LAREDO, Texas -- CBP hopes this year to “formalize and normalize” its forced labor enforcement processes following initial implementation of recent changes to forced labor laws, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, said AnnMarie Highsmith, CBP executive assistant commissioner, in remarks at a conference Jan. 18.
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Milwaukee Tool reportedly denied recent claims that it is selling gloves in the U.S. that are produced at a Chinese prison with convict labor. Posted to the website of the U.K. non-profit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, the statement refutes allegations from the wife of a Chinese human rights lawyer that the prison where her husband is jailed for subversion is manufacturing Milwaukee gloves sold at major U.S. retailers for little pay and under inhumane working conditions.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP recently added specific documentation requirements for aluminum products to its standard Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act detention notices, customs lawyer Richard Mojica of Miller & Chevalier said in a post on LinkedIn. Previously, the detention notices had listed only documentation requirements for cotton, polysilicon and tomatoes, the three sectors singled out in UFLPA. As of recently -- possibly January, Mojica said -- the notices now request details on the manufacturing process, the location where the aluminum was further manufactured, and any raw material invoices, purchase orders, proof of payment and export documents. “This likely means we'll see an uptick in detentions of aluminum products,” Mojica said. “What about products that are not made primarily of aluminum, but contain aluminum?” CBP did not comment.
A trade lawyer who has clients in the auto industry says that Mexico's and Canada's auto rules of origin arbitration win does not necessarily change sourcing and investment decisions, because automakers were already proceeding as if 100% of originating parts' value would be counted when calculating the regional value content of vehicles.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., joined by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., has proposed that most countries in Central and South America should be invited to join USMCA, and that before that can be negotiated, the countries should be added to the Caribbean Basin Trade Preference Area.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Additional funding for forced labor enforcement included in the recently enacted omnibus federal spending bill is a “truly transformative sum,” supporting sizable increases in CBP personnel and advances in the technology the agency uses to support its forced labor efforts, customs lawyer John Foote said in a Jan. 6 blog post.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, just before she signed a memorandum of cooperation with Japan on fighting forced labor (see 2301050039), suggested that auto or auto parts imports could be in CBP crosshairs after a British university alleged that many cars could have content touched by Chinese forced labor.