[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13042-13044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6659]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service


List of Foreign Entities Violating Textile Transshipment and 
Country of Origin Rules

AGENCY: Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

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.

DATES: This document notifies the public of the semiannual list for the 
6-month period starting March 31, 2002, and ending September 30, 2002.

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 Secs. 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 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

[[Page 13043]]

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 October 10, 2001, Customs published 
a Notice in the Federal Register (66 FR 51734) which identified 13 
(thirteen) entities which fell within the purview of section 592A of 
the Tariff Act of 1930.

592A List

    For the period ending March 30, 2002, Customs has identified 10 
(ten) foreign entities that fall within the purview of section 592A of 
the Tariff Act of 1930. This list reflects no new entities and three 
removals to the 13 entities named on the list published on October 10, 
2001. 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-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 10 foreign parties which have been 
assessed penalties by Customs 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 10 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):

    Austin Pang Gloves & Garments Factory, Ltd., Jade Heights, 52 Tai 
Chung Kiu Road, Flat G, 19/F, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong. (10/
99)
    Beautiful Flower Glove Manufactory, Kar Wah Industrial Building, 8 
Leung Yip Street, Room 10-16, 4/F, Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong 
Kong. (10/99)
    BF Manufacturing Company, Kar Wah Industrial Building, Leung Yip 
Street, Flat 13, 4/F, Yeun Long, New Territories, Hong Kong. (10/99)
    Ease Keep, Ltd., 750 Nathan Road, Room 115, Kowloon, Hong Kong. 
(10/99)
    Everlite Manufacturing Company, P.O. Box 90936, Tsimshatsui, 
Kowloon, Hong Kong (3/01).
    Fabrica de Artigos de Vestuario E-Full, Lda. Rua Um doi Bairro da 
Concordia, Deificio Industrial Vang Tai, 8th Floor, A-D, Macau. (10/99)
    Fabrica de Artigos de Vestuario Fan Wek Limitada, Av. Venceslau de 
Morais, S/N 14 B-C, Centro Ind. Keck Seng (Torre 1), Macau. (10/99)
    Fairfield Line (HK) Co. Ltd., 60-66 Wing Tai Commer., Bldg. 1/F, 
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong (3/01).
    G.P. Wedding Service Centre, Lee Hing Industrial Building, 10 
Cheung Yue Street 11th Floor, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong. (10/
00)
    Lucky Mind Industrial Limited, Lincoln Centre, 20 Yip Fung Street, 
Flat 11, 5/F, Fan Ling, New Territories, Hong Kong. (10/99)

    Any 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, United States 
Customs Service, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229.

Additional Foreign Entities

    In the October 10, 2001, Federal Register notice, Customs also 
solicited information regarding the whereabouts of 5 foreign entities, 
which were identified by name and known address, concerning alleged 
violations of section 592. Persons with knowledge of the whereabouts of 
those 5 entities were requested to contact the Assistant Commissioner, 
Office of Field Operations, United States Customs Service, 1300 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229.
    In this document, a new list is being published which contains the 
names and last known addresses of 3 entities. This reflects the removal 
of two entities from the list of 5 entities published on October 10, 
2001.
    Customs is soliciting information regarding the whereabouts of the 
following 3 foreign entities concerning alleged violations of section 
592. Their names and last known addresses are listed below (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):

    Au Mi Wedding Dresses Company, Dragon Industry Building, 98, King 
Law Street, Unit F, 9/F, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. (10/99)
    Golden Wheel Garment Factory, Flat A, 10/F, Tontex Industrial 
Building, 2-4 Sheung Hei Street, San Po

[[Page 13044]]

Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. (10/99)
    Lai Cheong Gloves Factory, Kar Wah Industrial Building, 8 Leung Yip 
Street, Room 101, 1-F, Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong. (3/00)
    If you have any information as to a correct mailing address for any 
of the above 3 firms, please send that information to the Assistant 
Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs Service, 1300 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229.

    Dated: March 14, 2002.
Bonni G. Tischler,
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations.
[FR Doc. 02-6659 Filed 3-19-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P