Imports from China of electric vehicles, EV batteries, solar cells and wafers, face masks, needles and syringes, critical minerals and steel and aluminum will all be hiked Sept. 27, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Sept. 13, as part of a longer-term modification of Section 301 duties.
Five Chinese companies have been added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, according to a notice released Aug. 8. The entities are: Kashgar Construction Engineering, Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper (also known as Ashele Copper), Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products; Century Sunshine Group Holdings; and Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings. Under UFLPA, CBP applies a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced or manufactured by entities on the UFLPA Entity List are made with forced labor and prohibited from importation. The listings take effect Aug. 9.
Upcoming changes to Section 301 tariffs won’t begin to take effect Aug. 1, as was proposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in May. After receiving over 1,100 comments on its notice of proposed changes, the USTR now says it expects its final determination will be issued in August but with the actual tariff changes taking effect about two weeks after USTR “makes the final determination public.”
DHS will add three more entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, it said in a notice released June 11. Dongguan Oasis Shoes Co., Ltd. (also known as Dongguan Oasis Shoe Industry Co. Ltd.; Dongguan Luzhou Shoes Co., Ltd.; and Dongguan Lvzhou Shoes Co., Ltd.); Shandong Meijia Group Co., Ltd. (also known as Rizhao Meijia Group); and Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity Co., Ltd. are being added for “working with the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.” The new listings will take effect June 12.
Seko, a customs brokerage based in Illinois that can no longer file Type 86 entries after CBP suspended it from the program last week, is asking the Court of International Trade to force CBP to reinstate it through an injunction.
Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said CBP "has suspended multiple customs brokers from participating in the Entry Type 86 Test after determining that their entries posed an unacceptable compliance risk."
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative decided that 164 exclusions from Section 301 China tariffs -- including for fabrics, bras, electric motors, sterile drapes, hunting stands, bicycle trailers, auto rearview mirrors and more -- will continue to avoid the tariffs through May 31, 2025, while 265 exclusions will expire June 14.
Solar manufacturing equipment imported from China will automatically be exempt from 301 tariffs, but a notice published by the Office of U.S. Trade Representative is unclear on when those tariffs will be lifted. A spokesperson said they will be effective on the day the notice is published in the Federal Register.
A Senate Finance Committee investigation into forced labor in imported autos' supply chains said that BMW and Jaguar Land Rover, after being notified by Lear Corporation that LAN transformers were made by a company on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, continued to export cars with those parts, or the parts themselves, into the U.S.
DHS is adding 26 Chinese companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List because they allegedly source cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, it said in a notice released May 16. The companies, which are cotton traders and warehouse facilities, will be added to the list effective upon the notice's scheduled May 17 publication in the Federal Register. Under UFLPA, CBP applies a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced or manufactured by entities on the UFLPA Entity List are made with forced labor and prohibited from importation.