• C-Air Customhouse Brokers - We will be closed on Monday, December 26.
• PNCT - PNCT holiday closings - PNCT will be closed on Monday December 26th and Monday January 2nd
• Maher Terminal - Please be advised that Maher Terminals and the Maher Empty Depot operated by Columbia will be closed for truck line activity (all move types) on Monday, December 26, 2022 (Christmas holiday observed) and Monday, January 2, 2023 (New Year’s holiday observed).
• PierPass - Terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have announced schedules for the Christmas holiday period of Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, through Monday, Dec. 26, 2022.
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Federal Register Notices:
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Welded Stainless Steel Pipe From South Korea and Taiwan
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar (Rebar) From Japan, Taiwan and Turkey; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Reviews
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and Alloy Steel From India: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews of Goodluck India Limited; 2017-2019 and 2019-2020
• Certain Superabsorbent Polymers From the Republic of Korea: Antidumping Duty Order
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, Rescission of Review in Part; 2020
• Certain Collated Steel Staples From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders
• Magnesium Metal From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain Digital Set-Top Boxes and Systems and Services Including the Same; Notice of Commission Determination Not To Review an Initial Determination Terminating the Investigation Based on a Settlement Agreement; Termination of Investigation
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Steel Nails From the Sultanate of Oman: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Alloy and Certain Carbon Steel Threaded Rod From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part; 2021-2022
• Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From Australia, Brazil, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, the Republic of Turkey, and the United Kingdom: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Orders (Australia, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey, and United Kingdom) and Countervailing Duty Order (Korea) and Revocation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders (Brazil)
• Multilayered Wood Flooring From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2020
• Hydrofluorocarbon Blends From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada: Notice of Amended Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2020
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Dioctyl Terephthalate From South Korea; Scheduling of a Full Five-Year Review
• Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value: Certain Lemon Juice From the Republic of South Africa: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
• Certain Steel Nails From Thailand: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
• Certain Steel Nails From Sri Lanka: Final Negative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
• Certain Steel Nails From the Republic of Turkey: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
• Certain Steel Nails From India: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip From Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan; Notice of Commission Determination To Conduct Full Five-Year Reviews
• Gray Portland Cement and Cement Clinker From Japan; Scheduling of an Expedited Five-Year Review
• Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From Oman, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates; Determinations
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USTR Extends Exclusions from China Section 301 Tariffs - U.S. Trade Representative
WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative today announced a nine month extension of 352 product exclusions in the China Section 301 Investigation that had been scheduled to expire at the end of 2022. These exclusions were initially reinstated on March 28, 2022 and the extension will help align further consideration of these exclusions with the ongoing comprehensive four-year review.
Interested persons may submit comments on the tariff headings containing these exclusions through the USTR portal in the four-year review, which closes January 17, 2023. Additional information is set out in the following Federal Register Notice.
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FTC Announces New Business Guidance for Marketers and Sellers of Health Products - Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection today announced the issuance of Health Products Compliance Guidance, the agency’s first revision of its business guidance in this area in nearly 25 years.
The revised business guide represents a substantial update to the staff’s 1998 guide, Dietary Supplements: An Advertising Guide For Industry. Since that guide was issued, the FTC has brought more than 200 cases challenging false or misleading advertising claims for dietary supplements, foods, over-the-counter drugs, and other health-related products. The revised guide draws on those cases with 23 new examples.
One major revision is to extend the guidance covering dietary supplements to all health-related products. The revised guide also reflects updates to other FTC guidance documents, including the guidance on endorsements and testimonials and the enforcement policy statement on homeopathic drugs.
Among other things, the new guide includes a much more detailed discussion of the amount and type of evidence needed to substantiate health-related claims, with more emphasis on the fact that the FTC, as a general rule, expects high quality randomized, controlled human clinical trials.
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Sildenafil Jelly and Pills Seized by Cincinnati CBP Over 5 Days 28,600 Pills 700 Jelly Packs Worth More Than $866K - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
CINCINNATI — On December 4, 5 and 9, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized three shipments of improperly imported Sildenafil pills and jelly transiting through the Port of Cincinnati. Officers found 28,600 pills of the prescription drugs in two shipments of pens, while the third shipment was manifested as flavored jelly. This shipment contained 700 packets of jelly laced with sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.
Two shipments originated from India, while the third was arriving from Singapore. One of the shipments from India contained 1,860 packets of 10 Sildenafil Citrate tablets, for a total of 18,600 pills. This shipment was heading to a residence in Snellville, Georgia. Had they been legally sold the pills would have been worth over $561,000.
The other two shipments, originating from Singapore and India, were heading to the same address in Macomb, Illinois. The shipment from Singapore 700 jelly packets while the other shipment from India contained 10,000 Sildenafil pills. Had they been legally sold, the pills and jelly would have been worth over $305,000.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) works with CBP to protect consumers from products marketed as dietary supplements that contain any hidden drug ingredients. Because only three percent of online pharmacies reviewed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy are in compliance with U.S. pharmacy laws and practice standards, purchasing drugs online is risky not only for the consumer’s health, but also their wallet.
“Our highly-skilled officers continue to focus on our mission to protect our country and its citizens,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations-Chicago Field Office. “CBP works closely with the FDA and other partner agencies to effect this mission and make sure controlled substances with unknown additives or inferior standards do not make their way into American households.”
E-commerce trade has soared throughout the pandemic, expanding foreign sellers’ market access to the United States. However, these sellers may not have all pertinent information to comply with U.S. admissibility laws, and drugs made in foreign facilities may lack necessary oversight and good manufacturing practices ensuring patient safety. Prescription drugs sold in the U.S. must conform to the FDA’s high standards, protecting consumers from dangerous irregularities in drug potency.
“Protecting our citizens from inferior products with unknown ingredients is a priority for our officers and specialists,” said Richard Gillespie, Port Director, Cincinnati. “CBP is entrusted with enforcing hundreds of laws for other government agencies, and our inter-agency partnerships are critical to ensuring the safety of the American people.”
As the largest federal law enforcement agency in the United States, CBP has a vast, complex, and dynamic mission faced with constantly changing threats. By being continuously watchful and alert, CBP is dedicated to facilitating lawful trade and travel and protecting the homeland and its people.
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Dulles CBP Picks Bones from Kenya Traveler Bags - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
STERLING, Va. – There’s nothing funny about the bones that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists recently discovered in the baggage of a Virginia woman at Washington Dulles International Airport.
During a secondary baggage examination on November 10, CBP agriculture specialists discovered bones that the Fauquier County, Va., woman admitted were giraffe and zebra bones she found in Kenya and kept as souvenirs. CBP detained the bones and checked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) inspectors on admissibility.
On November 17, USFWS inspectors reported that the bones violated provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Lacey Act. USFWS directed CBP to seize the bones.
The woman, whose name CBP is not releasing because she was not criminally charged, was initially referred to a secondary agriculture examination for declaring that she possessed a small Acacia tree twig. She then amended her declaration to include the bones after CBP agriculture specialists x-rayed her baggage and discovered an anomaly. The Acacia tree twig was admissible. CBP released the woman after agriculture specialists detained the bones.
“I can appreciate travelers wanting to keep souvenirs of their vacations, but those souvenirs could violate United States or international law, or potentially expose our families, pets or our nation’s agriculture industries to serious animal or plant diseases,” said Kim Der-Yeghiayan, Acting Area Port Director for CBP’s Area Port of Washington, D.C. “Customs and Border Protection strongly encourages all travelers to know what they can and cannot pack in their baggage before returning to or visiting the United States and to declare all items upon arrival.”
CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection, and they inspect tens of thousands of international air passengers, and air and sea cargoes being imported to the United States. They are on our nation’s frontlines to ensure our nation’s economic vitality by protecting our vital agricultural resources.
During a typical day last year, CBP agriculture specialists across the nation seized 4,552 prohibited plant, meat, animal byproducts, and soil, and intercepted 319 insect pests at U.S. ports of entry.
CBP urges all travelers to visit CBP’s Travel website to ‘know before they go’ and learn what products that are prohibited or inadmissible to bring to the United States.
CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.
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CBP, Princess Cruise Line Introduce Facial Biometrics at Port of San Diego - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
SAN DIEGO – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with Princess Cruises, expanded the use of facial biometrics into the debarkation process at the Port of San Diego, becoming the latest seaport to modernize efforts to revolutionize cruise travel.
“As cruise travel resumes around our nation’s ports, it is increasingly important to implement this technology and safely restart cruising, a vital sector of the US travel economy,” said Jennifer De La O, CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego. “With the biometric facial comparison process, travelers have the benefit of secure, touchless and streamlined entry procedures into the United States while CBP protects the privacy of all travelers.”
When debarking the cruise vessel at a U.S. seaport, passengers will pause for a photo that will be compared to the traveler’s existing passport or visa photo in secure DHS systems to biometrically verify his/her identity. Once verified, passengers are allowed to proceed through inspections and exit the terminal. This innovative entry process further secures and enhances the customer experience while protecting the privacy of all travelers. The improved arrival process using facial biometrics verifies the traveler’s identity within two seconds and is more than 98% accurate.
U.S. travelers and select foreign nationals who are not required to provide biometrics and wish to opt out of the new biometric process can simply request a manual document check from a CBP officer consistent with existing requirements for admission into the United States.
To date, facial biometric comparison technology is available at 16 seaports across the United States and has been successfully used to process arriving passengers on cruise vessels in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, California, Washington, Louisiana, Alabama, Puerto Rico, and Maryland.
Currently, more than 240 million travelers have participated in the biometric facial comparison process at air, land, and seaports of entry. As of November 2022, CBP has leveraged facial biometrics to prevent more than 1,600 impostors using genuine travel documents from illegally entering the United States at air and land Ports of Entry. More information on CBP’s use of biometric facial comparison technology to secure and streamline the arrival and departure process can be found here.
The San Diego Office of Field Operations covers ports of entry throughout Southern California, including San Ysidro, Tecate, Otay Mesa, Andrade, and Calexico.
CBP’s border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality. Learn what CBP accomplished during A Typical Day in 2021. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.
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Epic Games Inc., Developer of Fortnite Video Game, Agrees to $275 Million Penalty and Injunction for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law - Department of Justice
The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a settlement that, if approved by a federal court, will require Epic Games Inc. (Epic Games) to pay $275 million in civil penalties as part of a settlement to resolve alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule), and the Federal Trade Commission Act. Epic Games will also be subject to a permanent injunction regarding children’s personal information that it previously collected. Epic Games is the developer of the online video game “Fortnite.”
In a complaint filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the government alleged that Epic Games designed and marketed Fortnite for use by children. The government further alleged that Epic Games possessed actual knowledge that it collected personal information from children, including their names, email addresses, and identifiers used to keep track of players’ progress, purchases, settings, and friends lists. Epic Games nonetheless failed to notify parents that it was collecting children’s personal information and to obtain verifiable parental consent for that collection, as required by the COPPA Rule. The government further alleged that Epic Games maintained default privacy settings that were unfair under Section 5 of the FTC Act, in that the default privacy settings publicly broadcast child and teen Fortnite players’ display names and put children and teens in direct, real-time communication with adult Fortnite players.
“The Justice Department takes very seriously its mission to protect consumers’ data privacy rights,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “This proposed order sends a message to all online providers that collecting children’s personal information without parental consent will not be tolerated.”
“Parents have a right to know and to consent before companies collect their children’s personal information,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to enforcing the protections against unauthorized collection of information from consumers, particularly children.”
“As our complaint notes, Epic used privacy-invasive default settings that harmed young Fortnite players,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “Protecting the public, and especially children and teens, from online privacy invasions is a top priority for the Commission, and this enforcement action makes clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices.”
“This historic civil penalty, totaling over a quarter-billion dollars, lays down a marker for online service providers everywhere,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “The unauthorized collection of personal information from children online violates the law. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have a strong partnership and are committed to deterring violations.”
In a proposed stipulated order filed today, Epic Games has agreed to pay $275 million in civil penalties, the largest civil penalty ever imposed for a COPPA violation. If approved by the court, the order will prohibit Epic Games from collecting personal information from children in a manner that violates the COPPA Rule. It will also prohibit Epic Games from using children’s personal information that was previously collected unless it obtains verifiable parental consent, and imposes compliance reporting obligations upon Epic Games. Further, the agreement requires Epic Games to maintain default privacy settings that protect children’s and teens’ privacy, to delete certain personal information of children that it previously collected, and to maintain a comprehensive privacy program that protects certain personal information.
This matter was handled by Trial Attorneys Michael Wadden and Josh Fowkes and Assistant Director Lisa Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. Andrew Hasty, James Trilling, and Amanda Koulousias represented the FTC.