The International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance have reached a tentative agreement on wages, and the union has agreed to extend the current contract until Jan. 15, to have time to negotiate other issues.
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force is adding two more companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, DHS said in a notice released Oct. 2. Two companies based in China, steelmaker Baowu Group Xinjiang Bayi Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. and aspartame producer Changzhou Guanghui Food Ingredients Co., Ltd., are believed to be using labor transfers or sourcing materials from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, respectively. Under UFLPA, CBP applies a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced or manufactured by entities on the UFLPA Entity List are made with forced labor and prohibited from importation. The listings, which bring the list to a total of 75 companies, take effect Oct. 3.
The Commerce Department is proposing that no Chinese or Russian software or hardware that enables cars to use GPS, connect to cell phones, or other external communication facilitators will be allowed to be imported, because the government believes that these are security risks.
The Biden administration will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to forbid all goods subject to major trade actions, including Section 301 tariffs, from de minimis entry, the White House announced. It will also issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to require information submissions for de minimis packages, including the 10-digit HTS code and the person receiving the goods.
Imports from China of electric vehicles, EV batteries, solar cells and wafers, face masks, needles and syringes, critical minerals and steel and aluminum will all be hiked Sept. 27, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Sept. 13, as part of a longer-term modification of Section 301 duties.
Five Chinese companies have been added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, according to a notice released Aug. 8. The entities are: Kashgar Construction Engineering, Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper (also known as Ashele Copper), Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products; Century Sunshine Group Holdings; and Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings. Under UFLPA, CBP applies a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced or manufactured by entities on the UFLPA Entity List are made with forced labor and prohibited from importation. The listings take effect Aug. 9.
Upcoming changes to Section 301 tariffs won’t begin to take effect Aug. 1, as was proposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in May. After receiving over 1,100 comments on its notice of proposed changes, the USTR now says it expects its final determination will be issued in August but with the actual tariff changes taking effect about two weeks after USTR “makes the final determination public.”
DHS will add three more entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, it said in a notice released June 11. Dongguan Oasis Shoes Co., Ltd. (also known as Dongguan Oasis Shoe Industry Co. Ltd.; Dongguan Luzhou Shoes Co., Ltd.; and Dongguan Lvzhou Shoes Co., Ltd.); Shandong Meijia Group Co., Ltd. (also known as Rizhao Meijia Group); and Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity Co., Ltd. are being added for “working with the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.” The new listings will take effect June 12.
Seko, a customs brokerage based in Illinois that can no longer file Type 86 entries after CBP suspended it from the program last week, is asking the Court of International Trade to force CBP to reinstate it through an injunction.
Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said CBP "has suspended multiple customs brokers from participating in the Entry Type 86 Test after determining that their entries posed an unacceptable compliance risk."