The Trump administration may begin to use withhold release orders to punish enemies and reward allies, pushing nongovernmental organizations to pursue litigation against companies using forced labor, according to a human rights lawyer and nonprofit director.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., are asking Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to ban seafood imported from China "and other rogue nations" due to their reliance on forced labor and unregulated fishing.
The next quarterly meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee will be on Sept. 17 in Washington, D.C., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT, according to a Federal Register notice. The meeting will be open to the public only via webinar. Comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. EDT on Sept. 12. Meeting materials will be available by going to this site starting Sept. 8.
The Automotive Industry Action Group is alerting members that original equipment manufacturer suppliers will need to provide additional information on their supply chains' exposure to forced labor. This disclosure will occur in phases, starting in September for selected suppliers, with plans to expand that list of suppliers by mid-2026.
Lawyers with extensive experience in Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act detentions said that CBP processes have been changing, and that companies should stress test how quickly they can get documents about materials from their suppliers and suppliers' suppliers, and how quickly they can understand all they've been given and send the right documents to CBP.
Crowell & Moring partner David Stepp, a trade expert in the Los Angeles office, said that he and other trade lawyers have been hearing rumors about how the Trump administration will define "transshipment" in its reciprocal trade agreements. He said the rumor is that details will be released "in coming days."
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force will be scrutinizing five additional sectors for forced labor violations: caustic soda, copper, jujubes, lithium and steel, according to an Aug. 19 DHS report.
In the Aug. 15 International Trade Today article (see 2508150032), customs lawyer Jen Diaz asked about CBP's process for applying additional tariffs for transshipment: "How is CBP making this determination? Is CBP going to start treating this more like a forced labor evaluation?"
As importers await a decision from the higher courts on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, importers should hedge themselves against any outcome, according to Jen Diaz, president of Diaz Trade Law, who was speaking on an Aug. 11 podcast hosted by the Global Training Center.
Some companies and associations in the solar industry endorsed additional tariffs on Chinese polysilicon, but others expressed concern that allied countries will be hit with overlapping Section 232 tariffs on both imports of polysilicon and solar cells, in public comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security.