBP has issued Notices of Penalty totaling $350M to multiple companies allegedly involved in transportation of Alaskan pollock in violation of the Jones Act (“the Act”). CBP alleges that shipments of U.S. origin Alaskan pollock, sailing on foreign-flagged vessels from Alaska to New Brunswick Canada and then trucked across the border, are in violation of the Act given that the rail line used by the forwarder is only 100 feet in length and not part of a permitted “through route” on an approved Canadian railway. Loaded trucks are placed on a rail car, moved 100 feet down and back along the rail, then driven off to proceed over-the-road the approximately 15 miles to the U.S. border., click here.

Ransomware or cyber-attack payments could be in violation of U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Controls (“OFAC”) sanctions if the recipient of the funds is prohibited from being involved, directly or indirectly, in a financial transaction. OFAC has issued an updated export compliance advisory regarding dealing with ransomware and cyber-attack demands and what steps would be considered mitigating factors with any enforcement or penalty action., click here.

The Department of Commerce has issued a final rule to update regulations covering the administration and enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duty (“ADD/CVD”) laws. The changes impact many aspects of current ADD/CVD processes by the Department of Commerce including investigations, preliminary and final determinations of injury, and scope inquiries and rulings. Updates to the regulations also impact information to be provided by importers, including reimbursement certifications., click here.

A U.S. company and one of its foreign subsidiaries reached separate settlement agreements with the Office of Foreign Assets Control regarding illegal exports to Iran. The U.S. company ignored several red-flags regarding the shipments and the subsidiary listed the end-user as being in Dubai despite knowing the goods would be reexported from Dubai to Iran in violation of U.S. law., click here.

The Court of International Trade ("CIT") granted a preliminary injunction for the plaintiffs on the Section 301 cases currently being argued before the Court. The decision grants the plaintiffs a preliminary injunction requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend the liquidation of unliquidated import entries subject to the Section 301 litigation. The decision orders that “…the court will temporarily restrain liquidation of any unliquidated entries of merchandise imported from China by any plaintiffs in the Section 301 cases which are subject to List 3 or List 4A duties"., click here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a Proposed Notice of Rulemaking to apply the NAFTA Marking Rules of Origin to non-originating products from a USMCA country., click here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an Interim Final Rule related to USMCA addressing a range of issues, including amending the NAFTA Marking Rules of Origin to be applicable to USMCA-originating products., click here.

On June 3, 2021, Ford filed regulatory documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) indicating the company could face from $652 million to $1.3 billion in penalties based upon a pre-penalty notice from Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”)., click here.

The US Attorney’s Office and CBP are seeking the forfeiture of an ancient roman sculpture seized at a Los Angeles port in 2016. The import documentation filed with CBP in 2016 listed "'Kim Kardashian dba Noel Roberts Trust" as the importer and consignee of the goods. The forfeiture complaint states the documentation presented to CBP contains contradictory information regarding the age and origin of the piece. , click here.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") announced a settlement with SAP SE headquartered in Walldorf, Germany in the amount of $2,132,174. SAP SE's settlement arose from 190 apparent violations related to the export of software and related services (including cloud-based software subscription services) to companies in third countries with knowledge, or reasonable knowledge, that the services were intended specifically for Iran. , click here.

On April 29, 2021, the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") announced that MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc. agreed to remit $34,328.78 in settlement for 359 apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs. Among these violations were the processing of transactions from persons initiating commercial transactions involving Syria, and processing of unlicensed transactions from blocked individuals incarcerated in U.S. federal prisons. , click here.

The United States has blocked the property of, and placed sanctions on, individuals, entities, and parts of the Russian government that engaged in cyber-attacks and disruption of gas or energy supplies to Europe and Asia., click here.

The U.S. Department of Commerce will be delaying the implementation of the Aluminum Import Monitoring Program and the associated required information to be filed for importation of aluminum products., click here.

US company agrees to pay $216,464 to settle its potential civil liability for ignoring “red flags” related to exports of its products to Europe that were eventually re-exported to Iran., click here.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative published its official notifications regarding the temporary suspension of additional duties on various EU and UK commodities for a period of four months effective March 11, 2021 and March 4, 2021, respectively. This suspension includes items such as alcohol, food, and large civilian aircraft currently involved in the ongoing Airbus and Boeing disputes., click here.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative published a press release announcing that the United States and European Union have agreed to the temporary suspension of retaliatory tariffs currently levied on a number of commodities, including, but not limited to, wine, liquor, food, and large civilian aircraft currently involved in the Airbus and Boeing dispute., click here.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that it has upgraded its sanctions list search tool with fuzzy logic to improve the search results and make it more responsive to the user. To review this notice in its entirety, click here.

On July 10, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") announced a 25 percent tariff on $1.3 billion worth of French merchandise, including cosmetics and handbags, after a digital service tax was levied against U.S. Tech Companies. To review this notice in its entirety, click here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection to increase various fees effective October 1, 2020, including raising the minimum Merchandise Processing Fee from $26.79 to $27.23 and increasing the maximum Merchandise Processing Fee from $519.76 to $528.33. To review this notice in its entirety, click here.

U.S. Customs to require that, unless excepted, goods produced in Hong Kong must be marked to indicate that the origin is “China.” To review this notice in its entirety., click here.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that World Acceptance Corporation, a consumer loan company, has agreed to pay $21.7 million to resolve charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Contact us and ask how we can help you with any questions or concerns relating to the FCPA. To review this notice in its entirety, click here.