May 13, 2012
The Department of Justice recently announced a $450,000 settlement with Direct Resource, Inc. Did they sell counterfeit merchandise? Was it improperly marked? No trademark authorization from the rights holder?
No, no, and no. The company violated the Trade Agreements Act, which prohibits the sale of merchandise to federal agencies from a country which does not have a reciprocal trade agreement with the Untied States. Direct is contracted with the GSA to sell a variety of products to the U.S. government, including office supplies. Contracting with the GSA requires a company certify that all products sold be manufactured in one of a list (and it’s a pretty darn long list) of designated countries deemed to trade fairly with the United States. The goods sold were of Chinese origin, and there is no agreement between China and the United States.
The allegations were also brought to light by a whistleblower lawsuit filed in federal court in the District of Columbia. The whistleblower, under federal statute, shares in the proceeds of the settlement or judgement, which in this case will amount to $67,500.
May 13th 2022
The NCBFAA held its annual conference in Tucson the first…
The NCBFAA held its annual conference in Tucson the first week of May and Kellie and Marianna represented Camelot. They were two of more than 530 customs brokers and freight forwarders who came together to hear the latest news on topics like port congestion, demurrage and detention, forced labor, the…
Apr 11th 2022
Section 301’s in the news Section 301 duties, or “the…
Section 301’s in the news Section 301 duties, or “the Trump Tariffs” as they are known by most, are the additional duties which were imposed on many items in the harmonized tariff originating from China in response to a determination by the previous administration’s US Trade Representative. As a result…