CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing that CBP is not enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act he co-authored, as pharmaceuticals made in Xinjiang are entering the U.S.
DHS has updated its Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List to include textile companies that allegedly use forced labor or source material from the Xinjiang autonomous region in China, and it removed one entity from one category of alleged violations and placed it in another category, according to a Federal Register notice.
DHS is adding more companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, according to a notice released Oct. 31. Esquel Group, also known as Esquel China Holdings Limited; Guangdong Esquel Textile; and Turpan Esquel Textile are being added for sourcing material from Xinjiang or from persons working with the government of Xinjiang or the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps for purposes of China's ‘‘poverty alleviation’’ program or ‘‘pairing-assistance’’ program, among other Chinese government labor schemes. The notice also appears to change the reason an already listed company, Changji Esquel Textile, is on the list, removing the company from one of the four lists that make up the broader UFLPA Entity List but adding it to another. The changes take effect Nov. 1.
Automakers, chipmakers and broad business groups asked the Bureau of Industry and Security to give their industries more time to adjust to new requirements to move supply chains out of China and report on what companies are in their connected vehicle supply chains.
A new report from C4ADS says that although only 4% of Chinese pharmaceuticals are manufactured in Xinjiang province, FDA registrations of companies in the Uyghur region show that imports that should be banned under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act are happening.
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.
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force is adding two more companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, DHS said in a notice released Oct. 2. Two companies based in China, steelmaker Baowu Group Xinjiang Bayi Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. and aspartame producer Changzhou Guanghui Food Ingredients Co., Ltd., are believed to be using labor transfers or sourcing materials from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, respectively. 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, which bring the list to a total of 75 companies, take effect Oct. 3.
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force is adding two companies based in China to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, bringing the total number of entities up to 75, the Department of Homeland Security said in a notice released Oct. 2.
David Hampton, deputy executive director, Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate at CBP, told an audience at the Victims of Communism's annual China Forum that, over the next two years, CBP will be "reinvigorating our efforts to pursue penalties" with a team that's dedicated to administering penalties related to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.