The U.S. is increasingly taking a hard line against all connected Chinese and Russian devices, not just those from particular manufacturers such as Huawei, cybersecurity lawyer Clete Johnson said Sept. 25 at SCTE's TechExpo event in Atlanta.

The House Homeland Security Committee passed the Contraband Awareness Technology Catches Harmful (CATCH) Fentanyl Act on Sept. 25, sending the bill to the full House. It would require CBP to establish a pilot program to test at least five types of non-intrusive inspection equipment for goods coming in all modes of conveyance across the land borders. At least one of those approaches must include machine learning or artificial intelligence. No more than three years after passage, the agency would have to report to Congress the effectiveness of the systems tested in finding illegal drugs, guns and other contraband, whether it would work to use the equipment to serve all the land ports of entry, how much it would cost to do so, and how much time would CBP officers need to run these screens.

A bill to require the Justice Department to establish a trade-crime task force, and to allow for parallel criminal and civil enforcement actions, passed the House Judiciary Committee unanimously. The bill, called the Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Crimes Act, was sponsored by the leaders of the House Select Committee on China and Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, another China committee member.

The chair and co-chair of the House Select Committee on China told an audience of Uyghur activists and others concerned about Chinese human rights abuses that they are pleased recommendations from their committee have become legislation.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:

A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Sept. 24, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.

CBP has issued a formal notice of determination against U.S. importer Shari Pharmachem USA under the Enforce and Protect Act for allegedly evading antidumping and countervailing duty orders when it imported glycine from China. CBP says evidence shows that Shari Pharmachem USA transshipped Chinese-origin glycine through India.

The Regulations and Rulings division of CBP’s Office of Trade has affirmed a Feb. 5 notice of determination under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) that Lollicup USA evaded antidumping and countervailing duty orders covering lightweight thermal paper from China (see 2402090019),

CBP has updated the implementation guide for its Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS) initiative, as well as its frequently asked questions for the program.

CBP will centralize drawback functions under one Center of Excellence and Expertise, the agency said in a Sept. 25 cargo systems message.