Inspections and imports of fresh avocado from Mexico have resumed, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced on Feb. 18. The agency previously suspended avocado export program operations in the Mexican state of Michoacan, the only Mexican state currently authorized for the export of avocados, on Feb. 11 after a threatening phone call was received by an APHIS official conducting an inspection.

The threshold for tariff rate quotas will double to 5 GW per year under a four-year extension of Section 201 safeguard tariffs announced by presidential proclamation Feb. 4. The ITC has said imports during the first four years of the safeguard never exceeded the previous 2.5 GW threshold in the first four years the safeguard was in effect, making it unlikely that enough cells will be imported to be subject to the tariffs. Bifacial solar panels will continue to be excluded from the safeguard.

Imports of palm oil and palm oil products from the Sime Darby plantation in Malaysia may be seized by CBP starting Jan. 28 under a finding that the company uses forced labor, CBP said in a notice. "Through its investigation, CBP has determined that there is sufficient information to support a Finding that Sime Darby Plantation and its subsidiaries are using forced labor on Sime Darby’s plantations in Malaysia to harvest fresh fruit bunches, which are used to extract palm oil and produce derivative products, and that such palm oil and derivative products produced by the company are likely being imported" into the U.S., the agency said. CBP's finding follows a December 2020 withhold release order aimed at the company's palm oil.

The trade provisions of the America COMPETES Act of 2022, the House's answer to the Senate U.S. Innovation and Opportunity Act, propose dramatic changes to antidumping and countervailing laws, a restriction on future Miscellaneous Tariff Bill lists, and would bar Chinese goods from entering under the de minimis statute. The House Rules Committee also released a section by section summary.

CBP will require proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 from non-citizens and non-permanent residents coming into the U.S. through land ports of entry from Canada and Mexico beginning at 12 a.m. EST on Jan. 22, it said in a notice. Limited exceptions will apply, including for minors and travelers with valid non-immigrant visas, including B-1 business visas, who are citizens of a country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability. Truck drivers and rail operators are not exempt, CBP said.

House Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer is introducing "The Import Security and Fairness Act," which would add some restrictions around the $800 de minimis level. Under the bill, goods from countries that are both non-market economies and on the U.S. Trade Representative's intellectual property watch list wouldn't be eligible for de minimis provisions. Currently, the only country that is both a non-market economy and labeled as an IP violator is China. Blumenauer has said that 83% of de minimis packages come from China.

Changes to the U.S. tariff schedule that implement an update to the World Customs Organization's Harmonized System tariff nomenclature are set to take effect Jan. 27, according to the presidential proclamation scheduled for publication in the Federal Register Dec. 28. The full list of coming changes are described in a newly released report from the International Trade Commission.

The White House released its much anticipated proclamation amending the tariff schedule to implement the five-year update to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System tariff nomenclature. The widespread changes to the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule will take effect 30 days after the proclamation is published in the Federal Register.

CBP “understands” that the five-year Harmonized Tariff Schedule update to implement changes to the World Customs Organization’s harmonized system will not take effect Jan. 1, 2022, it said in an emailed CSMS message. “CBP is awaiting formal direction for this update, which will be implemented by Presidential Proclamation and published in the Federal Register. In the interim, CBP will continue to use the current harmonized tariff schedule and encourages the trade community to do the same until further guidance is provided.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was able to get unanimous consent for a bill that will create a rebuttable presumption that goods with Xinjiang content are made with forced labor. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which was already approved in the House, now heads to the president's desk. After it is signed, agencies will have 180 days to develop guidance for importers on due diligence and what sort of evidence would be adequate to prove goods are not made with forced labor. The shift of the burden of proof to importers will also begin 180 days after enactment.