CBP in December identified 450 shipments valued at more than $187 million for further examination based on the suspected use of forced labor, including goods subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and withhold release orders, the agency said in its most recent operational statistics update. The value of those shipments is up from November, when CBP identified 331 shipments worth more than $125 million (see 2312260048). Also in December, CBP seized 1,291 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $86 million if the items had been genuine, the agency said.
CBP on Jan. 27 will deploy updates to the Automated Commercial Environment Protest user interface to automate Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act-related reviews, the agency said. Following the deployment, users will be able to protest a CBP exclusion decision via the ACE Protest tool, CBP said.
A bipartisan letter from 10 senators urges the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to work on a process to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), including by setting clearer criteria for determining which species are covered by SIMP and adding forced labor as a factor.
A joint report from Sheffield Hallam University's Laura Murphy, now at DHS, as well as Anti-Slavery International and the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, doesn't name any new sectors or firms with exposure to Uyghur forced labor, but offers resources for those wishing to avoid that risk in either the solar panel or electric vehicle battery sector.
Many goods denied entry into the U.S. under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act are not actually goods made with forced labor, but that doesn't stop UFLPA-detained goods from being stigmatized as such, said John Foote of Kelley Drye in a Jan. 19 blog post.
The House Select Committee on China is asking the Treasury Department to assess if "altering de minimis eligibility for textile and apparel and other high-risk items," such as not allowing these goods to enter under de minimis, would improve enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
The Automotive Industry Action Group, a forum for auto industry companies to collaborate on supply chain and corporate responsibility issues, is vetting service providers that say they can provide visibility deep into supply chains, as well as educating companies that may not realize how urgent it is to uncover whether any of their suppliers' suppliers have a nexus to Uyghur labor in China.
NEW YORK -- The Court of International Trade held oral argument on Jan. 18 in Chinese exporter Ninestar's case challenging its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, addressing the company's motion for a preliminary injunction against its listing and its bid to unseal and unredact the record in the case (Ninestar Corp. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00182).
Private equity firm TPG acquired a majority stake in Sayari, it said in a news release Jan. 16. The agreement between the companies allows TPG “to make an up to $228 million strategic majority investment in Sayari,” the release said. “Sayari’s founders, employees, and existing investors will retain a significant stake in the company.” Sayari recently won government contracts for services to support anti-forced labor efforts by CBP and the Labor Department (see 2401050051).
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