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One of the things I find interesting about my job as that I have the opportunity to learn about all sorts of products that I might not ever see in my real life. One such product is the avalanche airbag. It never occurred to me that such a thing existed, but as soon as I read the words "avalanche" and "airbag" together, the concept made perfect sense. This is the item in question: It is designed to keep the wearer "afloat" in the event of an avalanche. More information about the product is . Basically, it is a backpack that incorporates a sturdy balloon and an electrically powered fan to inflate it. Once inflated, the balloon prevents the wearer from being buried in snow. In Customs was asked to classify this airbag enhanced backpack. My first thought was, "Oh no, this is going in Heading 4202 as a backpack." To me, that seems to undervalue the safety features. Moreover, none of the exemplars in 4202 have safety features. But, that is a straw man ...

Calling this post a "Ruling of the Week" is a little disingenuous. It has been many weeks since I was able to make a "weekly" post. Nevertheless, this is my effort to get back on that self-imposed horse. Today, we look at(Apr. 5, 2016), primarily because before I read this ruling I had never heard of "tendu leaf cones." I bet most you had not. A  turns out to be the East Indian Ebony tree, diospyros melanoxylon. Someone decided to import leaves of the tendu tree rolled into a tapered cone and secured with threads and a band. You might reasonably be wondering why anyone would need this product. It turns out that these cones are commonly used as wrappers for bidis, which are an alternative to cigars and can be packed with tobacco or "other smoking mixtures." This image should help illustrate what we are talking about. Keep in mind that as imported the cones were empty. They were, however, packaged with a plastic tool designed to facilitate filling ...

I have previously pointed out the few cases that I see as ending in an injustice, even where the result is legally correct. These cases always lead me to ask whether anyone in a position of power in the United States Government asked whether the ultimately successful litigation position was actually the right thing to do. Sometimes, it is not.  https://www.mianirfanlawfirm.com , is one of those cases. The background you need to understand this case is that there has been a long-running dispute over the proper calculation of the countervailing duty deposit rate imposed on aluminum extrusions from China. In May of 2011, Commerce initially calculated the all-others rate applicable to companies in China that were not assigned their own or a separate rate as 374.15%. Following some litigation, Commerce reduced the deposit rate to 137.65%. Finally, after additional litigation, the deposit rate was reduced to 7.37% in October of 2015. At the time of entry, importers of aluminum extrusions...

I hope my readers in America, which is 90% of the readership, had a happy Independence Day Holiday. As is essentially mandatory, I watched fireworks and contemplated the range of pyrotechnical displays available. If we create a spectrum from the impressive aerial burst you might see at Disneyworld to tossing a lit match in the air, there are many options in between. Among the least entertaining versions of fire-related entertainment products is the so-called "black snake." I remember lighting these things off as a kid. They smoke a lot, create a messy and not particularly impressive ash trail, and leave enough residue on the sidewalk that an underage and unauthorized user is likely to get in trouble. If you are not familiar with what I am on about, watch this: As I am likely to do, I also wondered about the tariff classification and admissibility of these things. In, Customs was asked for the classification of . The importer was asserting that the correct classification is as...

One of my least favorite areas of customs regulation has to do with the ability of related companies to provide compliance expertise through shared services. The problem arises because while a company can rely on its employees to conduct customs business on its own behalf, no one but a licensed customs broker can engage in customs business on behalf of a third party. That means that if you are an employee of Subsidiary Alpha of Acme Holdings Corp. you can't fully assist your sister company Subsidiary Beta with its customs compliance. That is true even though you may be the most qualified person in the entirely to the Acme Holdings extended family. While there is a space called "corporate compliance" in which the shared services model works just fine, managing the line of acceptable advice is difficult. The reason for this is  https://www.mianirfanlawfirm.com , which requires a valid customs broker's license to undertake customs business on behalf of a third party. Cus...

If you have been around here long enough, you know I am a skeptical guy. I believe the consensus of medical science is in a better position than the guy at the supplement store to give medical advice. I also believe that eating or drinking something with the intention of modifying the way your body works is a medical decision whether you are taking a prescription drug or a "natural" supplement. I suspect the prescription drug has a better chance of actually working as advertised than does the supplement, but both are drugs. With that in mind, I  (Dec. 15, 2015), which considers the tariff classification of .This particular product is about 95% coffee, but it has been "boosted" with taurine, alpha GPC 50%, L-theanine, and DMAE (Deanol). As  result, the coffee is advertised as enhancing cognitive performance, boosting energy levels, improving focus and concentration, and enhancing athletic performance. The additives are a class of products known a nootropics, also cal...

You may recall that last year my final exam for Trade Remedies was an elaborate, cinematic fact pattern involving the DC superhero universe. See here for that . Read the comments, which are really quite good. This year, I was not able to string together quite as detailed a fact pattern for my Customs Law class. I did, however, ask this question. Tell me what you think is the correct answer. I will be flexible, but you should not need to stretch too much. I'll be back soon. I promise. QUESTION 3: 25 POINTS Ralph Dibny is the CEO of Plastico, which imports plastic in various forms from suppliers all over the world into the United States. To find suppliers, Ralph relies on two representatives. Reed Richards is responsible for suppliers in South America. Patrick “Eel” O’Brian is responsible for suppliers in Asia. Neither representative is an employee of Plastico. When Plastico wants to purchase materials from South America, Dibny contacts Richards who then finds suppliers that can ...

I realize it has been a month since my last Ruling of the Week. I am reasonably certain I will come up for air soon and post some new material. In the meantime, if you are in NYC for the CITBA CLE and Annual Meeting on Thursday , I hope to see you there.

Dear Lex Luthor, This is in response to your implied inquiry concerning the importation of a large sample of kryptonite into the United States. You can find my response here , as published by the fine folks over at Law and the Multiverse . That will be $3 million for service. An itemized invoice may be provided if you so request. Very sincerely, Larry Friedman

Join CITBA for a CLE event on April 21 to be held at the Court of International Trade in New York. Details and registration is available here . Registration is a little funky for now. You'll need to click select Event in the box on the left side of the Meetings, then click Buy Now. After that, fill in the registration amount ($60 for general members, $30 for government employees) and your payment method. Please RSVP to info@thegateam.com . We're going to work on improving that process.

Podcasts are a terrible thing if you expect to do work or read books while otherwise leading a productive life. Among the many I listen to somewhat regularly is Tetrapod Zoology , from which I learn all kinds of thing about both real and fanciful zoology. It's worth a listen, though it may be a bit of an acquired taste. I came to it through the side door. Co-host Darren Naish is an actual, credentialed scientist who is willing to talk about allegedly unidentified megafauna (e.g., the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, and Bigfoot), not because they exist but because the notion that they might is entertaining. He and his co-host John Conway are fully comfortable trying to imagine how something as absurd as the Mongolian Death Worm might exist in the real world (because it does not). Why I am on about this? Because I have been wracking by brain trying to think of puns involving krill and the baleen whales that eat them. It turns out that people eat krill oil as a dietary supplement, which m...

Don't forget to register for the upcoming DiCarlo lecture and the CLE event at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. It's April 14, 2016. Speakers will include Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu of the U.S. Court of International Trade. Registration information is here .

I've been at this a long time. Nevertheless, I am still sometimes surprised. That happened when I read N272495 (Mar. 1, 2016) . There are two "travel kits" at issue in this ruling. These are travel kits of the kind used by Victorian gentlemen tromping around the Amazon or Africa trailing a line of porters carrying their necessities. In this case, the necessities include six glass bottles with caps, two pipets, a funnel, coasters, a whisky taking journal, some other stuff, and a leather case for all of it. There is also a Share-A-Dram kit consisting of 12 glass bottles, a funnel, paper neck tags, and sample tasting ledger. Customs and Border Protection decided that these kits are to be classified as retail sets based on the single item that imparts their essential character. For the travel kits and the Share-A-Dram, that is the glassware, specifically the drinking glasses, which are the most expensive glass items. Here's the more interesting point. The drinking glasses...

Congratulations to ICPA on another successful (and sold out) conference. I heard lots of good talks and had fun fake-litigating the classification of chopped olives . Sadly, I lost. I also got to do a last-minute recycling of my talk on tariff engineering , which was both fun and efficient (since the work was already done). Thanks to all the blog readers who introduced themselves. See you next year.

Having already invoked Star Trek: First Contact today, I will now reference Contact. Arecibo, Puerto Rico is probably most famous for being the location of the Arecibo radio telescope observatory . It was there that the fictional astronomer from Carl Sagan's book, played by Jodie Foster in the movie , successfully decoded a message from intelligent aliens. The book is better than the movie, but both are worthwhile. Recently, Arecibo became home to a 360-foot monument to the European discovery of the New World. Note that 300 feet is roughly the size of the Statute of Liberty. The customs issue in NY N272432 (Feb. 26, 2016) does not have to do with the statute. Instead, it has to do with tchotchkes sold as souvenirs in the gift shop near the monument. In particular coffee mugs that have the words "Puerto Rico" or "Arecibo, Puerto Rico" printed on them. The question presented to Customs and Border Protection was how to properly mark these mugs with their country ...

By my calculation, this is week 10 of 2016 and this is ROTW 8, I am getting close. Today's ruling might make the squeamish among you go "Eww," but it shouldn't. The product in question is a three-dimensional reconstructed human epidermis. When I read that, I pictured a fully human-shaped skin ready for taxidermy or some more nefarious use. The reality is far more mundane and much more scientifically cool. The ruling is NY N270364 (February 19, 2016) . The product turns out to be an "in vitro " epidermis grown from human skin and other cells cultured on a polycarbonate substrate. Here is the technical lowdown on it. The commercial purpose of this is not to build Buffalo Bill-style human skin suits  or to give Mr. Data goosebumps. The idea is to have an in vitro model for testing drugs, cosmetics, etc. Star Trek: First Contact According to Customs, this item is classified as "Human blood . . . vaccines, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms (excluding yea...

First things first, I admit that I am in the tank for Microsoft products. I have multiple Windows 10 computers and a Windows 10 tablet. I am also on my third Windows Phone. I stared with a Samsung Windows 7 device, moved to a Nokia Lumia 920, and now carry a Lumia 950, which I keep slightly ahead of the curve through the Insiders program. I recently got my hands briefly on a Surface Book, on which I have a serious crush. I also have most of my personal data in the Microsoft cloud via OneDrive and Office 365. I am, as you can see, all in on Windows. Nevertheless, I do not have a Microsoft Band fitness tracker. Before we discuss why I have so far skipped the Microsoft Band, we should talk about its tariff classification. I raise this because Customs recently ruled on the question. According to HQ H265035 (Jan. 19, 2016) , the Microsoft Band is classified in subheading 8517.62.00, HTSUS, as an apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images, or data . . . ." This is a ...

Remember JBLU, Inc. v. United States ? It was an interesting Court of International Trade decision involving whether the use of a geographic terms in a trademark required a country of origin marking in close proximity when the trademark was not registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. What is at issue here is 19 CFR §§ 134.46 and 134.47. Under § 134.46, when a geographic location is indicated on an imported article or its container, and that indication may mislead the ultimate purchaser as to the actual country of origin, then the article must also be marked with it correct country of origin in close proximity. Section 134.47 provides a more lenient rule where the geographical indication is part of a trademark or trade name. According to the Court of International Trade, without a registration or a pending application, the use of the geographic indicator triggers the more strict requirement for a close-by country of origin marking. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Cir...

If you area a compliance person in the Chicago area, please come to the DiCarlo Lecture and CLE event at the John Marshall Law School on April 14. The event will end with a talk by Chief Judge Stanceu of the U.S. Court of International Trade. There will be a two hour CLE event leading up to his talk. The first panel will focus on international corporate compliance and ethics. The second panel, which I will moderate, will focus on Customs and Border Protection penalty cases. Judge Stanceu is expected to talk about the international harmonization of tariff law and its impact on U.S. court cases. The CLE event requires a registration fee. The DiCarlo Lecture, which is Chief Judge Stanceu's talk, is free, but registration is required. Click the link above to register.

Discovery is the legal process through which each side to a law suit asks the other side to disclose the facts relevant to the claims and defenses. It usually consists of depositions of knowledgeable witnesses, written questions and requests for production. Discovery disputes are unusual in customs litigation. More often than not, the parties can reach an agreement on the material facts. The dispute is usually, but not always, over the conclusions to be reached from those facts after the applicable law is properly interpreted. When a discovery dispute does arise, people notice (and by "people" I mean "me"). Meyer Corporation, U.S. v. United States  is about a discovery dispute. The underlying issue is that Customs and Border Protection audited Meyer and determined that its application of the first sale methodology of valuation was unacceptable. If you don't know what that means, go back and read this classic post from 2005. Customs also denied duty-free claims ...

There used to be a time when I was able to keep this blog up, make each post funny, and occasionally interesting to the customs compliance pros. But, as periodically happens, then I get busy. It turns out that this is week 8 of 2016 and I am about to post ROTW number 5. I am not happy about that. Let's see what we can do to catch up. Today's ruling is HQ H270670 (Feb. 17, 2016)  and continues our focus on value questions. Value is complicated enough to make many compliance professionals quake . The ruling involves purchases by "The Cereal Company" of premiums or toys. The only Cereal Company I can find online purports to be in Zambia. Thus, my assumption is that the Cereal Company is a pseudonym for an actual cereal company and that these toys are headed into boxes of puffed sugar and artificial color. This case is honeycombed with players. The Cereal Company buys the toys from suppliers in China. An unrelated third party in the U.S. called Insight Promotions arran...

What comes to mind when you think of enabling someone ... healthy or unhealthy?  The recent definition refers to providing help that perpetuates a problem rather than fixes it.  You know, the reasons and excuses we make to justify a person's behavior or actions even sacrificing our own health and well-being in doing so.  It can develop into such dysfunction where we actually believe we are helping a situation.   "The reality, though, is that enabling not only doesn't help, but it actively causes harm and makes the situation worse."   When an enabler steps in to help an addict for example, they take away their motivation and desire to get help or change. According to Psychology Today , "enablers help addicts dig themselves deeper into trouble."   What does this have to do with fitness?  Well, it happens to pertain quite a bit to health and fitness.  Are you making excuses and justifications not to start a fitness program?  Not the right t...

[Updated because sometimes proofreading is useful. I corrected some typos and clarified a bit.] The Court of International Trade has been asked to decide the classification elfa-brand racks and hanging standards made of epoxy-bonded steel for the Container Store . No, this is not a repeat and you are not experiencing legal Deja vu. The issue has been raised again. The interesting point is that the result has changed, so read on. Before we get too far down this rabbit hole, re-read this post on stare decisis at the Court of International Trade. It is useful background. Then, here is my post on the prior Container Store case. There are two items at issue in this case. elfa top tracks and hanging standards. The top tracks look like this: The top track can be screwed into place on a wall or other surface and serves an an anchor for the handing standards, which look like this when attached to the top track: The hanging standard lets consumers attach components such as shelves, baskets, an...

Duct tape is awesome, but it's not meant to last.  In a pinch, the strong stuff can fix things temporarily but doesn't quite do the trick long term.  If you want something repaired right, it takes the right tools and materials, agreed? Quick fixes are the same as placing duct tape all over your fitness.  Speaking personally, I don't want a short-cut but a permanent solution to staying fit. Unfortunately duct tape fitness is the most popular route for most people and as the sticky starts wearing off, it reveals what still remains ... an unhealthy body. The tape removal is painful and frustrating, but somehow the roll gets pulled back out and the ducting process begins again.  Temporary happiness but what a yo-yo ride. It's time to toss out the tape and get real with what it takes to fix things right. Our healthy lifestyle tool box should contain things like dumbbells and jump ropes along with lean proteins , good carbs, and healthy fats.  Other great add-ins are ...

One would think that if everyone involved agreed that the United States federal government owes a taxpayer a refund of over $6 million that the government would pay it. One would hope that would not be controversial. Unfortunately, it is and it points up a problem in litigation. This thought is brought to you by Ford Motor Company v. United States , in which the Federal Circuit refused to order Customs and Border Protection to pay Ford the refund. Instead, the issue was sent back to the Court of International Trade for another round of litigation. The background on this case is complicated and a bit of a mess. Ford imported some Jaguar cars and deposited estimated duties at the time of entry. It must have flagged the entries for ACS Reconciliation because it subsequently filed nine reconciling entries seeking a $6.2 million refund. The reconciliations were filed between June of 2005 and October of 2006. Normally, Customs has a year to liquidate the entry and can extend that t...