The U.S. Trade Representative's annual report on China's compliance with World Trade Organization commitments details many of the same problems noted in previous years' reports, but they wrote that this year “we focus on the positive outcomes to date of the Administration’s new and more effective strategy for engaging China, which has led to the signing of an historic trade agreement with China,” while also talking about “the important issues that remain to be addressed in our trade relationship with China.”
CBP and the trade community again face difficult decisions on how to move forward with mandatory continuing education for customs brokers. The toughest may be how to create a fair accreditation scheme, but that’s just one of many open questions as a joint task force again attempts to find some resolution of issues that caused continuing education to fall off CBP’s agenda nearly a half-decade ago.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 27-31 in case they were missed.
CBP remains cautious in moving toward continuing education requirements for customs brokers as it continues to examine the issues that derailed a similar effort some years ago, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade, during a Jan. 29 interview with International Trade Today. CBP recently launched a task force on the subject (see 1910160056), but the agency is considering whether an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) is necessary before issuing an actual proposal, she said.
Outside the most complicated issues to be implemented as part of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, such as rules of origin, CBP also sees new “opportunities that are touched on in the agreement,” said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade, during a Jan. 29 interview. “For example, there's some guidance around establishing single windows, there are opportunities for us to validate through site visits compliance with all customs laws and that's a much broader scope than it was before,” she said. President Donald Trump signed the implementing bill into law the same day, though Canada still must give its final approval, and implementing actions must be completed by all countries before USMCA can take effect.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 21-24 in case they were missed.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to “expand its capacity to assess civil penalties and pursue criminal prosecutions against U.S. importers for violations of forced labor authorities,” it said in a recently released strategy document aiming at fighting forced labor imports and human trafficking. “DHS will consider streamlining regulatory frameworks guiding the process for forced labor enforcement actions,” it said. “DHS will also coordinate, consolidate, and publicize allegation and intake reporting channels and other information to ensure quality, actionable leads, gain information for ongoing cases, and verify forced labor allegations.“
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 13-17 in case they were missed.
An expert panel evaluating the changes associated with the labor chapter under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement say that there are a lot of unknown details on the rapid response mechanism to enforce complaints about collective bargaining in Mexico. The panel spoke at the Washington International Trade Association on Jan. 16.
The textile and apparel industry is at particular risk of being caught up in CBP's efforts to stop imports of goods made with forced labor “since the complete supply chain is enormous by any measure,” U.S. Fashion Industry Association Customs Counsel John Pellegrini said in the USFIA's monthly update. Pellegrini said that “CBP brought to our attention a ruling which provides some, but not much relief, in this area.”