DHS will add three more entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, it said in a notice released Sept. 26. Xinjiang Tianmian Foundation Textile Co., Ltd.; Xinjiang Tianshan Wool Textile Co. Ltd.; Xinjiang Zhongtai Group 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 Sept. 27.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is extending by three months 77 COVID-19 related tariff exclusions as well as the 352 Section 301 exclusions that were restored in March 2022. Both sets of exclusions, which were to expire at the end of September, will last through Dec. 31.

The Commerce Department on Aug. 18 announced its final determination that imports of solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are circumventing antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from China. The agency made minor changes from its preliminary determination, finding Cambodia’s New East Solar circumvented duties and excluding it from the certification process for duty exemptions, as well as excluding Vietnam’s Vina from the certification process but making VSUN eligible.

DHS will add three entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, the agency said Aug. 1. The additions, effective Aug. 2, will add Chinese battery manufacturer Camel Group Co. for working with the Xinjiang government to “recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs” and other persecuted groups. Chinese spice manufacturer ChenGuang Biotech Group Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary, Chenguang Biotechnology Group Yanqi Co. Ltd., will be added for sourcing material from Xinjiang or from entities in the region that are involved in a “government labor scheme that uses forced labor,” DHS said.

CBP released on June 22 its final rule on continuing education for licensed customs brokers. The notice details requirements for individual brokers to meet the continuing education requirements, as well as the accreditation process for courses. As expected, the agency will require brokers to complete 36 hours of continuing education each triennial reporting cycle, beginning with the cycle ending in 2027.

DHS will add two companies, as well as eight subsidiaries of one of those companies, to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, according to a pre-publication notice released June 9.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced it is extending through Sept. 30 exclusions for 77 of 81 COVID-19-related products previously granted Section 301 exclusions. The other four will expire at the end of May. All the exclusions had been scheduled to end May 15.

CBP is delaying by one month its upcoming requirement to submit data on country of smelt and cast on entry summaries for imports of aluminum and aluminum derivative products, it said in a CSMS message March 30. Previously scheduled to take effect April 10 in line with an executive order setting new tariffs on Russian aluminum, the new ACE requirements will now take effect May 10. The tariffs themselves will still take effect April 10, CBP said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is suspending all trade in species listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species with a permit issued by Mexico, it said in a notice dated March 27. The suspension implements a directive from CITES issued in response to Mexico’s failure to protect the vaquita porpoise that will remain in effect until Mexico submits a CITES-approved compliance plan. “Effective immediately, all shipments containing CITES specimens traded for commercial purposes under an import permit, export permit, or re-export certificate issued by Mexico for the species, are subject to enforcement action,” the FWS said.

The Court of International Trade upheld the U.S. Trade Representative's Lists 3 and 4A tariff action under Section 301 on China in a widely-anticipated decision on March 17. After the tariffs were previously sent back over concerns of compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act, the USTR offered further explanations of its tariff decisions. Judges Mark Barnet, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves held that these explanations were not made impermissibly post hoc and cleared APA requirements.