CBP is considering enforcement measures following reporting by The Associated Press that found North Koreans working in Chinese factories that produce goods for export to the U.S., an agency spokesman said in an emailed statement. The AP recently reported that North Korean laborers are working in Chinese factories that process seafood and others that make wood flooring and garments, though the AP only tracked seafood shipments from China to the U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law new sanctions against North Korea over the summer (see 1708020030) that prohibit imports of goods made using North Korean forced labor.
CBP is aiming to release rules for entry filings of goods valued under the $800 de minimis threshold "before the end of the calendar year," said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner for the CBP Office of Trade, on Sept. 12 during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference in Washington. CBP knows "it's a big deal" to customs brokers "whether we require the classification on all small packages," she said. It's a "thorny issue," but "I think we are close to having kind of the final conversations," so "look forward to that in the next couple months."
Multiple recommendations submitted by the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for Section 321 entries proved to be contentious, eliciting disagreement among members during the Aug. 23 COAC meeting in San Diego. The presentation of the recommendations at the meeting included the unusual step of votes and discussions on each individual recommendation. While some of the recommendations faced opposition, all were ultimately approved by the COAC. "There's a lot of uncertainty in this area because it's a new and different model that was not necessarily envisioned or anticipated by the market, by those that are participating in it or by our government partners," said Cindy Allen, the co-chair of the Trade Modernization Subcommittee.
CBP posted more documents on the agency's website for the upcoming Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting on Aug. 23 in San Diego. Among other things, CBP posted draft recommendations from the International Engagement and Trade Facilitation Working Group that describe some best practices that the agency could suggest to other customs administrations. For example, CBP should advocate that other customs regimes include standard public commenting procedures for regulatory changes, implement advanced ruling programs and simplify clearance procedures.
CBP posted on the agency's website some documents for the upcoming Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting on Aug. 23 in San Diego. Only the government papers and the agenda for the meeting were posted. Among other things, CBP said in its Border Interagency Executive Council issue paper that the BIEC principals plan to meet on Aug. 28 to consider a working group report on partner government agency targeting and manifest access. "The BIEC is working on several major projects, along with developing a process to prioritize enhancements to Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) that are considered 'post-core,'" the agency said. The BIEC will also "be focusing on continued ACE enhancements and simplifying CBP processes, in line with CBP’s trade priorities and funding availability," it said.
While the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act’s elimination of the “consumptive demand” loophole for child and forced labor imports has helped slow the flow of such goods, "the Chinese government continues to use forced labor to produce exports destined for the United States, in violation of U.S. law and bilateral trade agreements," according to a report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Visibility within China remains an issue, it said. No ICE agents have been allowed to make site visits in China since 2009 and there's indication "forced labor continues to occur at these sites but under a different penal framework," the report says.
President Donald Trump on Aug. 2 signed legislation that authorizes new sanctions against Iran, Russia and North Korea, the White House announced. Specifically, the bill directs the president to assess military sanctions on Iran, provides for several economic and cyber-related sanctions against Russia, and provides for several economic sanctions against North Korea. The law also provides sanctions for North Korean cargo and shipping, goods produced through North Korean convict or forced labor, and foreign persons that employ North Korean forced laborers. The legislation requires the State Department to determine whether North Korea meets criteria for designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. In an Aug. 2 statement, Trump said he favors "tough measures" to "punish and deter aggressive and destabilizing behavior."
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet Aug. 23 in San Diego, CBP said in a notice.
The Treasury Department published an updated 2017 regulatory agenda for CBP (here) that mentions several new rulemakings that weren't included in the last update (see 1611180003). The agenda includes a newly mentioned proposal for updates and modifications to the (a)(1)(A) list of records required for the entry of merchandise (here). That list is included within the appendix to 19 CFR Part 163 (here). CBP seeks to publish the proposal in October, according to the agenda.
The Trump administration in the upcoming NAFTA renegotiation will push for "disciplines on the use of customs brokers," for Canada and Mexico to raise their de minimis levels, and to eliminate the binational dispute settlement process for challenging duties, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in its renegotiation objectives released July 17 (here). Another objective is to provide for streamlined and expedited customs treatment for express shipments, including for shipments valued over the de minimis threshold.