TUCSON, Ariz. -- Implementation of new trade enforcement provisions of recently passed customs reauthorization legislation will not result in an overall increase in cargo exams, said CBP officials speaking April 19 at the annual conference of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. Though CBP is focused on creating its new Trade Law Enforcement Division tasked with issuing trade alerts (see 1602230080), as well as implementing new programs to apply risk assessments (see 1602170074), the agency’s overall goal is better targeted exams, not more of them, they said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Changes on the way to CBP’s regulations prohibiting imports of goods made by forced labor will include an update to the process for submitting petitions, said CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske in remarks (here) prepared for a Coalition of New England Companies for Trade conference on April 13. The agency will be “clarifying” the standards and process for reviewing petitions alleging a good was produced with forced or child labor and deciding whether to issue a “withhold release order” banning imports of the product, he said. “We welcome input from industry” and non-governmental organizations, said Kerlikowske. CBP recently issued its first forced labor withhold release orders in over 15 years (see 1603310034), weeks after customs reauthorization legislation removed an exemption to the forced labor ban (see 1603010043). Human rights groups recently requested a withhold release order directed against all cotton products from Turkmenistan (see 1604120031). “I urge industry to be proactive in evaluating their supply chains,” said Kerlikowske.
Labor and human rights groups recently requested CBP issue a withhold release order banning importation of all cotton from Turkmenistan because it is allegedly produced by forced labor. In their April 6 petition (here), the Netherlands-based Alternative Turkmenistan News and the International Labor Rights Forum allege all raw cotton in Turkmenistan is produced under a government monopoly that forces Turkmen citizens to grow and harvest cotton under threat of penalty. The withhold release order should apply to “cotton lint, yarn, fabric and cotton goods from Turkmenistan,” they said. The petition also asked for immediate detention of all cotton products from Turkmenistan while CBP considers the request.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 28 - April 1 in case they were missed.
CBP provided some details on the recent changes to the law that prohibits imports of goods made by forced labor in a fact sheet (here). The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 repealed a "consumptive demand" exemption to the ban on imports made by forced labor (see 1602260049). CBP will next "amend the regulations at 19 CFR § 12.42(b), which require certain information pertaining to consumptive demand, in order to comport with the updated law," it said. "CBP depends and acts on information," the agency said in the fact sheet. "CBP encourages anyone with reason to believe that merchandise produced by forced labor is being, or is likely to be imported into the United States, to communicate his or her belief to any U.S. port director or the commissioner of CBP." The agency recently issued its first withhold orders in over a decade related to forced labor (see 1603310034).
CBP issued two new withhold release orders due to suspicions of goods made by forced labor, said CBP's list of such orders (here). The March 29 orders, the first since 2000, apply to "Soda Ash, Calcium Chloride, Caustic Soda, and Viscose/Rayon Fiber" made by "Tangshan Sanyou Group Co. Ltd. and its Subsidiaries" and "Potassium, Potassium Hydroxide, [Potassium] Nitrate" made by "Tangshan Sunfar Silicon Company," CBP said. The orders follow the recent elimination of an exemption to a ban on imported goods made by forced labor (see 1602260049). CBP received information "Tangshan Sanyou Group and its subsidiaries utilize convict labor in the production of the merchandise," it said in a news release (here). Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore, voiced approval of one of the orders on March 29 (see 1603290036).
Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., commended CBP for blocking on March 29 a shipment of Chinese soda ash suspected of being made with forced or child labor, according to a Wyden statement (here). The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 closes loopholes on goods made with forced or child labor and this is the first time CBP has held a shipment pending a forced-labor determination since 2001, the Wyden said. “The Senate sent a strong message that there is no place for products made by slave labor in the United States, and today CBP followed suit by stepping up enforcement against forced prisoner-made goods,” Wyden said in the statement. “Eliminating these morally repugnant products from the market is the right thing to do, and it will help U.S. workers and products compete on even footing with other nations.” CBP previously said it is heavily reliant on outside reports for the agency's enforcement of the forced labor provisions (see 1602260049).
Competition between Chinese garlic exporters recently spilled over into Los Angeles federal district court, with both sides alleging manipulation of antidumping duty rates in order to obtain a commercial advantage. Harmoni International and its Chinese subsidiary, Zhengzhou Harmoni, allege a constellation of Chinese companies, many with common ownership, are working a racketeering scheme designed to fraudulently obtain lower AD rates, while artificially inflating Harmoni’s. Those companies contend that it is Harmoni that has been engaging in rate manipulation by colluding with the coalition of domestic garlic distributors that originally requested AD duties on garlic.
The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (here), signed into law Feb. 24, includes an overhaul of current law on drawback, including provisions for substitute drawback at the eight-digit level and a uniform five-year deadline for claims. It also increases the de minimis limit to $800, exempts container residue from duties, and eliminates an exemption from import bans on goods produced with forced labor. Finally, the law holds CBP to stricter reliquidation timelines, and fixes legislation enacted last year that would have resulted in higher tariffs on recreational performance outerwear.