The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee is set to adopt a recommendation urging CBP to allow the use of foreign-trade zones for merchandise detained under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, after an August policy change by the agency barred the practice (see 2308030062).
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, with importers bearing the burden of proof, is the No. 1 forced labor compliance issue, panelists said, outpacing disclosure and due diligence laws in other countries around the world.
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 executive at CBP responsible for the two pilot programs collecting data for Section 321 and Entry Type 86 told an audience of brokers that issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking on required data submissions for de minimis shipments is "of the highest priority at CBP right now." He repeated for emphasis, "The highest priority. From the commissioner down, it has been: 'When are we going to get the NPRM?'"
The Supply Chain Agreement, one of the pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, will ask participating countries to work together to:
While the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and other factors have led to uncertainty and a "more complex risk environment" for imports, some companies have found strategies to "effectively navigate" this environment, law firm Bradley said in a new blog post. Some of those strategies included being "proactive" in engaging their original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), in developing "internal protocols" to monitor their supply chains, in incorporating "traceability audits," in finding "backup sourcing" and in shifting risk of "non-performance" to "downstream parties" or OEMs, Bradley said.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., back in the Capitol after the August break, told International Trade Today that he'll "have more to say about" his committee's investigation on forced labor in auto supply chains "before too long."
Allegations that Diesel Canada, Hugo Boss Canada and Walmart Canada purchase garments that were made in part with Uyghur forced labor -- complaints that rely on Australian Strategic Policy Institute reporting in 2020 and Sheffield Hallam University reports -- will progress to a fact-finding investigation after the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) found that the companies' responses weren't satisfactory.
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.
China exports squid and tuna to the U.S. from its distant water fishing fleet, which "is characterized by numerous reported incidents of forced labor. The majority of the crew on board the vessels in this fleet are migrant workers from Indonesia and the Philippines, who are particularly vulnerable to forced labor," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wrote in a report to Congress sent last week. This was the first time that the report on illegal fishing, which comes out every two years, covered forced labor.