CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Importers of non-textile goods that are of Chinese origin but sourced from a seller in another country may not have to transmit the Chinese postal code as will be required on March 18 (see 2212210041) under a new ACE Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act “Region Alert,” according to a CBP official speaking during a webinar hosted by the agency Jan. 26.
CBP has now received two “exception requests” seeking to rebut the presumption that goods produced in Xinjiang were produced with forced labor, said CBP’s Therese Randazzo, special adviser in the agency’s Forced Labor Division, during a webinar hosted by CBP on Jan. 26.
House Select Committee on China Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said that the committee will definitely want to look into how the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is being enforced, and he expects there to be joint committee hearings on the topic.
Importers should consider four areas of risk as they develop anti-forced labor programs – at-risk populations, high-risk sectors, high-risk geographies and high-risk business models -- amid a rise of laws banning imports of goods made with forced labor worldwide, KPMG’s Elizabeth Shingler said during a webinar Jan. 24.
CBP targeted 310 entries worth over $59 million in December 2022, 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 down from November's total of 444 entries worth some $128 million (see 2212270038). CBP also seized 1,501 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $178 million in December, and completed 26 audits that identified $86.9 million in duties and fees owed to the U.S. government for goods that had been improperly declared, the agency said.
LAREDO, Texas -- CBP hopes this year to “formalize and normalize” its forced labor enforcement processes following initial implementation of recent changes to forced labor laws, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, said AnnMarie Highsmith, CBP executive assistant commissioner, in remarks at a conference Jan. 18.
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CBP recently added specific documentation requirements for aluminum products to its standard Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act detention notices, customs lawyer Richard Mojica of Miller & Chevalier said in a post on LinkedIn. Previously, the detention notices had listed only documentation requirements for cotton, polysilicon and tomatoes, the three sectors singled out in UFLPA. As of recently -- possibly January, Mojica said -- the notices now request details on the manufacturing process, the location where the aluminum was further manufactured, and any raw material invoices, purchase orders, proof of payment and export documents. “This likely means we'll see an uptick in detentions of aluminum products,” Mojica said. “What about products that are not made primarily of aluminum, but contain aluminum?” CBP did not comment.