PRIORTIES FOR CUSTOMS
In last month's edition, we mentioned Customs had begun auditing companies regarding intellectual property rights. The following issues have been identified as additional priorities for Customs: textiles and wearing apparel,  agriculture, revenue, penalties, and antidumping and countervailing duty. Into how many of these categories do your products fall?

ORIGIN LABELING DELAYED?
The U.S. House of Representatives has just passed a bill which would again delay implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling on meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and peanuts until 2008. These requirements have not previously moved forward due to lack of implementation funding. H.R. 2744 also continues the ban on importation of prescription drugs from third countries. The Senate and House versions will have to be reconciled, so look for further developments.

DUMPING CASES DOWN
While dumping cases have increased in visibility in the U.S., the WTO reported that in the first six months of 2005, the number of new antidumping investigations and new measures applied continued their declining trend. During this 2005 period, 96 investigations were reported, down from 106 in the same 2004 period. 53 new final measures were also reported, down from 58 in the same time span.

OOPS
 The Australian Broadcasting Co. has reported an Australian communications technology company unwittingly sold its equipment to an al Qa'ida operative in 2001. The product was remote area long-distance communications equipment. The buyer is suspected of having been a contact for the Hamburg cell which carried out the 9/11 attacks. The equipment is alleged to have been diverted from Mauritania to Afghanistan and is reported to have been used by Osama bin Laden to narrowly escape a missile strike in late 2001. The Australian government stated it had no evidence the seller knew the goods would be diverted.  How good is your screening program? Try explaining this one to top management in the U.S.!

UNASSEMBLED DEFINED
In ABB, Inc. v U.S., Case 05-1003, the classification of certain cables was decided by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It did not agree with the importer that fiber optic and high-voltage electric cables which were joined together after importation constitute an unassembled article. The cables had separate commercial value, were capable of functioning independent of each other and so had to be classified separately. If you import goods which are not in their final form, a review of your classifications may be in order.