Guidance for Travelers for the 2016 Sukkot Holiday
U.S. Customs & Border Protection
WASHINGTON—U.S. Customs and Border Protection reminds travelers of guidance related to the annual Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
The travel period for the holiday is from Oct. 8 through Oct. 31. The holiday begins after sundown on Oct. 16 and ends after nightfall on Oct. 23. CBP understands that observant travelers entering the United States during the Sukkot holiday might carry religious items in their vehicles if arriving at land border ports of entry or in their personal baggage if arriving by aircraft. These items are regulated to prevent the introduction of invasive pests and diseases; however, these items might be allowed into the United States after inspection by CBP Agriculture Specialists. These items include ethrogs, palm fronds, twigs of willow and myrtle.
The following guidance is provided for travelers:
Ethrogs:
- Personal shipments of ethrogs are allowed entry through North Atlantic and Northern Pacific ports of entry after inspection by CBP Agriculture Specialists. North Atlantic ports are defined as Atlantic ports north of and including Baltimore; ports on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway; Canadian Border ports east of and including North Dakota; Andrews Air force Base and Washington, D.C. (including Dulles) for air shipments. Northern Pacific ports are defined as Pacific ports north of California including Alaska, Canadian Border ports west of and including Montana, excluding Hawaii.
- Travelers will be asked to open the container with the ethrog and unwrap it. The agriculture specialist will inspect the ethrog. If either insect stings or pests are found, the ethrog will be prohibited from entering the United States. If neither is found, the traveler will be allowed to rewrap and re-box the ethrog for entry into the United States.
Palm Fronds:
- Single palm fronds, for religious purposes, will be inspected by agriculture specialists and released if no pests or symptoms of disease are found.
Twigs of Willow:
- If the twigs of willow are from Europe, they will be prohibited from entering the United States. If they are from other than Europe, they will be inspected by agriculture specialists and released if no pests or symptoms of disease are found.
- Also, if the twigs of willow are green in color, have soft tissue present, or have buds that sprouted, then they are capable of being grown and are prohibited from entering the United States.
Twigs of Myrtle:
- Twigs of myrtle will be inspected by agriculture specialists and released if no pests or symptoms of disease are found.
If travelers have any concerns resulting from the inspection of their religious items at a port of entry, a CBP supervisor is always available to answer questions and address their concerns. As always, CBP is committed to treating all travelers, including travelers who may be observing Sukkot, with respect and dignity at all U.S. ports of entry.
CBP Agricultural Specialists at Miami International Airport Intercept Potentially Devastating Pest - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
MIAMI - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists working at Miami International Airport seized dozens of figs from a passenger arriving on a flight from Jordan last month. After suspecting the passenger’s fruit might be infected with a dangerous pest, agriculture specialists proceeded to analyze the figs and upon further examination found two live larvae which were later identified as Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Tephritidae) or Mediterranean fruit fly.
“Given that the Mediterranean fruit fly is one of the world’s most destructive agriculture pests, this is an extremely important find,” said Miami/Tampa Director of Field Operations Diane J. Sabatino. “If this Mediterranean fruit fly were to take hold in Florida, the estimated agricultural and economic loss would be devastating and would ultimately affect the consumer through higher prices at the supermarket.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fruit fly larvae can cause fruit and vegetables to turn into a soft, mushy mess. Adult female fruit flies lay eggs in the flesh of ripening and ripe fruits and vegetables. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae begin to feed within the fruit, causing it to ripen prematurely and rot. A fruit fly infestation can cause hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lost income and eradication costs and management to the fruit production industries.
CBP agriculture specialists receive extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection. On a typical day, they inspect almost 1 million people as well as air and sea cargo imported to the United States and intercept 4,379 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, including 440 insect pests nationwide.
To learn more about CBP’s agriculture protection mission, visit Protecting Agriculture on the CBP website.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations in Florida include travel and trade facilitation and securing over 1,200 miles of the coastal border. Follow @CBPFlorida on Twitter for real-time updates.
Proposed Modifications to the U.S.-Chile FTA Rules of Origin Would Likely Have a Negligible Effect on Total U.S. Imports, Total U.S. Exports, and U.S. Production, Says USITC - U.S. International Trade Commission
Proposed modifications to the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement rules of origin are likely to have a negligible effect on total U.S. imports, total U.S. exports, and U.S. industry, reports the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) in its publication Probable Economic Effects of Certain Modifications to the U.S.-Chile FTA Rules of Origin.
The USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, produced the report at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
As requested, the report provides advice on the probable economic effect of the proposed modifications to the U.S.-Chile FTA rules of origin on U.S. trade under the Agreement, on total U.S. trade, and on domestic producers of the affected articles. The proposed modifications, detailed in the USTR’s request letter, cover certain woven fabrics of artificial filament yarn classified in heading 5408 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
The proposed modification for the rules of origin for certain woven fabrics of artificial filament yarns would liberalize the current rules of origin by allowing the use of more non-originating rayon filament yarns. However, because U.S. imports from Chile are a small portion of total U.S imports of dyed and yarn-dyed woven fabrics, the likely effect on total U.S. imports of these products is negligible. Similarly, because the United States did not export any of these goods to Chile in 2015 and U.S. exports of these goods to Chile represented less than 1 percent of total U.S. exports in 2014, the likely effect of the proposed modification on total U.S. exports would be negligible.
Probable Economic Effect of Certain Modifications to the U.S.-Chile FTA Rules of Origin (Inv. No. U.S.-Chile FTA-103-029, USITC publication 4632, August 2016) is available at
https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub4632.pdf.
USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requestor. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public, unless they are classified by the requestor for national security reasons.
New York Apparel Business Charged in Double-Invoice Scheme - ICE
NEW YORK — A civil complaint was filed in federal court Friday against several parties alleging a fraudulent scheme to avoid paying millions in import duties. The complaint stems from a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New York and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The complaint alleges violations of the False Claims Act by Yingshun Garments Inc., an importer of women’s apparel manufactured in China; Marie Rogers former Managing Director of Yingshun; Import Global Designs Inc. and Olgrem Llc, successor entities to Yingshun; and Notations, Inc., a wholesaler of women’s apparel and Yingshun’s biggest customer. Allegedly, the defendants conspired to defraud and did defraud the U.S. government by engaging in a double-invoice scheme whereby Yingshun, presented false and fraudulent invoices to CBP for the purpose of avoiding import duties on garments sold to Notations. The complaint further alleges that Notations took actions to aid Yingshun in perpetrating and concealing the fraud.
“These individuals allegedly defrauded the U.S. government out of millions of dollars in unpaid import duties,” said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI New York. “The action of creating fraudulent documents to cheat the system is deplorable and HSI will continue to work with CBP and the US Attorney’s office to aggressively investigate and bring to justice the most prolific fraudsters.”
As indicated in court documents, duties for merchandise imported into the United States are calculated by multiplying the value of the merchandise by the applicable duty rate. An importer or its agent must therefore disclose to CBP the value of all imported merchandise and furnish an invoice to justify that value. It is alleged that Yingshun created false and fraudulent commercial invoices for garments purchased by Notations, which undervalued the garments by 75 percent or more. Yingshun then submitted these false invoices to CBP and, based upon the gross undervaluations, paid significantly less in import duties than it actually owed. Notations was aware of Yingshun’s fraudulent scheme and benefited from it, as Yingshun’s underpaying of import duties resulted in Notations paying lower prices for the garments it was purchasing from Yingshun, among other benefits. Rather than taking steps to prevent the fraud, Notations agreed to create and accept false and misleading documents in order to perpetuate the false impression that Yingshun’s fraudulent invoices reflected actual prices paid for the garments. Rogers managed all aspects of Yingshun’s business and facilitated the double-invoice scheme, including by utilizing a “formula” that generated garment prices for Notations that incorporated the underpayment of import duties. Rogers also created Import Global and Olgrem and continued Yingshun’s fraudulent scheme through these entities, in order to avoid detection by CBP.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York’s Civil Frauds Unit.
Samsung Recalls Galaxy Note7 Smartphones Due to Serious Fire and Burn Hazards - U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Units: About 1 million
Description: This recall involves the Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone sold before September 15, 2016. The recalled devices have a 5.7 inch screen and were sold in the following colors: black onyx, blue coral, gold platinum and silver titanium with a matching stylus. Samsung is printed on the top front of the phone and Galaxy Note7 is printed on the back of the phone. To determine if your phone has been recalled, locate the IMEI number on the back of the phone or the packaging, and enter the IMEI number into the online registration site www.samsung.com or call Samsung toll-free at 844-365-6197.
Incidents/Injuries: Samsung has received 92 reports of the batteries overheating in the U.S., including 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage, including fires in cars and a garage.
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using and power down the recalled Galaxy Note7 devices purchased before September 15, 2016. Contact the wireless carrier, retail outlet or Samsung.com where you purchased your device to receive free of charge a new Galaxy Note7 with a different battery, a refund or a new replacement device. Go to www.samsung.com for more details.
Sold At: Wireless carriers and electronic stores nationwide, including AT&T, Best Buy, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon stores and online at www.samsung.com and other websites from August 2016 through September 2016 for between $850 and $890.
Manufacturer(s): Samsung Electronics America Inc., of Ridgefield Park, N.J.
Manufactured In: South Korea and China
Notes: Health Canada’s press release is available at http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/index-eng.php
Profeco’s press release is available at:
http://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/135622/ALERTA_31_SAMSUNG_ELECTRONICS_M_XICO_S_A__DE_C_V__BATER_AS_RECARGABLES_DE_LITIO_ENSAMBLADAS_EN_CELULARES_GALAXY_NOTE_7_MODELO_SM-N930F_.pdf
Guidance for Industry: Use of the Term “Healthy” in the Labeling of Human Food Products - Food & Drug Administration
The purpose of this guidance is to advise manufacturers who wish to use the implied nutrient content claim “healthy” to label their food products as provided by our regulations.
More specifically, this guidance is intended to advise food manufacturers of our intent to exercise enforcement discretion relative to foods that use the implied nutrient content claim “healthy” on their labels which:
(1) Are not low in total fat, but have a fat profile makeup of predominantly mono and polyunsaturated fats; or
(2) contain at least ten percent of the Daily Value (DV) per reference amount customarily consumed (RACC) of potassium or vitamin D.
This guidance is immediately effective because the agency has determined that prior public participation is not feasible or appropriate (21 CFR 10.115(g)(2)).
FDA's guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities. Instead, guidances describe our current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited.
The use of the word should in FDA guidances means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required.
FMC Collects $338,000 in Penalty Payments
Federal Martime Commission
Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero announced that the Commission has completed compromise agreements recovering a total of $338,000 in civil penalties. The agreements were reached with one vessel-operating common carrier and six ocean transportation intermediaries (both non-vessel-operating common carriers and ocean freight forwarders). The agreed-to penalties resulted from investigations conducted by the Commission’s Area Representatives in Houston, Seattle, South Florida, and New York, and by Washington D.C. headquarters staff. The parties settled and agreed to penalties, but did not admit to violations of the Shipping Act or Commission regulations.
In making the announcement, Chairman Cordero stated: "These agreements and penalties reflect the continuous efforts of the Commission’s Area Representatives and Bureau of Enforcement to level the regulatory playing field for all segments of the maritime industry, guard against unfair trade practices, and ensure that the shipping public is served by qualified ocean transportation intermediaries. It is through the hard work of our staff that the Commission seeks to achieve our mission of fostering a fair, efficient and secure maritime transportation system."
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