Customer Service Advisory:
Terminal Gate Holiday Schedule for Monday March 31
Marine terminal gates at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach will operate on a holiday schedule for the observance of Cesar Chavez Day on Monday, March 31.
Please click here to view the terminal gate schedule.
How to Submit Your Care Labeling Questions During FTC Roundtable
Federal Trade Commission / http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/03/how-submit-your-care-labeling-questions-during-ftc-roundtable
The Federal Trade Commission iis hosting a roundtable on its Care Labeling Rule in Washington and invites live webcast viewers to submit questions to moderators online. Staff will live tweet the roundtable and take questions via Twitter, Facebook, and email.
The Rule, officially called the Rule on Care Labeling of Textile Wearing Apparel and Certain Piece Goods, requires manufacturers and importers to attach labels with care instructions for drycleaning, washing, bleaching, and drying/ironing garments and certain piece goods.
Robert Frisby, a staff attorney in the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Division of Enforcement, will provide opening remarks at the roundtable. Participants will discuss professional instructions for wetcleaning, the use of ASTM and ISO care symbols, and the development of care instructions. A complete agenda for the CLR Roundtable and biographies for speakers are available online now.
The live webcast will begin at 9:15 a.m. EDT. Viewers can submit questions throughout the day via the following channels:
- Twitter: Commission staff will tweet roundtable highlights from its @FTC account and use the hashtag: #FTCclr.
- Facebook: Post questions to the CLR Roundtable comment thread on the FTC’s Facebook page.
- Email: Submit questions via email to CareLabelingRoundtable@ftc.gov.
FTC staff members will answer as many questions as possible from the audience and online during the roundtable.
Note: The link for the webcast will be active on the FTC’s website five minutes before the workshop starts.
CBP Seizes $12K Shipment of Counterfeit Designer Purses
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2014-03-24-000000/cbp-seizes-12k-shipment-counterfeit-designer-purses
EL PASO, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the El Paso port of entry seized 39 counterfeit Michael Kors purses earlier this month. The domestic value of the phony designer handbags is $12,285. Counterfeit Michael Kors purse
“Counterfeit products can threaten the health and safety of American consumers and our economic and national security,” said Hector Mancha, CBP El Paso port director. “CBP officers will continue their efforts to identify and stop poor quality and illegal counterfeit goods from entering the legitimate market place.”
The events leading to the seizure began in January when CBP officers selected an international shipment from Hong Kong for an inspection. CBP initiated an examination of the parcel and quickly identified several suspect handbags.
CBP officers took custody of the suspect bags. CBP import specialists examined the bags and forwarded photos of the designer purses to the CBP Intellectual Property Branch in Washington, D.C. for further review. CBP intellectual property rights (IPR) personnel determined that the bags were of inferior quality and workmanship and that the markings on the bags were identical or substantially indistinguishable from registered and recorded trademarks held by Michael Kors.
El Paso CBP personnel were instructed to seize the counterfeit goods and issue a notice of seizure to the consignee on March 10. The items were seized for violation of 19 USC 1526(e) merchandise bearing counterfeit marks. The case was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for investigation.
CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive IPR enforcement program. CBP targets and seizes imports of counterfeit and pirated goods, and enforces exclusion orders on patent-infringing and other IPR violative goods.
The IPR Center is one of the U.S. government's key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy. Working in close coordination with the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property, the IPR Center uses the expertise of its 21 member agencies to share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions and conduct investigations related to intellectual property theft. Through this strategic interagency partnership, the IPR Center protects the public's health and safety and the U.S. economy.
While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.
USTIC Commission Vote: Uncovered Innerspring Units from China, South Africa and Vietman
U.S. International Trade Administration / http://www.trade.gov/press/press-releases/
STERLING, Va. – A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologist confirmed Wednesday that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at Washington Dulles International Airport discovered a new pest in the Washington area when they intercepted, Pallifera sp (Philomycidae), a type of slug, while inspecting an air cargo shipment of fresh mint from Mexico on February 26.
Slugs could be a host for human pathogens such as Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a parasitic nematode that is a worldwide problem and the most common parasite causing human eosinophilic meningitis. Slugs also eat a wide variety of leafy plants causing damage and disease and potentially lowering crop yield.Pallifera sp (Philomycidae), a type of slug, intercepted by CBP agriculture specialists at Dulles International Airport.
“CBP agriculture specialists take their job of detecting foreign invasive plants and plant pests very seriously,” said Christopher Hess, CBP Port Director for the Port of Washington. “This is another example of our agriculture specialists performing a thorough inspection and finding a new potential threat to the U.S. agriculture industry.”
The slug was discovered in an 83 pound shipment of mint from Mexico destined for Elkridge, Md. CBP forwarded the slug to a USDA- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) - Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) entomologist for identification.
CBP issued an Emergency Action Notification to the importer requiring the shipment to be re-exported or destroyed. The importer elected to have the shipment destroyed by steam sterilization under CBP agriculture specialist supervision.
CBP agriculture specialists work closely with USDA’s, APHIS, PPQ to protect our nation’s agriculture resources against the introduction of foreign plant pests and animal diseases.
CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection. On a typical day, they inspect tens of thousands of international air passengers, and air and sea cargoes nationally being imported to the United States and seize 4,379 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, including 440 insect pests
CPSC Recognizes National Poison Prevention Week; Urges Consumers to “Prepare and Prevent”
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission / http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Newsroom/News-Releases/2014/CPSC-Recognizes-National-Poison-Prevention-Week/
WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW) is March 16-22, 2014, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is encouraging consumers to use this time to “Prepare and Prevent” exposure to poisonous products in the home. Annually, an estimated 90,000 children are seen in emergency departments nationwide due to unintentional poison exposures, many of which occur in the home.
From the familiar to the more innocent looking, poison dangers can lurk throughout the home. To reduce the risk of unintentional poisoning, CPSC has created an online Poison Prevention Safety Education Center to help consumers identify potential poison risks and take simple steps to prevent exposure.
“Child-resistant caps on medicine and cleaning products have saved thousands of lives, but there is still more we can do to safeguard and prevent children from being exposed to poisons in the home,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Robert Adler. “A few simple and inexpensive precautions can mean the difference between a child’s life or death.”
Consumers are urged to think outside of the box─beyond the medicine and kitchen cabinets─when it comes to poison prevention efforts. Coin-size button batteries used in all sorts of electronics, such as keyless-entry devices, remotes and gaming controls, musical greeting cards, and other products placed within a child’s reach, have been associated with thousands of pediatric poisoning incidents. Potentially fatal chemical burns from a coin cell battery lodged in the throat can occur in as little as two hours.
CPSC encourages parents to identify products in the home that carry these small batteries and keep these products out of a child’s sight and reach. CPSC further encourages parents to secure any loose batteries found around the house and to keep them safely out of sight and reach.
In the laundry room, new and emerging hazards associated with highly concentrated single-load liquid laundry packets have prompted numerous warnings from CPSC. These packets, first sold in the United States beginning in early 2012, have led to thousands of children being treated in emergency departments nationwide due to exposure to the poisonous contents of the packets. To address this hazard, CPSC has worked with product manufacturers on immediate and long-term efforts. Now consumers are able to see store shelves stocked with laundry packets with redesigned packaging. The addition of new, opaque packaging and uniform warning icons is intended to deter a child’s interest in the product and raise consumer awareness of the hazard. But we still need consumers to be vigilant and keep laundry packets away from a child’s reach.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas created by fuel-burning products, such as portable generators, furnaces, and cars. Exposure to high levels of poisonous carbon monoxide in an enclosed space can be fatal within minutes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are more than 400 CO-related fatalities per year. CPSC estimates that each year, 170 deaths are associated with consumer products. Portable generators are the leading consumer product involved in CO poisonings, and they can create hazardous exposures in enclosed spaces even when operated outdoors. A generator placed too close to a window, door, vent, or other opening can result in high CO levels inside the home. CO alarms help detect dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in the home and should be installed on every level of the home. Batteries should be replaced every year.
Quick and easy steps, such as installing CO alarms, placing coin cell batteries and laundry packets out of reach and out of sight of children, and resealing child-resistant containers can help prevent unintentional poisoning incidents. Consumers are urged to visit CPSC’s online Poison Prevention Safety Education Center and to use the safety guides as an aid in spotting and remedying hidden poison hazards.
CPSC is again partnering with product safety agencies North and South of America’s borders to raise awareness about unintentional poisonings. CPSC, Health Canada and Mexico’s Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO) will deliver warnings and prevention tips through social media using the hashtag #PreventPoison. Through coordinated messaging, CPSC is continuing the effort to make North America the safest continent for consumer products.
Calexico CBP Officers Discovers Marijuana, Methamphetamine In Vehicle Rocker Panels
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2014-03-25-000000/calexico-cbp-officers-discovers-marijuana
CALEXICO, Calif., — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Calexico ports of entry over the weekend seized methamphetamine and marijuana hidden in the rocker panels of two vehicles during separate incidents.
The first incident occurred shortly before 2:00 p.m. on Mar. 21, when a CBP canine team was screening vehicles as they waited in line for inspection at the Calexico East port of entry. The detector dog alerted to a 2007 Ford Focus, and officers escorted the vehicle and driver, a 31-year-old male Mexican citizen, for further examination.
During an intensive inspection, CBP officers utilized the port’s imaging system and detected anomalies within the rocker panels of the vehicle. Officers continued searching the vehicle and discovered 19 wrapped packages of marijuana, weighing 22 pounds, and 10 packages of methamphetamine, weighing 11 pounds, concealed inside both rocker panels.
The marijuana has an estimated street value of almost $10,000; the methamphetamine is valued at approximately $72,000.
The second incident occurred shortly after 6:00 a.m. on Mar. 22, when CBP officers encountered a 29-year-old female Mexican citizen driver after she arrived at the Calexico downtown port of entry driving a 2006 Ford Fusion. The vehicle and driver were referred for further investigation.
During an intensive inspection, a CBP detector dog alerted to the vehicle’s interior. A subsequent search led officers to the discovery of 25 wrapped packages of methamphetamine concealed within both rocker panels of the vehicle.
The total weight of the narcotics was 35 pounds, with an estimated street value of more than $100,000.
In both incidents, the drivers, each residents of Mexicali, Baja Calif., were arrested and turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations agents for further processing. They were both later transported to the Imperial County Jail to await arraignment.
CBP seized the vehicles and the narcotics..