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.
While CBP rulings on country of origin show there are ways to keep China in the supply chain and still avoid Section 301 tariffs, Thompson Hine attorneys, during a webinar on what to expect in trade in 2023, said that if your product is auto parts, electric vehicle battery components, chemicals, pharmaceuticals or critical minerals, your chance of avoiding tariffs or other regulatory restrictions is not great.
CBP released an updated ACE Development and Deployment Schedule on Jan. 30, making changes to its description of an upcoming requirement for filers to submit a Chinese postal code on the cargo release for goods of Chinese origin. The entry for the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Region Alert says the “specific applications impacted” by the new requirement will be the “Cargo Release (SE) application -- only for the Manufacturer (MF) party and only when the country is reported as the People’s Republic of China (CN) in the SE36 and/or SE56 record,” as well as the “Manufacturer Identification Code ($I) application -- when creating or updating a Manufacturer Identification Code with a city located in the People’s Republic of China (CN).” CBP also now says the “enhancement will provide the ability to update an existing MID with a postal code.” The anticipated deployment date remains March 18.
CBP is working on a new benefit for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program that would allow CTPAT members to report they’ve found forced labor in their supply chain without triggering CBP penalties or additional detentions, CBP’s Manny Garza said during a webinar hosted by the agency on Jan. 27.
A lawyer, a lobbyist and a think tank scholar all agreed -- the Section 301 tariff review is unlikely to result in significant changes to the punitive tariffs on most Chinese goods.
In a joint statement after the second annual deputies' meeting for the NAFTA successor, U.S., Mexican and Canadian officials said they talked about the concrete steps needed to ensure that goods made with forced labor cannot be imported into Mexico, Canada or the U.S.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Importers of non-textile goods that are of Chinese origin but sourced from a seller in another country may not have to transmit the Chinese postal code as will be required on March 18 (see 2212210041) under a new ACE Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act “Region Alert,” according to a CBP official speaking during a webinar hosted by the agency Jan. 26.
CBP has now received two “exception requests” seeking to rebut the presumption that goods produced in Xinjiang were produced with forced labor, said CBP’s Therese Randazzo, special adviser in the agency’s Forced Labor Division, during a webinar hosted by CBP on Jan. 26.
Two U.S. readouts of the meetings between deputies from the three USMCA countries focused on a multitude of irritants and concerns the U.S. has with Canada and Mexico but didn't mention talks on how to resolve the U.S. violation of USMCA in its interpretation of the auto rules of origin (see 2301110058). Mexico and Canada did not issue their own readouts.