International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

A joint report from Sheffield Hallam University's Laura Murphy, now at DHS, as well as Anti-Slavery International and the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, doesn't name any new sectors or firms with exposure to Uyghur forced labor, but offers resources for those wishing to avoid that risk in either the solar panel or electric vehicle battery sector.

CBP issued a ruling that found a company acted as a buying agent on a transaction, despite being listed as a buyer on shipping documentation. The agency said it would grant a protest from Tianjin Leviathan Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leviathan Corporation, that found the buying commissions it earned should be deducted from the valuation of merchandise that was actually bought by its parent.

The House Select Committee on China is asking the Treasury Department to assess if "altering de minimis eligibility for textile and apparel and other high-risk items," such as not allowing these goods to enter under de minimis, would improve enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

More than 80% of cargo is now moving around the Cape of Good Hope due to Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea and low Panama Canal water levels (see 2312200045), Nathan Strang, a director of ocean freight at Flexport, said during a Jan. 18 company webinar.

The Automotive Industry Action Group, a forum for auto industry companies to collaborate on supply chain and corporate responsibility issues, is vetting service providers that say they can provide visibility deep into supply chains, as well as educating companies that may not realize how urgent it is to uncover whether any of their suppliers' suppliers have a nexus to Uyghur labor in China.

NEW YORK -- The Court of International Trade held oral argument on Jan. 18 in Chinese exporter Ninestar's case challenging its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, addressing the company's motion for a preliminary injunction against its listing and its bid to unseal and unredact the record in the case (Ninestar Corp. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00182).

The World Customs Organization is considering changes to the tariff nomenclature that underlies the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. and over 200 other country tariff schedules around the world to potentially make classification easier and allow for more detail and accuracy in the identification of goods.

The Court of International Trade on Jan. 16 sent back CBP's finding that importer Columbia Aluminum Products' door thresholds evaded the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China. Judge Timothy Stanceu said CBP, in both the final evasion decision and an administrative review of the decision, committed "multiple errors, both of fact and of law." The judge said CBP didn't have evidence on its side in making the evasion finding, nor did it properly initiate the investigation.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai says that her agency and Congress "will need to work closely together" to address the fact that "existing rules of origin have left openings" for Chinese firms with operations outside China to avoid Section 301 tariffs and, depending where the operations occur, benefit from free trade agreements.