CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP is launching the Forced Labor Allegation Portal, which the agency says will allow trade users to submit forced labor allegations anonymously. Users of CBP's Trade Violations Reporting systems will be directed to this new portal.
Members of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend that CBP beef up its communications with the trade by providing more transparency over when CBP updates the FAQs that the agency has been using to inform the trade on how it's implementing new tariffs.
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CBP posted the following documents for the June 18 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
Changes in how the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee is organizing its working groups, as well as further discussion about the potential incorporation of "real-time modern processes," are coming at a time when CBP appears to be putting greater emphasis on trade enforcement as part of a broader effort to bolster national security.
Senators and witnesses called for legislative action to combat imports of seafood caught with forced labor during a June 12 hearing.
A report on forced labor in critical mineral supply chains identified "major entities" operating in the Xinjiang province of China and documented evidence of their involvement in labor transfer programs of Uyghurs from the region. The report also highlighted the risk that products made by those entities have entered the global market over the previous two years.
CBP's Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee will be holding its quarterly meeting on June 18 in Washington, D.C., according to a Federal Register notice.
CBP has issued a withhold release order against Zhen Fa 7, a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel, amid allegations that the ship uses forced labor to harvest seafood, the agency said in a May 28 release.