International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Homeland Security Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Tasha Reid Hippolyte said that while the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in its first two years hasn't been perfect, "I feel like we're in a really good space," even as there are still more pain points to work through with the trade.
A union request that the government impose a fee on Chinese-made vessels docking at U.S. ports via a Section 301 action confronting subsidization in China's shipbuilding sector (see 2404170029) was mentioned favorably by Democrats and Republicans at a House Select Committee on China hearing that covered Chinese efforts in that sector, semiconductors and drones.
CBP in May identified 450 shipments valued at more than $100 million for further examination based on the suspected use of forced labor, the agency said in its most recent operational statistics update. The shipments include goods subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and withhold release orders, CBP said. The number of shipments is up from 392 shipments, but the value is down from $184 million in April (see 2405150065). Also in May, CBP seized 1,640 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $331 million if the items had been genuine, the agency said.
CBP posted the following documents ahead of the June 26 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
Crowell & Moring international trade lawyer David Stepp advised businesses, on a podcast hosted by his firm, that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is requiring importers "to map their supply chains to a level never seen before," and that since CBP is subscribing to services that use AI to uncover connections, "we really think it's important for clients to take this extra step."
There are a number of tools that the U.S. government has yet to fully utilize if it truly wants to tackle China's use of forced labor to manufacture goods, according to panelists speaking June 13 at a Hudson Institute event, “Tackling the Uyghur Forced Labor Challenge.”
The head of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force told an audience convened by the Consumer Technology Association that Volkswagen "did the right thing" when it self-reported it had a tiny component made by a company recently added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. The task force is responsible for adding companies to the list.
Importers and the broader trade industry should expect DHS in the coming months to expand the business sectors under scrutiny for companies’ adherence to forced labor guidelines within the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, DHS Undersecretary for Policy Robert Silvers said during a June 12 webinar sponsored by Kharon, a risk analytics platform.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. asked BMW to come clean after what he characterized as "shifting explanations" about its use of components made by a company added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list.