Hugo Boss has implemented a "comprehensive risk management system" to monitor compliance with human rights within its supply chain, the company said in a statement. The statement was in response to the Canada Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise's forced labor complaint against the retailer (see 2404260040). CORE said it has closed the complaint review.
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.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's president told the U.S. trade representative that customs brokers and others in the trade community aren't "pro forced-labor, pro-pollution, pro-unsustainable environmental practices," but that too often, "‘race to the top’ objectives do not take into consideration the ability to actually implement the policies, and the costs associated with the goals."
The Canada Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise withdrew complaints against Hugo Boss Canada and GobiMin, the agency announced on April 24 and April 25. Both companies participated in "good faith," with GobiMin divesting from a gold mine that allegedly used Uyghur forced labor, and Hugo Boss participating in a confidential dispute settlement process with the parties that filed the complaint against the company and providing a "satisfactory response or remedy to their allegations," a CORE spokesperson said in an emailed news release.
An international panel ruling on whether the U.S. had the right to punish a zinc mine in San Martín over labor violations agreed with Mexico that the violations happened before USMCA -- or T-MEC, as Mexico calls it -- came into force, and so the panel ruled it didn't have jurisdiction.
Perkins Coie partner Michael House told an audience of automotive supply chain professionals that this fiscal year has seen not only a sharp increase in the number of detentions, "but even more important, in our view, is the scope of products being detained has diversified, and there's been a steady increase in detentions of merchandise that were outside those original so-called priority sectors."
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Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wants CBP to investigate the role of slave labor in goods being sold over retail apps Temu and Shein, he said in an April 16 letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Rubio asked that CBP investigate the exporters and, if necessary, add them to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s Entity List, which keeps track of companies that sell merchandise produced with slave labor. Both companies have abused the de minimis provision to get goods tainted by forced labor into the U.S., the senator said.
The two top lawmakers on the House Select Committee on China on April 16 asked the State Department to “intensify and elevate its global diplomatic efforts” to ensure the EU passes an agreement to ban imports of goods made with forced labor.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai gave testimony April 17 to the Senate Finance Committee regarding President Joe Biden’s 2024 trade policy agenda. She touched mainly on trade deal enforcement, U.S. exporters’ access to new markets and the USTR’s new stance on digital trade, though she also discussed issues such as forced labor and the upcoming legislation on the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter to President Joe Biden April 15 regarding the “urgent threat” posed by the Chinese retail application Temu, an app that has been seeking to nudge its way into a market still dominated by Amazon.