Friday, 3/25, PNCT will be CLOSED for Good Friday
WASHINGTON, D.C. –The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a new federal mandatory standard intended to improve the safety of portable hook-on chairs and prevent deaths and injuries to young children. The Commission voted unanimously in favor of the standard (5 to 0) on March 8, 2016.
A portable hook-on chair is a legless seat attached to a table where the occupant sits and that is supported solely by the table on which the chair is mounted. Portable hook-on chairs are intended for children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years and who weigh no more than 37 pounds.
The new federal standard incorporates by reference the most recent voluntary standard developed by ASTM International (ASTM F1235-15),Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Portable Hook-On Chairs, without modification.
In addition, the new safety standard addresses hazards associated with portable hook-on chairs, including:
- compromised attachment
- restraint or containment issues
- unintended release of seat fabric fastenings
- seat fabric separation due to breaking or tearing components
- broken structural components.
From January 1, 2000 through October 31, 2014, CPSC received about 90 incident reports related to portable hook-on chairs. These reports included 50 incidents involving injury, 38 non-injury incidents and one fatality.
The effective date for the new mandatory portable hook-on chair standard is 6 months after the final rule is published in the Federal Register.
The Commission is required by The Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act, Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), to issue consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. In the past six years, the Commission has approved new federal safety standards for durable infant or toddler products, including full-size cribs, non-full-size cribs, play yards, baby walkers, baby bath seats, children’s portable bed rails, strollers, toddler beds, infant swings, handheld infant carriers, soft infant carriers, framed infant carriers, bassinets and cradles.
ITA: News Releases & Documents
International Trade Administration
WASHINGTON — As agreed in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, signed by President Barack Obama Feb. 24, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that March 10, it raised the value of a shipment of merchandise imported by one person on one day that generally may be imported free of duties and taxes from $200 to $800. This raising of the de minimis exemption is due to an amendment of the Tariff Act of 1930 included in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.
Shipments valued at $800 or less for the de minimis exemption will be eligible under the same processes and with the same restrictions that currently apply to de minimis shipments of $200 or less.
CBP plans to publish an Interim Final Rule amending the appropriate regulations and soliciting comments from interested parties. CBP has the right to require a formal entry on any shipment where additional information, bonding or protection is required. In the case of low value shipments, it is important to note that this treatment can be denied if used for the purpose of avoiding compliance with any pertinent law or regulation.
In fiscal year 2015, CBP processed more than $2.4 trillion in trade, processed approximately 33 million import (entries) and collected roughly $46 billion in duties, taxes and other fees – the largest amount collected in the last five years.
Developer to Pay Millions in Endangered Species Act Case
Fish & Wildlife Service
California development company Wildlife Management LLC and its president, James Tong, were sentenced recently for securities fraud and violations of the Endangered Species Act. They will pay $1 million in restitution to groups that protect the environment. Tong was also ordered to provide a conservation easement valued at $3 million that permanently prohibits development on 107 acres. Developers must mitigate, or offset, a project's damage to protected species or their habitat. Wildlife Management tried to deceive regulators into believing it was mitigating when it had not.
News Release (DOJ) »
Some Imported Dietary Supplements and Nonprescription Drug Products May Harm You
Food & Drug Administration
If you buy imported products marketed as “dietary supplements” and nonprescription drug products from ethnic or international stores, flea markets, swap meets or online, watch out. Health fraud scams abound. According to Cariny Nunez, M.P.H., a public health advisor in the Office of Minority Health at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), health scammers often target advertising to people who prefer to shop at nontraditional places, especially those who have limited English proficiency and limited access to health care services and information.
“These scammers know that ethnic groups who may not speak or read English well, or who hold certain cultural beliefs, can be easy targets,” Nunez says. For example, Native Americans, Latinos, Asians and Africans may have a long tradition of turning to more herbal or so-called “natural” remedies. Many advertisers put the word “natural” somewhere on the package of a product, knowing it inspires trust in certain groups.
“Natural” Does Not Mean “Safe”
But just because a product claims to be natural doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe, says Gary Coody, R. Ph., FDA’s national health fraud coordinator. Likewise, just because a product claims to be natural does not mean that it’s free of hidden drug ingredients.
Furthermore, these products may also be contaminated or contain potentially harmful chemicals or drug ingredients not listed on the label.
For example, many products that claim to help people lose weight contain hidden and dangerous prescription drug ingredients such as sibutramine. Sibutramine was in Meridia, a formerly FDA-approved drug that was removed from the market in October 2010 because clinical data indicated it posed an increased risk of heart problems and strokes.
And just because an ingredient is contained in an FDA-approved drug product does not mean it is safe in the dosages or amounts used in these nonprescription products, according to Coody. Moreover, scammers seek out ethnic populations who are overweight or have serious conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, or heart disease. They target consumers looking for easy—and sometimes less expensive—solutions to difficult problems. Using these products could mean delayed treatment for serious diseases.
Others illegally sell imported antibiotics without a prescription and with no physician oversight. According to Coody, this can easily lead to misuse and overuse, a key factor contributing to antibiotic resistance, meaning they might not be as effective in stopping infections when they’re truly needed. And some products marketed as dietary supplements resemble antibiotic products marketed in foreign countries—but actually don’t contain any antibiotics.
You may see these products advertised in ethnic newspapers, magazines, online, infomercials on radio and TV stations or in ethnic stores, flea markets, and swap meets, which may stock products claiming to be from, for example, Latin America or Asia.
“It’s not surprising that people are more comfortable with familiar products that claim to come from their home country or are labeled and marketed in the consumer’s native language, whether they buy them at a U.S. market or get them from friends and family who have brought them from home,” Nunez says.
But that does not guarantee the product is safe or effective.
By the same token, products with the claim “Made in the USA” may not be made here. Consumers sometimes see this claim as an assurance of safety, Coody says, but any scammer can slap the label on, and buyers are none the wiser.
In fact, the law does not require companies who make dietary supplements to get FDA approval before marketing their products.
“Remember, dietary supplements are not drugs,” Coody says. “They are not substitutes for the drugs your health care professional prescribes. And you should let your health care professional know what supplements you are taking, because they may interact in a harmful way with prescribed medications or keep a prescribed drug from working.”
How Do You Know It’s Fraudulent?
Watch out for these claims:
- One product does it all. Be suspicious of products that claim to cure a wide range of diseases.
- Personal testimonials. Success stories such as “It cured my diabetes,” or “My tumors are gone,” are easy to make up and are not a substitution for scientific evidence.
- Quick fixes. Few diseases or conditions can be treated quickly, even with legitimate products. Beware of language such as “lose 30 pounds in 30 days,” or “eliminates skin cancer in days.”
- “All natural.” Some plants found in nature can kill if you eat them. Plus, FDA has found products promoted as “all natural” that contain hidden and dangerously high doses of prescription drug ingredients.
- Miracle cure. Alarms should go off when you see this claim or others like it such as “new discovery” or “scientific breakthrough.” A real cure for a serious disease would be all over the media and prescribed by doctors—not buried in print ads, TV infomercials, or on Internet sites.
- FDA-Approved. Domestic or imported dietary supplements are not approved by FDA.
Finally, if you're tempted to buy an unproven product or one with questionable claims, check with your doctor or other health care professional first. You can also check FDA’s website to see if the agency has already taken action on it.
CBP Finds 55 Sea Horses in LuggageU.S. Customs & Border Protection HOUSTON -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists working at George Bush Intercontinental Airport discovered 55 dead seahorses (Hippocampus sp.) hidden in a traveler’s luggage.
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), there is a passenger baggage limit of four seahorses per passenger.
The traveler, a visitor from Vietnam arrived, March 1, and declared that he was not carrying any agriculture-related items. However, when CBP agriculture specialists examined his luggage, the traveler admitted he was bringing fish into the country. During their inspection, agriculture specialists discovered a soft drink bottle wrapped in a white bag with the seahorses submerged in liquid.
“Customs and Border Protection along with our partners at the Fish and Wildlife Service are committed to interrupting the international trafficking of protected and endangered species,” said CBP Port Director Charles Perez.
CBP detained the seahorses for FWS inspectors. Seahorses are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) because they are over-harvested for aquarium trade and medical research.
Port Delivers Highest Volume February in 105-Year History
Port of Long Beach
Sustained growth driven by biggest ship visit and a strong dollar
The arrival of the biggest ship to visit North America catapulted the Port of Long Beach to its highest cargo volume for the month of February and extended cargo growth for an eighth consecutive month. The Port saw strong gains last month by moving 561,412 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), a 35.9 percent increase over the same month last year.
For February, imports were up 44.7 percent to 295,870 TEUs. Exports increased 11.1 percent to 123,010 TEUs, while empty containers rose 45.5 percent to 142,532 TEUs. Empty containers are shipped back overseas to be refilled with goods for import. More than 1 million TEUs have moved through the Port of Long Beach in the first two months of 2016. (TEUs are the standard industry measure for container cargo.)
“In February, we showed the world we can handle today’s megaships by inaugurating the 18,000-TEU CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin,” said CEO Jon Slangerup. “The future of big ships is here and our customers are choosing Long Beach because we offer the fastest, most efficient way to get cargo from Asia to the rest of the United States.“
The gains in February are also explained by several other factors. The strength of the U.S. dollar continues to drive demand for imports, but at the same time slows exports by making them relatively expensive overseas. The Lunar New Year holiday began Feb. 8, closing many Chinese businesses for a week or more, so U.S. importers ordered extra products ahead of the lull that will come to the Port in early March.
With an ongoing $4 billion program to modernize its facilities this decade, the Port of Long Beach is building the Port of the Future by investing in capital and service improvements that will bring long-term, environmentally sustainable growth, and maintain its competitive advantage as the fastest route from Asia to anywhere in North America.