[Federal Register: October 8, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 195)]
[Notices]
[Page 58122-58124]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08oc03-68]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
List of Foreign Entities Violating Textile Transshipment and
Country of Origin Rules
AGENCY: Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: This document notifies the public of foreign entities which
have been issued a penalty claim under section 592 of the Tariff Act of
1930, for certain violations of the customs laws. This list is
authorized to be published by section 333 of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act.
[[Page 58123]]
DATES: This document notifies the public of the semiannual list for the
6-month period starting October 1, 2003, and ending March 30, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding any of the
operational aspects, contact Gregory Olsavsky, Fines, Penalties and
Forfeitures Branch, Office of Field Operations, (202) 927-3119. For
information regarding any of the legal aspects, contact Willem A.
Daman, Office of Chief Counsel, (202) 927-6900.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 333 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) (Pub. L.
103-465, 108 Stat. 4809) (signed December 8, 1994), entitled Textile
Transshipments, amended part V of title IV of the Tariff Act of 1930 by
creating a section 592A (19 U.S.C. 1592a), which authorizes the
Secretary of the Treasury to publish in the Federal Register, on a
semiannual basis, a list of the names of any producers, manufacturers,
suppliers, sellers, exporters, or other persons located outside the
Customs territory of the United States, when these entities and/or
persons have been issued a penalty claim under section 592 of the
Tariff Act, for certain violations of the customs laws, provided that
certain conditions are satisfied.
The violations of the customs laws referred to above are the
following: (1) Using documentation, or providing documentation
subsequently used by the importer of record, which indicates a false or
fraudulent country of origin or source of textile or apparel products;
(2) Using counterfeit visas, licenses, permits, bills of lading, or
similar documentation, or providing counterfeit visas, licenses,
permits, bills of lading, or similar documentation that is subsequently
used by the importer of record, with respect to the entry into the
Customs territory of the United States of textile or apparel products;
(3) Manufacturing, producing, supplying, or selling textile or apparel
products which are falsely or fraudulently labeled as to country of
origin or source; and (4) Engaging in practices which aid or abet the
transshipment, through a country other than the country of origin, of
textile or apparel products in a manner which conceals the true origin
of the textile or apparel products or permits the evasion of quotas on,
or voluntary restraint agreements with respect to, imports of textile
or apparel products.
If a penalty claim has been issued with respect to any of the above
violations, and no petition in response to the claim has been filed,
the name of the party to whom the penalty claim was issued will appear
on the list. If a petition or supplemental petition for relief from the
penalty claim is submitted under 19 U.S.C. 1618, in accord with the
time periods established by sections 171.2 and 171.61, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 171.2, 171.61) and the petition is subsequently
denied or the penalty is mitigated, and no further petition, if
allowed, is received within 60 days of the denial or allowance of
mitigation, then the administrative action shall be deemed to be final
and administrative remedies will be deemed to be exhausted.
Consequently, the name of the party to whom the penalty claim was
issued will appear on the list. However, provision is made for an
appeal to the Secretary of the Treasury (now delegated to the Secretary
of Homeland Security) by the person named on the list, for the removal
of its name from the list. If the Secretary finds that such person or
entity has not committed any of the enumerated violations for a period
of not less than 3 years after the date on which the person or entity's
name was published, the name will be removed from the list as of the
next publication of the list.
Reasonable Care Required
Section 592A also requires any importer of record entering,
introducing, or attempting to introduce into the commerce of the United
States textile or apparel products that were either directly or
indirectly produced, manufactured, supplied, sold, exported, or
transported by such named person to show, to the satisfaction of the
Secretary, that such importer has exercised reasonable care to ensure
that the textile or apparel products are accompanied by documentation,
packaging, and labeling that are accurate as to its origin. Reliance
solely upon information regarding the imported product from a person
named on the list is clearly not the exercise of reasonable care. Thus,
the textile and apparel importers who have some commercial relationship
with one or more of the listed parties must exercise a degree of
reasonable care in ensuring that the documentation covering the
imported merchandise, as well as its packaging and labeling, is
accurate as to the country of origin of the merchandise. This degree of
reasonable care must involve reliance on more than information supplied
by the named party.
In meeting the reasonable care standard when importing textile or
apparel products and when dealing with a party named on the list
published pursuant to section 592A of the Tariff Act of 1930, an
importer should consider the following questions in attempting to
ensure that the documentation, packaging, and labeling is accurate as
to the country of origin of the imported merchandise. The list of
questions is not exhaustive but is illustrative.
(1) Has the importer had a prior relationship with the named party?
(2) Has the importer had any detentions and/or seizures of textile
or apparel products that were directly or indirectly produced,
supplied, or transported by the named party?
(3) Has the importer visited the company's premises and ascertained
that the company has the capacity to produce the merchandise?
(4) Where a claim of an origin conferring process is made in
accordance with 19 CFR 102.21, has the importer ascertained that the
named party actually performed the required process?
(5) Is the named party operating from the same country as is
represented by that party on the documentation, packaging or labeling?
(6) Have quotas for the imported merchandise closed or are they
nearing closing from the main producer countries for this commodity?
(7) What is the history of this country regarding this commodity?
(8) Have you asked questions of your supplier regarding the origin
of the product?
(9) Where the importation is accompanied by a visa, permit, or
license, has the importer verified with the supplier or manufacturer
that the visa, permit, and/or license is both valid and accurate as to
its origin? Has the importer scrutinized the visa, permit or license as
to any irregularities that would call its authenticity into question?
The law authorizes a semiannual publication of the names of the
foreign entities and/or persons. On May 23, 2003, Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) published a notice in the Federal Register (68 FR
28238) which identified three (3) entities which fell within the
purview of section 592A of the Tariff Act of 1930.
592A List
For the period ending September 30, 2003, CBP has identified 2
(two) foreign entities that fall within the purview of section 592A of
the Tariff Act of 1930. This list reflects no new entities and one
removal to the 3 entities named on the list published on May 23, 2003.
The parties on the current list were assessed a penalty claim under 19
U.S.C. 1592, for one or more of the four above-
[[Page 58124]]
described violations. The administrative penalty action was concluded
against the parties by one of the actions noted above as having
terminated the administrative process.
The names and addresses of the 2 foreign parties which have been
assessed penalties by CBP for violations of section 592 are listed
below pursuant to section 592A. This list supersedes any previously
published list. The names and addresses of the 2 foreign parties are as
follows (the parenthesis following the listing sets forth the month and
year in which the name of the company was first published in the
Federal Register):
Everlite Manufacturing Company, P.O. Box 90936, Tsimshatsui,
Kowloon, Hong Kong (3/01).
Fairfield Line (HK) Co. Ltd., 60-66 Wing Tai Commer., Bldg. 1/F,
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong (3/01).
Either of the above parties may petition to have its name removed
from the list. Such petitions, to include any documentation that the
petitioner deems pertinent to the petition, should be forwarded to the
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, Bureau of Customs
and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20229.
Dated: October 1, 2003.
Jayson P. Ahern,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations.
[FR Doc. 03-25550 Filed 10-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P