CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Japan's economy minister, while acknowledging that complete decoupling is possible, said that dependence on China leaves countries open to economic coercion, broken supply chains and economic insecurity.
The Treasury Department published its fall 2022 regulatory agenda for CBP. The only new mention of any regulations is a new long-term action that would amend CBP's regulations "pertaining to prior disclosure and to the procedure for demanding payment of duties, taxes, fees, or revenue" when a penalty claim isn't issued. "Amendments are designed to encourage participation in the prior disclosure program and to enhance the effectiveness of the duty/revenue demand process," the agenda said.
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.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top 20 stories published in 2022. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference numbers.
CBP targeted 444 entries worth over $128 million for suspected use of forced labor in November 2022, including goods subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and withhold release orders, the agency said in its most recent operational update. The number of entries targeted was up from October, although the value of the entries was about the same (see 2211150070). CBP also seized "nearly 1,536 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $196 million" in November, and completed 41 audits that identified $1.9 million in duties and fees owed to the U.S. government for goods that had been improperly declared, the agency said.
CBP said it began detaining merchandise produced by Jingde Trading Ltd., Rixin Foods, Ltd., and Xhejiang Sunrise Garment Group Co. Ltd. on Dec. 5, after its investigation indicated the companies' products were made in part by North Korean labor. The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, prohibits the entry of goods mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part by North Korean citizens anywhere in the world, unless there is clear and convincing evidence the goods were not made with forced, indentured or convict labor. The enforcement action was made public Dec. 27.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he sent letters to major automakers asking about their supply chains' links to the Xinjiang region in China because "there are substantial questions with respect to forced labor ... and we want to get to the bottom of it."
An upcoming requirement to include a postal code for entries of China-origin goods and new and updated Chinese manufacturer IDs is now scheduled for deployment on March 18, and CBP is looking to also automate the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act detentions process in the following months, according to an updated CBP ACE deployment schedule released Dec. 21.
The International Trade Administration will receive a major increase in funding from the last fiscal year, a bump from $559 million to $625 million, the more than 4,000-page annual appropriations bill says. Of that, $16.4 million is dedicated for China antidumping and countervailing duty enforcement and compliance, exactly what the administration asked for (see 2203280048).