The new Customs and Border Protection e-Allegations website provides a venue for the public to report any suspected violations of trade laws or regulations related to the importing of goods into the United States.  These violations include but are not limited to false country of origin markings, health and safety issues, intellectual property rights, and trademark and copyright infringement.

The system allows anonymity for concerned citizens who have knowledge of trade violations that are damaging to the U.S. economy and the general public.

UGS customers with trademarked or copyrighted items should contact us immediately if they have knowledge of an illegal import of their product.  We will guide our customers through the e-Allegations website and follow-up to ensure our customer’s products are protected against knock-offs by competitors who then attempt to import these same products in the U.S.

Safe Port Act of 2006

Customs and Border Protection acting on provisions of the Safe Port Act of 2006 will require additional data elements from importers to improve targeting of high-risk freight.  This filing will include ten (10) data elements from the shipper/importer and two (2) elements from the carrier.  The filing is to be done one time inclusive of all twelve (12) elements.

10+2 is an ocean container security filing submitted by the importer and carrier to CBP 24 hours prior to vessel loading in the foreign port.  This currently applies only to containerized cargo – exemptions include break bulk and RoRo (roll on roll off) freight.

The final ruling has not yet been published on 10+2 but is expected within the next weeks.  UGS is working with our partners and service providers to ensure compliance and seamless transition for our customers under this new security initiative.

The House Ways and Means Committee has asked the International Trade Commission to review imports of textiles and apparel from China and report the findings to Congress.  The domestic textile industries are concerned once the trade restrictions are lifted on December 31, 2008 there will be a surge in imports from China that will jeopardize U.S. jobs.

This paves the way for possible Anti-Dumping/Countervailing Duty cases and other restrictions to be imposed on these imports from China to protect the U.S. textile industry as well as that of developing countries who import U.S. manufactured textiles under preferential trade agreements.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act institutes new import requirements for consumer goods effective November 12, 2008.  This is a direct result of tainted products imported from China, e.g., lead paint in toys, melamine found in various food items, etc.  This Act covers almost all consumer goods including fabric, wearing apparel, toys, jewelry, sporting goods, refrigerators, furniture, hazardous materials and even some pharmaceuticals with child resistant caps.

The new certificates must be self-issued, based on a reasonable testing program, must be issued by two to three participants in the supply chain, must accompany the product, and must be furnished to each distributor and/or retailer of the product.  If no certificate is issued or a false certificate is ascertained, the shipment may be refused admission and destroyed.

UGS currently follows customer directives related to product testing utilizing accredited laboratories and is closely following the directives related to this Act to ensure all laboratories utilized will meet the new accreditation requirements.