CBP targeted 282 shipments worth more than $69 million in January 2023, including goods subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and withhold release orders, the agency said in its most recent operational update. The number of entries targeted was lower but the value higher than December's total of 310 entries worth over $59 million (see 2301230028). CBP also seized 1,514 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $186 million in January, and completed 27 audits that identified $7.7 million in duties and fees owed to the U.S. government for goods that had been improperly declared, the agency said.
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CBP is now detaining polyvinyl chloride products for forced labor under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, customs lawyer Ted Murphy said in a client alert Feb. 7. That’s in addition to a newfound focus on aluminum (see 2301120046), as well as the high priority sectors listed in the UFLPA statute: cotton, tomatoes and polysilicon, Murphy said.
CBP has started issuing Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act detention notices on aluminum products, according to a Jan. 31 client advisory from Maersk. “CBP has recently initiated enforcement efforts against aluminum products and will most likely focus on aluminum automotive commodities and other commodities classified in Chapter 76 (Aluminum and articles thereof),” Maersk said. “Companies importing aluminum products, or commodities with aluminum components, should be proactive in ensuring compliance with the UFLPA. This may include conducting due diligence on their supply chain and implementing compliance programs.”
A field will be available in the ACE Automated Broker Interface for customs brokers and other filers to transmit the Chinese postal code once the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Region Alert postal code requirement takes effect March 18, CBP’s Katie Woodson said during the agency’s bi-weekly ACE call. For China-origin entries after March 18, where the Chinese manufacturer ID is transmitted but the name and address of the manufacturer does not include the postal code, brokers and filers “will have the ability to input [that] information, and they can then input the postal code field that's missing,” Woodson said.
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While CBP rulings on country of origin show there are ways to keep China in the supply chain and still avoid Section 301 tariffs, Thompson Hine attorneys, during a webinar on what to expect in trade in 2023, said that if your product is auto parts, electric vehicle battery components, chemicals, pharmaceuticals or critical minerals, your chance of avoiding tariffs or other regulatory restrictions is not great.
CBP released an updated ACE Development and Deployment Schedule on Jan. 30, making changes to its description of an upcoming requirement for filers to submit a Chinese postal code on the cargo release for goods of Chinese origin. The entry for the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Region Alert says the “specific applications impacted” by the new requirement will be the “Cargo Release (SE) application -- only for the Manufacturer (MF) party and only when the country is reported as the People’s Republic of China (CN) in the SE36 and/or SE56 record,” as well as the “Manufacturer Identification Code ($I) application -- when creating or updating a Manufacturer Identification Code with a city located in the People’s Republic of China (CN).” CBP also now says the “enhancement will provide the ability to update an existing MID with a postal code.” The anticipated deployment date remains March 18.
A lawyer, a lobbyist and a think tank scholar all agreed -- the Section 301 tariff review is unlikely to result in significant changes to the punitive tariffs on most Chinese goods.