CBP issued a new withhold release order on disposable gloves from Malaysia on July 15, the agency's list of WROs said. The WRO applies to disposable gloves manufactured by Top Glove Sdn Bhd and TG Medical Sdn Bhd, it said. CBP issues WROs in response to evidence of forced labor used in a supply chain.
Next year's funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security aims to fix staffing shortages at ports of entry, International Mail Facilities, and Express Consignment Facilities by adding funding for 750 new CBP officers, 200 agricultural specialists, 30 operational support staff and 70 mission support staff. It also dedicates $8 million for trade agreement, remedies and enforcement personnel “to strengthen enforcement actions and processes that prevent the importation of products made with forced labor,” the report accompanying the bill said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from July 6-10 in case they were missed.
CBP would like to add a forced labor component to the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program's trade compliance requirements by the end of this fiscal year, CTPAT Director Manuel Garza said in a government issue paper released ahead of the July 15 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30. There's been discussion about adding such a component for a long time (see 1907250029), but CBP hadn't previously provided firm timing plans.
CBP should “exercise discretion” when using its withhold release order (WRO) authority to address forced labor violations, leaving space for importers to use their leverage to get suppliers to change their illegal practices, the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) Intelligent Enforcement subcommittee said in draft recommendations released ahead of the July 15 COAC meeting.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, asked White House trade adviser Peter Navarro to answer a series of questions related to former National Security Adviser John Bolton's assertion that President Donald Trump pleaded with China's president to buy more soybeans and wheat, so Trump could win re-election. He asked him to confirm the claim, and to say whether he was in all the meetings between Trump and the Chinese president that Bolton described. He asked for the answers by July 14.
The Trump administration issued an advisory for companies doing business with China’s Xinjiang region, which could expose companies to sanctions, export controls and forced labor risks. In a 19-page guidance issued July 1, the departments of State, Commerce, the Treasury and Homeland Security describe supply chain risks and possible sanctions exposure for companies trading with the region, and includes suggested due diligence practices. The guidance comes less than a month after President Donald Trump authorized sanctions against Chinese officials for human rights violations against the country’s Uighur population in the Xinjiang region (see 2006170064).
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet July 15, remotely, beginning at 1 p.m., CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by July 14.
CBP could improve its communications about what information is useful for investigating forced labor used in the seafood industry, the Government Accountability Office said in a June 18 report. Fourteen nongovernmental organizations interviewed by the GAO “indicated that they had some uncertainty about the types and level of information CBP needs to investigate forced labor cases in the seafood industry,” it said. “For example, representatives from one NGO said it was not clear what constituted a credible allegation for CBP, or what information CBP needs to make a section 307 determination.” Another NGO said “it is not worth dedicating the time and resources to develop an allegation without a clear sense of the types of information CBP is looking for to investigate its forced labor cases,” the GAO said.