Cargill confirmed its suspension of purchases of palm oil from Sime Darby Plantation following CBP's forced labor finding on Sime Darby's palm oil goods (see 2204180015). After CBP issued the finding, Cargill "urged Sime Darby Plantation Berhad to provide information on how they have addressed the CBP forced labor allegations," Cargill said in an email. "Sime Darby Plantation Berhad has not yet come forward with sufficient information that enables Cargill to assess if the actions Sime Darby Plantation Berhad is taking meet the requirements set out in Cargill’s Policy on Sustainable Palm Oil. Therefore, Cargill has decided to suspend all new sourcing of palm oil and derivative products from Sime Darby Planation Berhad." It said it will review its decision when more information becomes available.
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said he asked American officials this week for more flexibility in how the tariff rate quotas for European steel products are administered. He said that while actions of the Biden administration have "put things, tradewise, on a more positive track," in his view "the current system [for TRQs] seems to be quite rigid."
The director of CBP's Office of Trade told an audience that importers who are considering importing a good that has a new supply chain and are concerned about running afoul of the ban on imports of goods made with forced labor can submit a request for a binding ruling that the product's supply chain is free of forced labor. CBP Executive Assistant Commissioner AnnMarie Highsmith, speaking at a webinar hosted by the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law on April 20, noted she was not presenting CBP's official position in her remarks.
Upcoming and much anticipated guidance on compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) could very well be less detailed than the trade community would like, so importers should treat it like “gravy” and focus on starting now on due diligence efforts in preparation for the new law’s effective date in June, customs lawyer Richard Mojica of Miller & Chevalier said.
The CBP collected about $85.5 billion in duties in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2021, a 14.9% increase from the previous fiscal year, a recent report shows. The annual report also noted that there were 36.9 million entries during the fiscal year, which was higher than before the pandemic.
Agricultural trading giant Cargill has stopped purchasing palm oil products from Malaysian firm Sime Darby Plantation following the U.S. withhold release order on Sime Darby's palm oil goods (see 2012300007), Bloomberg reported April 18. The WRO was placed on Sime Darby relating to evidence of forced labor in the company's operations. Cargill told Bloomberg purchases of Sime Darby palm oil ceased Feb. 25.
Given the depletion of fish in the ocean, and estimates that about 11% of U.S. seafood imports resulted from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a recent Congressional Research Service report said Congress may want to strengthen legislation tackling the issue.
A wide variety of trade groups told the Commerce Department that while they know the administration doesn't intend to tackle tariffs as part of its negotiations with Asian countries, they think offering to lower tariffs on U.S. goods would be the best way to get ambitious commitments in the region, and many said reconsidering the re-named Trans-Pacific Partnership is better than the conceived Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
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CBP plans to send letters to "identified as having previously imported merchandise that may be subject" to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, CBP said in an April 12 email. The UFLPA imposes a rebuttable presumption that goods from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region involve the use of forced labor as of June 21. Ahead June 21, CBP will use the "known importer letters" to "encourage those importers to address any forced labor issues in their supply chains in a timely manner," it said.