House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., praised CBP's withhold release order on Dalian Ocean Fishing (see 2105280019). "The Biden administration’s action represents an important step forward on forced labor enforcement -- the previous administration had only been willing to take action against individual vessels, even though it is widely recognized that when forced labor occurs it’s often pervasive throughout entire fishing fleets. In this case, CBP’s actions come after several reports indicated that crew members aboard the fishing company have died due to harsh working conditions," he said in a statement after the WRO was announced. He noted that the U.S. trade representative proposed at the World Trade Organization that the overfishing negotiations include the issue of forced labor. "I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in Congress and the administration towards stronger forced labor enforcement as well as addressing the interlinked issues of forced labor and environmental protection,” he said May 28.
An amendment that will allow expanded information sharing from CBP on counterfeits, and which will renew the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, will be part of the China package expected to pass the week of June 8. The amendment, sponsored by Finance Committee ranking member Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, was modified slightly from its first introduction, when it failed to pass the filibuster threshold of 60 votes. This version, which passed with 91 votes on May 27, no longer expands a forced labor initiative on seafood to all seafood products.
CBP's “claim of 'forced labor, abuse of crew members and withholding of pay' is fabrication that is totally inconsistent with facts,” China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a May 31 news conference in response to a question about a withhold release order issued against the Dalian Ocean Fishing Company. The company “has never sold any products to the U.S., and there's nothing to detain in the first place,” he said.
CBP issued a new withhold release order on seafood harvested by vessels owned or operated by the Dalian Ocean Fishing of China, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on a May 28 call with reporters. CBP previously issued WROs on specific vessels, but this one is the first to apply to a full fleet, he said. Dalian's fleet includes 32 vessels, he said.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., introduced a bill that would create a rebuttable presumption that all goods mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in Xinjiang, or by organizations working with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region's government in the guise of poverty alleviation, were made with forced labor and cannot be admitted into the U.S. If CBP determines “by clear and convincing evidence” that the goods were not produced by indentured, convict or forced labor, then the goods could enter. This section of the Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement Act, or EAGLE Act, would take effect 120 days after the bill is enacted.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America says that the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill lead to offshoring and a low-wage workforce in the U.S., and that the MTB is "abused by importers who lobby against policies to boost domestic production, and it conflicts with the national imperative to re-shore the industries and jobs we have lost."
The Endless Frontiers legislation continues to attract amendments relevant to trade, such as Sen. Josh Hawley's amendment, published May 24, that would make countries ineligible for participation in the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program if any product from that country is identified by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs as one made with child labor or forced labor. Hawley, R-Mo., also proposes that, starting 90 days after the bill's passage, there will be an additional 100% duty on all goods produced in Xinjiang, or goods with components from Xinjiang, for at least one year. At that time, the tariff would only be lifted if the administration "determines beyond a reasonable doubt that no slave labor, forced labor, indentured labor, or child labor exists in the People’s Republic of China; and submits to Congress and makes available to the public a report on that determination." There have been hundreds of amendments proposed for the China package, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will decide which ones deserve floor debate and a vote. He has said he wants a vote to happen this week.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from May 17-21 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP updated its withhold release order on tobacco from Malawi so that “certain tobacco imports from Premium Tobacco Malawi Limited (PTML) will be admissible at all U.S. ports of entry” as of May 21, the agency said in a May 24 news release. “This modification applies only to tobacco harvested by Club Growers in Malawi.” CBP issued the original WRO in 2019 (see 1911010026). CBP modified the WRO based “on a rigorous evaluation of PTML’s social compliance program and efforts to identify and minimize the risks of forced labor in its supply chain,” it said. “These actions produced evidence that sufficiently supports PTML’s claims that tobacco from club growers (smallholder growers that use little or no farm worker labor) is not grown and harvested using forced labor or forced child labor.” The agency twice previously modified the WRO to allow for tobacco imports from other Malawi producers (see 2008030028 and 2006030037).
Three rubber gloves makers, an electronics manufacturing company and an event management company, all based in Malaysia, are the subjects of recent petitions to CBP alleging the use of forced labor and are being investigated by the agency, said Andy Hall, a British human rights activist who filed the allegations. Hall said he previously filed an allegation against Top Glove, which is now subject to a CBP finding that forced labor is in its supply chain (see 2103260028) and has had at least two big shipments seized as a result (see 2105120039 and 2105040041).