A "substantial volume" of apparel made with Uyghur forced labor is entering the EU without restriction, a new Sheffield Hallam University report said. The report, released Dec. 6, studied four Chinese suppliers and focused on how their products were getting into the EU. In all, 39 brands are "at high risk" for sourcing goods made with Uyghur forced labor, including Hugo Boss, Inditex and Skechers.
A bill that would ban the import of seafood of Chinese origin -- which includes fish caught in Alaska but processed in China -- was introduced by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
CBP posted the following documents ahead of the Dec. 13 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
CBP hopes to deploy a "centralized website portal" by mid-2024 for importers to submit requests for exception, applicability, and admissibility reviews under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, and Withhold Release Orders, the agency said.
Automakers will have to track almost every battery component for electric vehicles -- including cathode electrodes, anode electrodes, solid metal electrodes, separators, liquid electrolytes, and solid state electrolytes that go into battery cells -- if they want consumers to be able to benefit from the full $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles.
Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., called on DHS to do more isotopic testing for enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The plea for more isotopic testing, which came in a Nov. 29 letter, is in response to a Reuters report finding that of 86 samples tested from December 2022 to May, 15% tested positive for Xinjiang cotton (see 2309010038).
The Court of International Trade in a Nov. 30 opinion said that it is likely to have jurisdiction over Chinese exporter Ninestar Corp.'s challenge to its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. Following Ninestar's motion for a preliminary injunction against its placement on the list, Judge Gary Katzmann ruled more narrowly, holding Ninestar is likely to show that jurisdiction is proper under Section 1581(i), the court's "residual" jurisdiction, which covers any civil action regarding "embargoes or other quantitative restrictions." While the U.S. said the UFLPA Entity List does not create an embargo since it establishes a rebuttable presumption, Katzmann said the court has exerted jurisdiction over similar embargoes where exemptions or reconsideration are granted.
A researcher in the International Trade Commission's Office of Industry and Competitiveness Analysis said the share of de minimis shipments from China is falling -- it was 58% in 2021 -- but goods made in China may be coming from countries whose shipments are rising, such as Canada. Canada accounts for 8% of small-value packages. De minimis shipments are subject to risk-based screening, but the importers do not pay any tariffs.
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An administration Council on Supply Chain Resilience, which includes the head of every Cabinet-level agency except the Education Department, held its first meeting, with the goal of maintaining resilient supply chains.