Apparel importers and retailers don't have much favor in this administration, but groups representing their interests tried to appeal to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's logical side in comments requested by the agency on the reciprocal tariffs slated for April 2. The trade group representing the greatly diminished domestic textile and apparel industry, in contrast, said reciprocal tariffs could be used to recoup $100 billion in annual lost sales.
Nearly 750 organizations and businesses gave input to the administration on trade barriers or subsidies that prevent them from reaching their sales potential.
CBP modified a withhold release order on Dominican Republic sugar company Central Romana, allowing it to import into the U.S.
A federal court in the District of Columbia last week dismissed a suit against U.S. personal care product giant Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Ansell Healthcare Products, which alleged that the companies knowingly benefited from taking part in a venture that engaged in forced labor. Judge Carl Michols held that Kimberly-Clark and Ansell didn't take part in a venture and didn't have the "requisite knowledge" to establish liability under the Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act (Mohammed Forhad Mia, et al. v. Kimberly-Clark, et al., D.D.C. # 1:22-02353).
Customs brokers and importers are still grappling with how to comply with the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives that went into effect just after midnight on March 12 (see 2503120054).
Four Indonesian citizens filed suit on March 12 in a California federal court alleging that tuna seller Bumble Bee Foods violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act by knowingly benefiting from a venture that engaged in forced labor. The four individuals -- Akhmad, Angga and Muhammad Sahrudin and Muhammad Syafi'i -- said they worked as laborers on longline fishing vessels that Bumble Bee sourced its albacore tuna from and alleged that the company knowingly benefited from their forced labor (Akhmad Sahrudin v. Bumblee Bee Foods, S.D. Cal. # 3:25-00583).
CBP processed more than 2.7 million entries in February valued at more than $303 billion, according to the agency's monthly update released on March 12. CBP also said nearly $7.6 billion in duties would be collected by the U.S. government.
A bill that aims to create a true single window for importers, as well as reduce redundancies in advance export manifest data submissions, was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.
CBP has postponed indefinitely an enhancement within ACE that would withhold the release of de minimis shipments that exceed the $800 per person/per day threshold, according to the February development and deployment schedule released last week.
Of the 4,437 shipments that CBP has flagged for potential violations of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act since the start of the federal government's 2025 fiscal year in October, nearly 88% of those shipments are from the automotive and aerospace industries, according to CBP data released in mid-February. The data reflects volumes between Oct. 1, 2024 and Jan. 31, 2025.