The two top lawmakers on the House Select Committee on China on April 16 asked the State Department to “intensify and elevate its global diplomatic efforts” to ensure the EU passes an agreement to ban imports of goods made with forced labor.
CBP in March identified 749 shipments valued at more than $32 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 number of shipments detained is up from February's total of 540, but the value of those shipments is sharply down from the $306 million worth of shipments detained in February (see 2403220057). Also in March, CBP seized 1,633 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $384 million if the items had been genuine, the agency said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
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DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told an audience of domestic textile producers that de minimis is based on a "false premise" that low value means low risk, and said that is not the case.
CBP is asking for comments on a new forced labor portal and forced labor case management system that will centralize submissions related to forced labor allegations, as well as withhold release order revocation and modification requests and Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act applicability review submissions, the agency said. Comments are due by June 7, the agency said in a notice released April 5.
DHS announced that more companies in what it called "the high-priority textile sector" should be added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act's Entity List, joining the 10 already on that list -- just one item in what it's calling "a new comprehensive enforcement action plan" for textiles.