CBP is taking steps to automate its detention processes with a focus on shipments detained for forced labor, said Lisa Santana Fox, director of CBP’s Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures Division. The effort follows December recommendations from the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, which said CBP should develop a single automated system for its detention and seizure process (see 2212080030).
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
Senators unveiled legislation this week that would give the administration new authority to block transactions with TikTok and other foreign technology products that threaten U.S. national security. The bill, which has bipartisan support and was endorsed by the White House, would require the Commerce Department to establish new procedures to prohibit or mitigate transactions involving information and communications technology products “in which any foreign adversary has any interest and poses undue or unacceptable risk to national security.”
A new set of recommendations previewed by a member of the Federal Maritime Commission this week could help carriers, ports, railroads and others better harmonize supply chain data and information sharing. Commissioner Carl Bentzel, speaking during a Feb. 15 Commerce Department advisory committee meeting, said he hopes to know this summer whether the FMC plans to move forward with a formal rulemaking.
The U.S. should further regionalize its supply chains to reduce dependency on China and other countries in case of future global trade disruptions, some experts said during a virtual conference this week hosted by the Washington International Trade Association. But at least one expert disagreed, saying global supply chains reduce risks, not exacerbate them.
Senators are working closely with the Biden administration, and believe they have its support, on a bill that could strengthen the ability of the U.S. to respond to economic coercion by foreign countries (see 2302080068). The bill, reintroduced this week by Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Chris Coons, D-Del., could allow the president to lower duties on non-import-sensitive goods made by a country that lost exports due to coercive actions; increase duties on imports from the "foreign adversary" committing the coercion; and allow the U.S. to more easily facilitate trade with the coerced parties.
Congress should “pressure” the Biden administration to pursue free trade deals with the U.K., Kenya, Taiwan and others if it wants to convince U.S. allies to move supply chains out of China, said Clete Willems, a former National Security Council official. Willems, speaking during a House Financial Services Committee hearing this week, also called on the administration to join and renegotiate the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, arguing the U.S. needs to match China’s “aggressive pursuit” of trade deals, specifically mentioning the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
The Federal Maritime Commission will amend its proposed rule on unreasonable carrier conduct (see 2209130040), after industry, lawmakers and at least one federal agency said the rule was too broad, missed congressional intent and didn’t go far enough to address carriers that refuse to carry exports in favor of imports. The commission plans to issue a “supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking” to incorporate changes to the rule, FMC Chair Daniel Maffei said during a Jan. 25 commission meeting, adding that he hopes to publish the updates “as quickly as possible.”
The Federal Maritime Commission published its fall 2022 regulatory agenda, including mentions of several rules surrounding carrier practices, billing requirements and discriminatory shipping practices that it had hoped to issue in December. At least one of the rules was governed by a statutory deadline set for last month under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act.
Hong Kong-based Sterling Container Line denied allegations by U.S. logistics company SeaFair that it refused to pay for certain shipping services, saying SeaFair at times submitted inaccurate invoices and couldn’t prove they were correct. In a Dec. 26 response to the Federal Maritime Commission, Sterling said the FMC should dismiss SeaFair’s complaint for a range of reasons, including that the commission lacks the authority to award damages for a breach of contract claim.
Hapag-Lloyd violated U.S. shipping regulations when it failed to make containers available for pickup, causing demurrage charges for Wisconsin-based logistics company M.E. Dey to exceed more than $136,000, the company said in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission released last week. Dey said Hapag-Lloyd’s demurrage charges were “unreasonable,” and the FMC should require the ocean carrier to pay Dey reparations.