An importer’s lawsuit against its customs broker for the broker’s alleged failure to stay on top of issues related to some FDA-regulated entries will continue, after a judge of the Western Washington U.S. District Court declined to halt the discovery process in the case. The broker says its terms and conditions cut its liability to a mere $200, but the judge said the importer’s arguments that those liability limits are invalid could be bolstered by more evidence.
A customs broker exam taker who is appealing his failing score is asking the Court of International Trade to overturn CBP’s denial of credit for seven questions from the April 2018 test. In a brief filed Oct. 1, Byungmin Chae says CBP erroneously graded his customs broker exam, denying him a broker license on its mistaken finding that he did not score 75 percent or higher.
George Iloulian, CEO of apparel company Delta Uniforms of New York, skimped on import duties by understating the true value of his company's imports, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. Arrested on Sept. 23, Iloulian was then presented in Manhattan federal court where the civil fraud lawsuit was unsealed. Iloulian is accused of violating the False Claims Act by lying on entry documents submitted to CBP.
The Court of International Trade rejected an importer's bid for reconsideration of its challenge of the countervailing duty rate assessed on its tire imports. The court found for the second time that the importer lacked proper jurisdiction due to an untimely filed protest of a liquidation decision. “The lesson is both clear and stark: Don’t sit on your rights,” Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden said.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico ordered Puerto Rican companies Pharmacare and China District PR and their owner, Juan Reynoso, to stop importing dangerous children's toys, the Department of Justice said. The toys, along with other consumer products, violated the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, among other laws, warranting an order from the court permanently enjoining the products' entry, DOJ said. The products allegedly had dangerous levels of lead and phthalates, according to the U.S.'s complaint against Reynoso and his companies. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has collected a total of 116 samples of these products since 2017, with 32 coming from Pharmacare and 84 from China District. These goods also included bicycle helmets, rattles and pacifiers that did not meet safety or labeling requirements, the DOJ complaint said.
Sept. 10 is the one-year anniversary of the first-filed Section 301 complaint alleging the lists 3 and 4A tariffs on Chinese goods are unlawful under the 1974 Trade Act and violate the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act. Virtually all the roughly 3,800 cases from 6,500 or more importers that have since inundated the Court of International Trade seek to vacate the lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings and get the duties refunded with interest. A court order Sept. 8 vacated components of its July 6 preliminary injunction order instructed the government to liquidate customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure “in the ordinary course” and refund the money with interest if the tariffs are declared unlawful, once the litigation becomes “final and conclusive” (see 2107060077). The order also frees the litigation to return to arguments on the merits after a prolonged battle over many months over refund relief. Oct. 1 is the deadline for Department of Justice to file papers supporting its June 1 dispositive motion and response to the plaintiffs’ Aug. 2 cross-motion. Nov. 15, the last date listed on the court’s April 13 briefing schedule, is when the plaintiffs file their reply.