FACT SHEET: Trade, Illegal Wildlife Trafficking, and National Security
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative / http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2014/June/Trade-Illegal-Wildlife-Trafficking-and-National-Security
TRADE PROTECTS AMERICAN JOBS AND AMERICAN FAMILIES. The United States has negotiated trade agreements that protect American innovation and demand high standards for goods. The Obama Administration has made clear that we will go to the mat for our businesses and families.
USING EXISTING AND FUTURE TRADE AGREEMENTS AND INITIATIVES TO PROTECT WILDLIFE. We will engage trading partner countries on a regional and bilateral basis under existing and future U.S. free trade agreements, environmental cooperation mechanisms, and other trade-related initiatives to take measures integrate wildlife trafficking and resource protection as priority areas for information exchange, cooperation, and capacity building. (Source: White House Fact Sheet)
ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING IS ON THE RISE, THREATENING NATIONAL SECURITY & ENDANGERING ANIMALS. Increased demand for elephant ivory and rhino horn has triggered dramatic and rapid upticks in poaching in Africa. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) estimates more than 20,000 African elephants were victims of poaching in 2013. A report from CITES states, “poaching levels remain alarmingly high and continue to far exceed the natural elephant population growth rates, resulting in a further decline in elephant populations across Africa.”
COMBATING WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING ADDRESSES AN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS. Criminal elements of all kinds, including terrorist organizations, are involved in poaching and transporting ivory and rhino horn across Africa. There is evidence that some groups then trade wildlife products for weapons or safe haven. Some of these networks are likely the same or overlap with those that also deal in other illicit goods such as drugs.
WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING IS A GLOBAL THREAT THAT REQUIRES A GLOBAL SOLUTION. Through our agreements - the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) – the United States is working to expand global efforts that will combat wildlife trafficking. In February, the President approved a new National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking that seeks to strengthen domestic and global enforcement; reduce demand for illegally traded wildlife at home and abroad; and strengthen partnerships with international partners, local communities, NGO’s, private industry and others to combat illegal wildlife poaching and trade.
WINNING THIS FIGHT DEPENDS ON DEVELOPING THE RIGHT TOOLS AND TAKING ACTION. The United States is implementing a ban on commercial elephant ivory trade to ensure that U.S. markets do not contribute to the decline of this iconic species. The ban imposes new restrictions on the import, export and commercial sale of elephant ivory within in the U.S., with some limited exceptions. In the Transpacific Partnership, the United States is working to break ground by securing the first-ever obligations to combat wildlife trafficking. Many of our TPP partners are already taking important steps, for example: seizing illegal shipments of ivory; increasing sanctions and penalties for wildlife trafficking; and launching demand reduction campaigns. TPP will create a framework for enhancing these efforts and increasing cooperation.
OUR FRONT LINES KEEP US SAFE BUT ARE ALSO UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES. America’s agents, officers, and inspectors are the first line of enforcement for America’s trade rights. They protect our borders and our citizens from unlawful imports – counterfeit products that threaten jobs, and unsafe products that threaten lives. They are not the faces you see when you board a plane, shop for groceries, or get into the checkout line – but they are the reason that those experiences are approached carefree by millions of Americans every day.
Four Calif. Importers, Six Individuals Ordered to Stop Importing and Selling Hazardous Children’s Products
U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission / http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Newsroom/News-Releases/2014/Four-Calif-Importers-Six-Individuals-Ordered-to-Stop-Importing-and-Selling-Hazardous-Childrens-Products/
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal district judge has issued injunctions against four California companies and six individuals barring them from importing, selling and distributing children’s products containing hazardous levels of lead and phthalates and small parts.
The companies include Toys Distribution Inc., dba TDI International, of Los Angeles and its owners Loan Tuyet Thai and Lan My Lam, and manager Paul Phuong; S & J Merchandise Inc., of El Monte, Calif. and its owner Cuc T. Thai and manager Tom Liu; BLJ Apparel Inc., of El Monte, Calif., and its owner Luan Luu; and All Season Sales Inc., of Montebello, Calif. and its owner Tom Liu. The owners and managers were sued as company officials and in their individual capacity.
The federal government alleged that the firms and the individuals share significant business and/or personal ties and violated the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act by knowingly importing hazardous children’s products into the United States. TDI and S & J Merchandise imported children’s toys with illegal lead and phthalate levels and small parts. BLJ Apparel imported children’s products and toys with illegal levels of lead and small parts and infant rattles that could cause choking or suffocation. All Season Sales imported children’s toys with illegal lead content.
“CPSC and our federal law enforcement partners are committed to keeping dangerous toys out of the marketplace all year long,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Robert Adler. “Manufacturers, importers and retailers need to know that CPSC and the U.S. Justice Department are actively enforcing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a law that has strengthened the nation’s product safety net.”
CPSC collected and tested dozens of samples of the four firms’ children’s products and toys as they attempted to enter the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach between 2008 and 2013. CPSC issued repeated Notices of Non-Compliance to the firms and their officers, notifying them that their products violated federal standards.
One of the cases resulted in a joint recall. CPSC and TDI International announced a recall of 150 “high speed” pull back toy cars in January 2009 due to excessive levels of lead in the surface paint, a violation of the federal lead paint standard. Most of the other products stopped at import were not distributed to consumers.
The cases were prosecuted on behalf of the CPSC in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California by the U.S. Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch.
USITC News Releases and Documents:
United States International Trade Commission / http://www.usitc.gov/
"‘Free parking’ for pollution-cutting ships, cash for new business
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has given preliminary approval to two incentives that officials expect will bring additional cargo to the Port while also encouraging the use of air pollution-reducing shore power and on-dock rail.
The incentives are designed to help the Port compete with other West Coast ports that have already cut fees to grow their business. By encouraging the use of shore power or another approved system for cutting at-berth ship emissions, and by bringing more cargo via on-dock rail, the Long Beach programs seek to increase trade while also reducing air pollution.
In one incentive, the Port will waive "dockage" charges payable to the Port of Long Beach – essentially giving free parking – for cargo ships that both slow down near the Port and plug into shore power or use another approved pollution-cutting technology at berth. The Vessel Dockage Waiver Program augments other Port and state programs that require and encourage slow-steaming and shore power.
Also given preliminary approval was a $5-per-container unit incentive that shipping lines can earn for each new loaded container they bring through Long Beach. The requirement is that each container must travel inland by “on-dock rail,” which helps to eliminate truck trips on local roadways by rail-hauling the containers from the wharf.
“We are really in competition with Vancouver, with Prince Rupert, with Lazaro Cardenas, where costs are much lower than San Pedro Bay,” said Board of Harbor Commissioners President Doug Drummond, referencing seaports in Canada and Mexico. “These incentives are important because they have to do with increasing cargo for our Port and are hitting at a time when cargo across the board is increasing.”
The Board of Harbor Commissioners is scheduled to consider the incentives for final approval at its meeting June 23.
The Vessel Dockage Waiver Program requires the vessel operator to slow down within 40 nautical miles of the Port. The vessel operator is also required then to use shore power at berth or a certified alternative. By waiving the dockage fees in such cases, the Port will forgo an estimated $3.3 million to $4.9 million a year. But the measure is expected to attract additional cargo to Long Beach, and help to offset the costs with an increase in revenue from other fees. The incentive builds upon a Port program in which most ships reduce speeds near Port and a state program where at least half of all ships must use shore power or an equivalent at berth.
The Incremental On-Dock Intermodal Incentive Program will pay $5 per loaded 20-foot-equivalent container unit for new cargo above the 2013 baseline level that is also rail-hauled either out of, or into, the Port. If vessels bring an additional 20 percent more cargo over two years, it would generate an additional $22 million in revenue for the Port.
Commissioner Kerlikowske Discusses Important Role of CBP in Trade with Mexico
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/spotlights/2014-06-13-000000/commissioner-kerlikowske-discusses-important-role-cbp-trade
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske stressed the role of CBP in improving cross border trade with Mexico at the Woodrow Wilson Center on June 12 in Washington, D.C. The Commissioner joined a panel of distinguished speakers invited by the Border Trade Alliance to share ideas on “Envisioning a Competitive U.S.-Mexico Border.” The event was attended by business, trade and government officials from the U.S. and Mexico, including Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Eduardo Medina Mora.
Commissioner Kerlikowske noted that U.S. exports to Mexico have grown nearly 160 percent since the North American Free Trade Agreement was enacted 20 years ago, while Mexico’s exports to the U.S. have grown approximately 400 percent. “CBP plays an important role in keeping our economies flowing, while ensuring safety and security,” the Commissioner explained. “In 2013, an average of $768 million of cargo and commodities crossed into the U.S. from Mexico each day.”
The Commissioner described the ongoing transformation of CBP’s operations at ports of entry, optimizing personnel and resources while seeking additional funding through public-private partnerships and other possible options such as user fees. He also noted that CBP is streamlining its cargo export processing so that American businesses will be better able to compete in the world marketplace. U.S. trade supports more that 38 million jobs and the Obama administration has made it a top priority to improve the conditions that affect the private sector’s ability to export its products to consumers who live outside of our borders.
Infrastructure improvements will also play a role in improving trade with Mexico. The Commissioner cited the recent completion of four new traffic lanes, which have doubled cargo capacity at the Nogales-Mariposa port of entry, where more than half of Mexican winter produce enters the U.S. He also noted that CBP is working on the cross border airport terminal project at the Tijuana Airport that will improve travel for U.S. and Mexican passengers.
Remaining economically competitive as a region “requires a collaborative and proactive engagement with all players, public and private,” the Commissioner said. “The relationships that we have built in the last few years with our Mexican partners have enabled unprecedented collaboration.”
Weapons seized by CBP Officers in the US Virgin Islands
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2014-06-19-000000/weapons-seized-cbp-officers-us-virgin-islands
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Charlotte Amalie Post Office in St. Thomas, USVI, discovered several pistols as part of a routine inspection of packages arriving from the continental United States.
On June 13, CBP officers selected for examination an express mail package sent from Florida to a P.O. Box on St. Thomas. The box contained an RCA DVD home theater, but X-ray imaging showed pistol like objects concealed inside the system. Further examination revealed three pistol slides concealed inside the DVD unit and three pistol lower frames concealed in a speaker unit. The pistols were assembled and inventoried as a Glock 19 9mm, a Ruger P89 9mm, and a Taurus PT 940 .40 caliber Smith &Wesson. The pistols were seized and transferred to Homeland Security Investigations. Recently, a similar seizure of weapons occurred at the San Juan International Mail Branch regarding a mail parcel shipped from Daltona, Florida to St. Thomas. CBP officers detected and seized a Glock .40 caliber pistol and three magazines concealed within the parcel.
“CBP officers are committed to protecting our communities from the illegal importation of firearms and other contraband that might cause harm”, said USVI Area Port Director Louis Harrigan. “Both CBP and the importing community have a shared responsibility to maximize compliance with laws and regulations.” Importers and travelers should visit www.atf.gov for importation information for firearms.
USVI CBP officers are vigilant to detect different types of contraband that reach the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix through various methods, including mail packages and cargo. In the past two months, CBP officers have detected at least 13 different incidents of attempted contraband through the mail, including over 62 pounds of marijuana and 227 grams of hashish. The contraband was hidden in several items, including school binders, record players, air compressors, peanut butter jars, coffee cans, stuffed animals, air purifiers, plastic Easter eggs and even a Mother’s Day gift.
In addition to the seized items found by CBP in the USVI, CBP officers working at the San Juan International Mail Branch (IMB) are also vigilant to impede illegal contraband to reach the US Virgin Islands on parcels being sent from the United States. Examples of items used to hide illegal contraband through mail parcels en route to the USVI and detected by CBP at the IMB in the past few months include sheet sets, speaker boxes, candles, DVD players, baby blankets and a submersible camera. Seized items include marijuana, cocaine and weapons.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a complex mission at ports of entry with broad law enforcement authorities tied to screening all foreign visitors, returning American citizens and imported cargo that enters the U.S. in order to enforce U.S. laws, while facilitating trade and travel. CBP officers in the US Virgin Islands remain committed to this mission.