CBP Commissioner Issues Detention Order on Potassium Products Produced in China with Forced Labor
U.S. Customs & Border Protection
WASHINGTON—U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske has directed the issuance of a withhold release order against imported potassium, potassium hydroxide, and potassium nitrate manufactured or mined by Tangshan Sunfar Silicon Company, a.k.a. Tangshan SunFar Silicon Industries Co. Ltd. in the People’s Republic of China. The order will require detention at all U.S. ports of entry of any such merchandise manufactured by this company.
The withhold release order is based on information obtained by CBP indicating that the Tangshan Sunfar Silicon Company utilizes convict labor in the production of the merchandise.
Under 19 U.S.C. § 1307, it is illegal to import into the United States goods made, in whole or in part, by forced labor, including child labor, indentured labor, and convict labor. CBP issues withhold release orders when there is information available that reasonably indicates merchandise in violation of this statute is, or is likely to be, imported into the United States.
This is the second withhold release order issued by CBP since the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 was signed by the President on February 24, 2016.
Additional information, including how to submit information to CBP, may be found at www.cbp.gov/trade/trade-community/programs-outreach/convict-importations.
Dulles CBP Intercepts First in Port Destructive Snail
U.S. Customs Border & Protection
STERLING, Va. – A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) identifier confirmed Monday that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at Washington Dulles International Airport discovered a new pest in the Washington area when they intercepted an Otala sp. (Helicidae), a type of snail, while inspecting an air cargo shipment of fresh flowers from the Netherlands on March 1.
Snails may pose a significant threat to agriculture because they cause damage by feeding on agricultural and horticultural crops as well as native plants, thereby lowering crop yields and quality.
“CBP agriculture specialists take their job of detecting foreign invasive plants and plant pests very seriously,” said Patrick Orender, CBP Assistant Port Director for the Port of Washington Dulles. “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 snail was discovered in a 300-stem shipment of flowers from the Netherlands destined for Silver Spring, Md. CBP forwarded the snail to a USDA - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) - Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) identifier for classification.
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 nationally, they inspect over 1 million people as well as air and sea cargo imported to the United States and intercept 4,657 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, including 464 agriculture pests and diseases.
Four Companies Agree to Stop Falsely Promoting Their Personal-Care Products as “All Natural” or “100% Natural”; Fifth is Charged in Commission Complaint
Federal Trade Commission
Products Contain Artificial Ingredients Such as Dimethicone and Phenoxyethanol
Four companies that market skin care products, shampoos, and sunscreens online have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they falsely claimed that their products are “all natural” or “100% natural,” despite the fact that they contain synthetic ingredients. The Commission has issued a complaint against a fifth company for making similar claims.
Under the proposed settlements, each of the four companies is barred from making similar misrepresentations in the future and must have competent and reliable evidence to substantiate any ingredient-related, environmental, or health claims it makes.
“‘All natural’ or ‘100 percent natural’ means just that -- no artificial ingredients or chemicals,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Companies should take a lesson from these cases.”
According to the FTC, each of the following companies made the all-natural claim in online ads:
- Trans-India Products, Inc., doing business as ShiKai, based in Santa Rosa, California, markets “All Natural Hand and Body Lotion” and “All Natural Moisturizing Gel” both directly and through third-party websites including walgreens.com and vitacoast.com. The lotion contains Dimethicone, Ethyhexyl Glycerin, and Phenoxyethanol. The gel contains Phenoxyethanol.
- Erickson Marketing Group, doing business as Rocky Mountain Sunscreen, based in Aravada, Colorado, uses its website to promote “all natural” products such as the “Natural Face Stick,” which contains Dimethicone, Polyethylene, and other synthetic ingredients.
- ABS Consumer Products, LLC, doing business as EDEN BodyWorks, based in Memphis, Tennessee, markets haircare products on its own websites and at Walmart.com. It makes “all natural” claims for products including “Coconut Shea All Natural Styling Elixer” and “Jojoba Monoi All Natural Shampoo.” In reality, the products contain a range of synthetic ingredients such as Polyquaternium-37, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, and Polyquaternium-7.
- Beyond Coastal, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, uses its website to sell its “Natural Sunscreen SPF 30,” describing it as “100% natural.” However, it also contains Dimethicone.
- California Naturel, Inc., located in Sausalito, California, sells supposedly “all natural sunscreen” on its website, though the product contains Dimethicone. The Commission has issued a complaint alleging that California Naturel has made deceptive “all natural” claims in violation of Sections 5 and 12 of the FTC Act.
The proposed consent orders bar the four settling respondents from misrepresenting the following when advertising, promoting, or selling a product: 1) whether the product is all natural or 100 percent natural; 2) the extent to which the product contains any natural or synthetic components; 3) the ingredients or composition of a product; and 4) the environmental or health benefits of a product.
The orders require the respondents to have and rely on competent and reliable evidence to support any product claims they make. Some claims require scientific evidence, which is defined as tests, analyses, research, or studies that have been conducted and evaluated objectively by qualified individuals using procedures generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.
The Commission’s complaint against California Naturel seeks relief very similar to that found in the four proposed consent orders.
The Commission vote to issue each administrative complaint and to accept the four proposed consent agreements was 3-0. The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement packages in the Federal Register shortly.
The agreements will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through May 12, 2016, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent orders final. Interested parties can submit comments electronically by following the instructions in the “Invitation To Comment” part of the “Supplementary Information” section. Comments case can also be submitted by clicking on the following links: Trans-India Products, Inc.; Erickson Marketing Group; ABS Consumer Products, LLC; and Beyond Coastal.
NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000.
Methylsynephrine in Dietary Supplements
Food & Drug Administration
Methylsynephrine is a substance that does not meet the statutory definition of a dietary ingredient. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines a dietary ingredient as a vitamin; mineral; herb or other botanical; amino acid; dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake; or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of the preceding substances. Methylsynephrine does not fit under any of these categories, rendering misbranded any dietary supplement products that declare methylsynephrine as a dietary ingredient.
Methylsynephrine is also known as:
• oxilofrine
• p-hydroxyephedrine
Recent FDA Action on Dietary Supplements for Which the Product Labeling Lists Methylsynephrine as a Dietary Ingredient
April 2016
On March 31, 2016, the FDA issued warning letters to 7 companies regarding a total of 8 products marketed as dietary supplements for which the product labeling lists methylsynephrine as a dietary ingredient.
Under existing law, including the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act passed by Congress in 1994, the FDA can take action to remove products from the market, but the agency must first establish that such products are adulterated (e.g., that the product is unsafe) or misbranded (e.g., that the labeling is false or misleading).
While methylsynephrine was listed as a dietary ingredient on product labeling, the substance does not meet the statutory definition of a dietary ingredient. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines a dietary ingredient as a vitamin; mineral; herb or other botanical; amino acid; dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake; or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of the preceding substances. Methylsynephrine does not fit under any of these categories, rendering misbranded any dietary supplements that declare methylsynephrine as a dietary ingredient.
The companies have 15 business days from the date of receipt of the letter to communicate to the agency the specific steps they will take to bring their products into compliance with the law.
The agency will continue to update this page in the event additional actions are taken related to methylsynephrine.
New Alternative Jet Fuel Approved
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has played an integral role in development, testing and recent approval of a new alternative, environmentally-friendly, bio-based jet fuel, bringing the total number of these approved products for use in air travel to five.
This new fuel will make air travel more sustainable environmentally and increase our national energy resources. In contrast to traditional petroleum-based fuels, these new alternative fuels can reduce air quality emissions and are renewable.
In collaboration with the aviation industry, the FAA approves new renewable jet fuel pathways through ASTM International. The FAA’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) partnership with industry was crucial in completing the necessary steps to support ASTM International approval of this new fuel, known as Alcohol to Jet Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (ATJ-SPK). It is created from an alcohol called isobutanol that is derived from renewable feed stocks such as sugar, corn or forest wastes.
Other previously approved fuels include:
- Synthesized Iso-parafins (SIP) which convert sugars into jet fuel.
- Hydro-processed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA-SPK), which use fats, oils and greases.
- Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK) and Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Kerosene with Aromatics (FT-SKA). Both fuels use various sources of renewable biomass such as municipal solid waste, agricultural wastes and forest wastes, wood and energy crops. These fuels can also be made from fossil resources such as coal and natural gas.
These new fuels will help the aviation industry meet its climate change goal of carbon neutral growth. For example, operation with ATJ-SPK could reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a life-cycle basis by up to 85 percent.
As more alternative jet fuels are developed, these products have the potential to be increasingly viable for cost-competitive production and broad use. Another cost-saving goal and FAA focus area is a “drop-in” requirement for alternative fuels. That means the fuels can be used directly in existing aircraft without any modification to engines or other equipment while maintaining an equivalent level of safety and performance to petroleum jet fuels.
In addition to CLEEN, the FAA is working with industry, other government agencies and academia through the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) and the agency’s Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT), a consortium of research universities.
Port Starts Strong in 2016
Port of Long Beach
Long Beach cargo volumes up 6 percent in first quarter
Cargo shipments at the Port of Long Beach were up 6.1 percent for the first three months of 2016 compared to the same period last year, starting the year off strongly. Lifted by big gains in January and February, the quarter was the Port’s best since 2007.
While March 2015 volumes soared 32 percent over the same month in 2014 due to the exceptional recovery from cargo backlogs early last year— March 2016’s container volumes were down 26.2 percent. Other factors contributing to this March’s smaller monthly total included the Lunar New Year, when many factories in East Asia shut down for one to two weeks.
“Overall, we are pleased with these results,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Jon Slangerup. “The uneven global economy, industry financial pressures, weak U.S. export demand and the introduction of megasized container vessels to West Coast ports have created dynamic conditions for the maritime industry that will continue to play out over the coming year. Nevertheless, our value proposition, being the fastest and most cost-effective supply route from Asia to America’s consumer markets, continues to define Long Beach and Southern California as the multimodal gateway of choice for our shipping customers.”
In March, Long Beach marine terminals handled a total of 464,855 twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs, the industry standard for measuring container cargo. Imports decreased 34.6 percent to 207,635 TEUs and exports were flat at 127,210 TEUs. Empty containers, which are sent back overseas to be refilled with more goods, decreased 29.8 percent to 130,010 TEUs.
“As the Green Port of the Future, Long Beach is committed to creating an even more efficient and environmentally sustainable supply chain,” said Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán. “We’re confident that our Port will continue to attract cargo and meet the challenges brought by the new generation of megaships.”
With an ongoing $4 billion program to modernize its facilities this decade, the Port of Long Beach is investing in capital and service improvements that will bring long-term green growth and maintain its compelling value proposition.k