There was some chatter from the FCC on these WOUXUN units last year. It's like you said, they were user programmable onto non-ham frequencies, and that concerned the FCC. There were some importers/dealers who got in the mess. A little google searching should turn up some material on this. At a minimum they need part 15 certification to be imported for amateur use.
On 3/28/2010 4:33 PM, George Henry wrote:
Are they FCC certificated ("type-accepted")? If not, (and, given that they are user-programmable to operate on Public Service frequencies, they almost certainly aren't) they may not be legally imported into the US, regardless of their intended use.
There are stories in the eBay Community area of individuals who have purchased other, similar, Chinese brand radios, only to have them seized by Customs.
I'd steer clear of them....
George, KA3HSW