Books We Like: A New Casebook on U.S. Customs Law

Carolina Academic Press seems to be the only major legal publisher in the United States that keeps its law school textbooks reasonably priced.  (OK, I am probably biased because they published one of my books, but that's the one of the main reasons that I picked them as a publisher.)  Carolina Academic Press is also aren't afraid to branch out into new courses not covered by other publishers.  We have a new example of that here with a new law school textbook on U.S. Customs law, authored by Damon Pike and Larry Friedman, two customs attorneys (both of whom, like me, were former law clerks at the U.S. Court of International Trade).  The subject is not yet taught at most U.S. law schools, in part because there hasn't been a book for professors to use.  Here's a description of this new customs law book from the Carolina Academic Press website:

As the world’s largest economy, the Unites States imports and exports more merchandise than any other country. Customs Law covers the “nuts and bolts” of laws administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), the agency charged with regulating imports into the U.S. and collecting duties, import fees, and related taxes. Those laws and regulations center on the tariff classification of merchandise under the Harmonized System (as set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S.), the valuation of goods under the GATT (now WTO) Valuation Agreement, and the rules (both preferential and non-preferential) for determining “country of origin.” The book also covers the entry and recordkeeping process for imports, intellectual property protection, CBP’s penalty regime, the use of preferential trade programs (specifically examining the North American Free Trade Agreement and its attendant Rules of Origin and Regional Value Content calculations), marking requirements, and the relationship of income tax transfer pricing rules in determining how inter-company pricing impacts declared customs values and, thus, global corporate income taxes. The system of judicial review by the U.S. Court of International Trade and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is also covered.  Finally, the book summarizes the requirements of 47 other federal agencies that CBP is charged with administering and enforcing with respect to imported merchandise.

Although this book was designed as a law school text, it is likely a useful title for customs and international trade attorneys to have (and not just attorneys in the United States).  And while other legal publishers have gone through the roof on pricing their books, this one is only $95.00 (and you can get a 10% discount off of that by going directly to the Carolina Academic Press website to order a copy).  And if you're doing any last minute cyber shopping, this is likely a good text to recommend to customs brokers and CBP import specialists too!

Congratulations to Damon, Larry, and CAP on the new book.  You can click here to see the table of contents.

(mew)