On April 28, 2009 China and Peru signed a free trade agreement in Beijing. The agreement is the first FTA package China has signed with a Latin American country. (Notice, dated 04/28/09, available at http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6647262.html)
Forced Labor
CBP is the primary U.S. agency tasked with combating forced labor in international trade. It is the only agency with legal authority to take enforcement action and prevent entry into domestic commerce of goods produced with forced labor. CBP combats forced labor by issuing Withhold Release Orders (WROs) and Findings, and enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), and Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Goods subject to WROs and Findings, UFLPA, and CAATSA status cannot be entered at any ports of the U.S.
On March 5, 2009, the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight held a hearing on "Putting People First: A Way Forward for the Homeland Security Workforce."
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a news release announcing the conclusion of the Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review for Taiwan. The USTR recognized Taiwan's progress on protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights by removing Taiwan from the Special 301 Watch List. (USTR news release, dated 01/16/09, available at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2009/January/asset_upload_file824_15293.pdf)
The President has issued a Proclamation to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to implement the U.S. - Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (Free Trade Agreement, PFTA), effective for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after February 1, 2009.
The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has issued a notice requesting information, for use in preparing the eighth annual report, regarding the implementation of international commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by countries seeking benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act (CBTPA), the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and the Andean Trade Preference Act as amended and expanded by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPA/ATPDEA).
Labor Dept Requests Information on Forced Child Labor in the Production of Certain Products in China
The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has issued a notice requesting information to assist it in conducting a review of a submission on forced child labor in the production of bricks, coal, foundry products, chemicals, cotton, grape products, toys, and fireworks in China.
The International Longshore & Warehouse Union caucus delegates voted unanimously on August 21, 2008 to send the proposed contract to the membership for their review and vote. (ILWU notice available at http://contract2008.org/.)
On July 8, 2008, the House agreed to the Senate's version of H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2008, which would require the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency to prescribe regulations to implement vessel air emission standards and requirements that are outlined under Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention. This clears the measure for the President. (Congressional Record, dated 07/08/08, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r110:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20080708))
On June 23, 2008, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 3181, the fiscal year 2009 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security, affecting U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Pacific Maritime Association has issued an update stating that although the six-year West Coast waterfront labor agreement expired on July 1, 2008, negotiations between the PMA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union on a new contract will continue. The ILWU has posted a notice stating that its members will continue loading and unloading cargo while meetings on a new labor agreement continue. PMA notes that although the ILWU has stated that work will continue as normal as they negotiate, the ILWU did not agree to a formal extension of the contract and its no strike clause and arbitration procedures for resolving workplace disputes, including the tactic of slowdowns. (PMA update, dated 07/02/08, available at http://www.pmanet.org/?cmd=main.content&id_content=2142608144. ILWU statement, dated 07/02/08, available at http://contract2008.org/)