On February 18, 2010, the Federal Maritime Commission voted to approve a proposed rulemaking that would exempt non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) from the longstanding requirement that they publish tariff rates. This move was motivated by the FMC’s desire to free NVOCCs from the...
Trade Blog
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 - 21:45
By passing the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act of 1936 (COGSA), the United States adopted as domestic legislation the Hague Rules, which govern liability for loss in ocean carriage. At that time, ocean cargo was transported largely by barrel and crate, and bills of lading covered cargo from port...
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - 22:15
Some readers may be aware that Customs, through a proposed rulemaking, attempted to abolish the first sale rule in 2008. The first sale rule is a method of determining transaction value, or the price paid or payable, for valuation and appraisement purposes. The rule provides that a U.S....
Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 20:46
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) recently posted new export control guidance for freight forwarders on its website. BIS enforces the Export Administration Regulations, which regulate the conduct of both shippers and trade intermediaries and, among other things...
Monday, January 18, 2010 - 13:59
Our last Trade Blog post concerned whether an cargo re-loader could be made a party to a bill of lading by being named a consignee without its knowledge. Last week, another cargo case was handed down by the Second Circuit, APL Co. Pte Ltd. v. American President Lines, Ltd., that also...
Saturday, January 9, 2010 - 18:55
In December of 2009, CBP held its Trade Symposium in Washington, D.C. This post recaps some important points made at the Symposium regarding importer security filings. As we all know, on January 26, 2010, CBP will begin assessing liquidated damages for failure to file ISFs, late filings, or...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - 23:31
The 11th Circuit recently held that a freight re-loader named on bills of lading in connection with multiple shipments, but which had no actual knowledge that it appeared on the bills, was not responsible to a rail carrier for container demurrage. In Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v....
Friday, December 11, 2009 - 18:18
On December 3, 2009, CBP released intellectual property rights (IPR) seizure statistics for fiscal year 2009. A link to the report is below. We all know why CBP places a heavy emphasis on IPR seizures: they hurt the U.S. economy by robbing intellectual U.S. property rights holders of their...
Friday, December 4, 2009 - 18:11
On November 6, 2009, the Federal Maritime Commission issued an Order Granting Petition for Declaratory Order wherein it accepted the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia’s mandate that Ocean Transportation Intermediaries may utilize unlicensed agents to provide transportation services. By...
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 10:43
In an October 2, 2009 statement to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, the acting Under Secretary of the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Daniel O. Hill, elaborated upon his agency’s role in enforcing the U.S. embargo on Iran and his agency’s...
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 09:10
On September 21, 2009, CBP issued a final rule stating that final administrative appeals of customs broker exam results should be directed to the Assistant Commissioner of the Office of International Trade. The final rule is of interest because it recaps some of the post-9/11 history of Customs...
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 08:55
Trade intermediaries and logistics providers are a hot target for the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which regulates exports of dual-use items from the United States, as well as the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls, which administers U.S. embargoes...
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 08:42
A House of Representatives conference report dated October 15, 2009 allocates $42.8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2010. However, the report does more than allocate funds: it also demonstrates the government’s commitment to increased intellectual property rights...
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 08:27
On October 15, 2009, the Court of International Trade, in Photonetics, Inc. v. United States, provided a useful refresher as to the “rule of relative specificity” set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule at General Rule of Interpretation 3(a). The rule provides in relevant part that...