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Encountered Any Significant
Trade Barriers Lately?
If So USTR Wants to Know
As part of its
work on its annual National Trade Estimate (NTE), the USTR is
asking interested persons to help it identify significant barriers
to US exports of goods, services, and US foreign direct investment
for inclusion in the NTE.
Once again, they
would like comments on standards-related measures and sanitary and
phytosanitary (SPS) measures that create barriers to U.S. exports
to be submitted separately from other NTE comments. This will
assist USTR in updating two reports issued for the first time in
2010 highlighting SPS and standards-related measures that may be
inconsistent with international trade agreements to which the
United States is a party or that otherwise act as significant
barriers to U.S. exports. These reports were published as the 2010
Report on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (2010 SPS Report)
and the 2010 Report on Technical Barriers to Trade (2010 TBT
Report) respectively.
The public
should submit written comments on issues for USTR to examine in
preparing the NTE and the reports on SPS and standards-related
measures. Comments are due October 4. Further details and
instructions for submitting comments can be found
here.
U.S.
TIGHTENS IRAN SANCTIONS |
LARGEST WEST COAST SEIZURE OF COUNTERFEIT ITEMS
Government officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Attorney’s office
raided a total of 8 retail stores on Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco,
California after a three year investigation into the flow of
counterfeit goods from China. The investigation began in 2007 after
custom officials “seized a container at the Port of Oakland stuffed
with 50,000 counterfeit designer accessories.” Investigators followed
the flow of counterfeit goods, and in the process identified a network
of people and associated retailed stores, allegedly engaged with
importing over 70 imitated national and international brands, from
China. During the August 3, 2010 raids, federal officials seized more
than 200,000 counterfeit goods with trademarked names including Nike,
Burberry, Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani
among others, attached to phony goods. If the products has been
legitimate trademarked goods the products seized would have been worth
more than $100 million.
SC ISAC Bulletin, 8/11/2010.
If you are importing goods
protected by trademark law, you the importer must hold a letter of
authorization directly from the trademark holder. If you have
permission to import from a third party who is not the trademark
holder your goods could be seized by Customs. Be sure you fully
understand your obligations and requirements to import goods that bear
a trademark of any kind. For more information on Intellectual
Property rights see the Customs website at
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/priority_trade/ipr/.
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