Mike Smiszek, Author at Braumiller Law Group

Punctuation in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

December 19, 2024

By Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

Punctuation matters. I’ve always remembered a poster on the wall of a co-worker’s office—this was back in the 80s—that showed baby seals dancing at a disco under a four-word caption: STOP CLUBBING, BABY SEALS. The poster (which has become an internet meme forty years later) cleverly showed how something as seemingly minor as a comma can change the meaning of a phrase or sentence. If a comma can flip the meaning of a four-word sentence, is it hard to imagine the effect that punctuation, or lack of punctuation, might have on our interpretation of a law or regulation?

The Ghost of CDSOA Still Haunts Us

December 11, 2024

By Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

For the better part of a decade, the United States waged an ugly dispute with the WTO over a U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty law enacted in October of 2000 called the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA). It became known more informally as the Byrd Amendment in recognition of its sponsor, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Antidumping duties (AD) are assessed when imported goods are, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at prices below their “normal” fair market value.

Jurisdiction and History of Tariff Classification Litigation in the U.S.

December 4, 2024

By Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

Several tribunals and courts were established at various periods of America’s history to resolve trade-related litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, and even the Supreme Court has played a significant role in these disputes. The jurisdiction and structure of these courts evolved as the complexities and volume of trade disputes grew.

A Day in the Life of a Trade Compliance Manager: A Corporate Parable

August 8, 2024

By Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

A fly on the wall at an executive retreat for Acme Super Duper Widget Company overhears the following conversation between Pete, the CFO, and Saira, the General Counsel.

Judicial Deference in Customs Litigation

August 8, 2024

By Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

One of the most anticipated decisions of the Supreme Court’s recent term was Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. While the specific underlying dispute in Loper Bright isn’t relevant to the trade community—did fishermen have to pay for government-mandated observers on their vessels?—the Court used this case to overturn the broadly applicable judicial deference test established in 1984 in Chevron U.S.A. Inc., v. Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Multi-Purpose Role of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule

December 9, 2022

By Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

When goods are imported into the United States, the importer-of-record (IOR) must, with reasonable care, file an entry (CBP Form 3461) and entry summary (CBP Form 7501), or the electronic equivalents, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These documents are the IOR’s preliminary and final declarations about the nature and circumstances of the import transaction, and they tell the story of the transaction through more than forty data elements.

OFAC Reissues Cyber-Related Sanctions Regulations

October 2, 2022

By: Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

An inherent aspect of any new technology is that it doesn’t take long for bad actors to figure out how it can be weaponized for nefarious purposes. Cyber-related technologies represent an increasingly dangerous area of risk for everyone, whether they are individual citizens, business and infrastructure entities, or governments. Adversaries of the U.S., including China, Russia, and North Korea have engaged in acts of cyberespionage, often intended not only to cause actual harm, but also to test our ability to counter acts of malicious cyber-intrusion.

Antiboycott Compliance for U.S. Companies

April 10, 2022

By: Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

A boycott is the organized and intentional refusal to engage in activity, whether directly or indirectly, with an identifiable specific group of persons in order to achieve a discriminatory policy objective based upon national origin, religion, ethnicity, race, gender, or other group characteristic.

Tariff Classification and the U.S. Federal Courts: The Twenty Most Significant Precedents

February 6, 2022

By: Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

Tariff classification-related court precedents have significantly shaped the way importers, brokers, consultants, lawyers, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classify goods today under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS, or simply HTS).

Nuclear Export Controls: A Brief Overview of NRC and DoE Regulations

December 5, 2021

By: Mike Smiszel, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

Two bodies of export regulations typically come to mind when we think of export controls: the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) of the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC).

Tariff Engineering: Opportunities for Duty Mitigation

October 5, 2021

By: Mike Smiszek, Senior Trade Advisor, Braumiller Consulting Group

Tariffs are inherently controversial because of their financial consequences. An importer wants to pay as little duty as possible while Customs (CBP) wants to collect as much tariff revenue as possible. The one constant in this battle between industry and government is the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).