Customs "required to cancel all bonds at issue in this case

October 22, 2010 Washington, DC A Federal Judge in New York has once again and with finality ruled against Customs and Border Protection for unfairly targeting imported shrimp with excessive bonding requirements.

A preliminary decision in August of 2009 noted that Customs decision to single out shrimp importers was motivated entirely by considerations other than any unique risk to the revenue that such importers actually posed. Thursdays ruling concluded that a group of importers, represented by the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), had incurred irreparable harm as a result of the continued unlawful and discriminatory application of unreasonable bonds.

Customs now has 60 days to cancel all of the bonds or appeal the verdict.

Customs now has the chance to do the right thing and act quickly to implement the Courts decision, said John Connelly, President of NFI. This case has dragged on for nearly five years and this ruling is as definitive as it gets.

Once the bonds are cancelled NFIs plaintiffs will be able to ask that surety companies release their collateral.

Barring an unnecessary and protracted appeal by Customs the order of permanent injunctive relief means this case will finally be over and the bonds that were unreasonable applied will be a thing of the past.

For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.

Contact Information

Gavin Gibbons
(703)752-8891
ggibbons@nfi.org