C-AIR TIMES ISSUE #348 - Friday, December 05, 2014 08:05

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Singapore Sign Customs Agreements
U.S. Customs & Border Protection/ http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/2014-12-01-000000/us-customs-and-border-protection-singapore-sign

WASHINGTON—The United States today signed three Customs agreements with Singapore, ensuring greater cooperation and mutual assistance on Customs enforcement and the facilitation of lawful trade and travel.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske and Singapore Customs Director General Ho Chee Pong signed a U.S.– Singapore Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) and a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) between U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Singapore’s Customs’ Secure Trade (STC) Partnership.

"The signing of the MRA and CMAA between the U.S. and Singapore demonstrates the partnership and commitment of each country to combatting customs fraud and to a secure global supply chain," said CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske.

CMAAs are bilateral agreements between countries and enforced by their respective Customs administrations. CMAAs provide the legal framework for the exchange of information and evidence to assist countries in the enforcement of Customs laws, including duty evasion, trafficking, proliferation, money laundering, and terrorism-related activities. With this new agreement signed, the United States now has seventy-two (72) CMAAs with other countries across the world.

The mutual recognition arrangement between C-TPAT and Singapore’s STC will link the two industry partnership programs, so that together they create a unified and sustainable security posture that can assist in securing and facilitating global cargo trade. It provides tangible and intangible benefits to C-TPAT and Singapore’s STP members including fewer exams when shipping cargo, a faster validation process, common standards, and efficiency for Customs and business, transparency between Customs administrations, business resumption, front-of-the-line processing, and marketability.

C-TPAT is a voluntary government-business initiative to build cooperative relationships that strengthen and improve overall international supply chain and U.S. border security. C-TPAT recognized that CBP can provide the highest level of cargo security only through close cooperation with the ultimate owners of the international supply chain such as importers, carriers, consolidators, licensed customs brokers, and manufacturers. The C-TPAT program is one layer in CBP's multi-layered cargo enforcement strategy.

Also signed today by Commissioner Kerlikowske and Singapore’s Commissioner of Immigration & Checkpoints Authority Clarence Yeo is a joint statement regarding U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry Program. Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States.

The agreements signed today by the United States and Singapore mark a significant milestone in collaboration on security, and the facilitation of trade and travel between the two countries. 

Marine Terminal Operators (MTOs) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in November continued to work additional shifts to alleviate recent congestion. MTOs operated 118 additional gates (shifts open to truck traffic) in November, a 55% increase over the 213 OffPeak gates originally scheduled for the month.

The MTOs have been spending $3 million per week on additional and unbudgeted costs since September 1 to manage congestion. In addition to adding unscheduled gates and shifts, terminals have been working overtime and through lunch and breaks, and paying truckers to move containers between terminals to load on-dock trains.

The terminals have been working with industry partners to relieve a surge in congestion caused by a disruption in chassis availability and other factors.

The MTOs operated 73 additional gates in September, a 30% increase, and 86 additional gates in October, a 33% increase. These additional gates include both OffPeak shifts (Monday through Saturday nights and Saturday daytime) and Sunday shifts, which fall outside the OffPeak program. The regular schedule of gate operation is available at http://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PierPass-Offpeak-Schedule_10-25-14.pdf. Monthly scheduled totals vary according to the number of business days and holidays in each month. The number of regularly-scheduled OffPeak gates was 245 in September, 258 in October and 213 in November.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) teamed with industry and 24 law enforcement agencies across 18 countries to shutdown 29,684 domain names that were illegally selling counterfeit merchandise online to unsuspecting consumers as part of Project Transatlantic/ Operation In-Our-Sites V.

The HSI-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (National IPR Center) continues to work vigilantly to protect the U.S. public from counterfeit products that pose health and safety concerns or have an adverse effect on the U.S. economy. With its industry partners, the National IPR Center initiated a coordinated effort to disrupt the operation of these infringing websites. During this past year and leading up to Cyber Monday, the National IPR Center and its partners used both criminal and civil actions to successfully shutdown websites selling counterfeit goods, significantly bolstering the overall impact of this year’s efforts. The operation demonstrates the great collaboration between industry members and personnel from the National IPR Center, who effectively worked together to combat this ever growing problem. The National IPR Center extends its appreciation to rights holders representing name brand apparel, handbags, shoes, eyewear, cosmetics, consumer electronics, athletic apparel, sporting goods, personal care products, as well as the entertainment industry. All contributed to this operation’s success.  

This is the fifth year the HSI-led National IPR Center worked with its international partners to target websites selling counterfeit products online culminating on Cyber Monday. Due to the global nature of Internet crime, the National IPR Center partnered with Europol who, through its member countries, seized top-level domains as part of Project Transatlantic/Operation In-Our-Sites V.

“Working with our international partners on operations like this shows the true global impact of IP crime,” said National IPR Center Acting Director Bruce Foucart. “Counterfeiters take advantage of the holiday season and sell cheap fakes to unsuspecting consumers everywhere. Consumers need to protect themselves, their families, and their personal financial information from the criminal networks operating these bogus sites.”

Each year, the market is flooded with counterfeit products being sold at stores, on street corners and online. In this ever changing world, the Internet has facilitated the sale of counterfeit merchandise online and counterfeiters have taken advantage of the Internet to deceive, sell and ship counterfeit products directly to unsuspecting consumers.  The most popular counterfeit products seized each year include headphones, sports jerseys, personal care products, shoes, toys, luxury goods, cell phones and electronic accessories, according to the National IPR Center.

“The infringement of intellectual property rights is a growing problem in our economies and for millions of producers and consumers. Europol is committed to working with its international partners to crack down on the criminal networks responsible for this illegal activity,” says Rob Wainwright, director of Europol.

The HSI-led National 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 National IPR Center uses the expertise of its 23-member agencies to share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions and conduct investigations related to intellectual property theft. Through this strategic interagency partnership, the National IPR Center protects the public's health and safety and the U.S. economy.

BLAINE, WASH. - With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists working at U.S. ports of entry are busy making sure that imported Christmas trees are free from insects and pests that could harm trees in America’s national forests and neighborhood backyards.

Importing a Christmas tree from British Columbia into Washington State now requires certification from the grower that their holiday tree was grown in an area of Canada where gypsy moth and pine shoot beetle are not known to occur.  Without such certification the holiday tree may be prohibited and the travelers must return their tree back to Canada.  A holiday tree of any type that is found to be harboring harmful insects must also be returned to Canada.

“Christmas trees add sparkle to the holiday season but they can also be infected with hidden pests capable of severely damaging our natural resources and domestic economy,” said Charles Cunningham, Chief Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialist in Blaine, Washington.  “Our best advice to anyone wishing to import their Christmas tree is to first speak with a CBP agriculture specialist at 360-332-1640 (Blaine, Washington) or 360-988-2971 (Sumas, Washington) for details.”  Importations of Christmas trees grown outside of British Columbia or destined to other areas of the US are subject to additional regulations.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced that it opened an investigation into the timeliness of Graco Children’s Products, Inc.’s (Graco) reporting of a safety defect in child seats. The defect involves buckles of child and infant car seats that stick or become stuck in the latched position, creating an unreasonable risk to a child’s life in the event of an emergency.

After continued pressure from NHTSA, Graco eventually recalled over six million defective car seats earlier this year, the largest child seat recall in U.S. history.

“The Department is committed to ensuring that parents have peace of mind knowing that the car seat in which they are placing their child and their trust is safe and reliable,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Any delays by a manufacturer in meeting their obligations to report safety issues with the urgency they deserve, especially those that impact the well-being of our children, erodes that trust and is absolutely unacceptable.”

Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, once a manufacturer knows or should reasonably know that an item of motor vehicle equipment, such as a car seat, contains a safety related defect, the manufacturer has a maximum of five business days to notify the agency. NHTSA’s investigation will evaluate the facts of the case to determine if Graco violated the law.

“There is no excuse for delaying a recall to address any safety related defect,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman. “If Graco delayed in protecting children and infants from this defect, we will hold them accountable.”

If NHTSA’s investigation finds that Graco was untimely in reporting the defect, the manufacturer could be fined up to $35 million in civil penalties. The Administration’s four-year reauthorization bill – the GROW AMERICA Act – proposes to increase the Congressionally-established cap on fines from $35 million to $300 million. The Department of Transportation transmitted the GROW AMERICA Act to Congress in spring 2014.

12/03/2014 Commerce Initiates Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Imports of Melamine from the Peoples Republic of China and Trinidad and Tobago

USTIC:  News Releases & Documents
U.S. International Commission / http://www.usitc.gov/

12/2/2014 Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide from Australia and China

WASHINGTON –Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig today announced that international visitors spent $19.1 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States in September, an increase of nearly 7 percent when compared to September 2013.

“Travel and tourism continues to be a bright star in our economy. Our international guests spent more than $600 million a day in September,” Selig said. “That equals increased revenue for industry-related businesses and jobs for the American people.”

• Travel Receipts: Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $12.0 billion during September, an increase of nearly 6 percent when compared to last year. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel. Travel receipts accounted for 63 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports for September.
   
• Passenger Fare Receipts: Fares received by U.S. carriers from international visitors totaled $3.8 billion for the month, an increase of nearly 13 percent when compared to September 2013. Passenger fare receipts accounted for 20 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports for September.
   
• Medical/Education/Short-Term Worker:  Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers, totaled nearly $3.4 billion in September, an increase of nearly 6 percent when compared to the same period last year. Medical tourism, education, and short-term worker receipts accounted for nearly 18 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports during September.

International visitors have spent $169.4 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services from January through September, an increase of 6 percent when compared to the same period last year. Conversely, Americans have spent an estimated $108.7 billion aboard, resulting in a balance of trade surplus of nearly $61 billion year-to-date.