NEW YORK -- Importers' service providers said CBP's inconsistency and lack of communication about why supply chain documentation was not enough -- or even was enough -- to prove that there was no connection to Xinjiang are the biggest headaches of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Lumber Liquidators reported decreased profits in the third quarter of 2023 as a result of CBP detentions of vinyl flooring products under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the company said in a quarterly report released Nov. 8. The detentions took $1.6 million off profit margins at the company, and, when combined with payments of antidumping and countervailing duties, turned profit growth negative for the quarter.
The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise is investigating Zara Canada for alleged use of Uyghur forced labor in the company's supply chain, CORE said. The investigation, which CORE began Nov. 6, comes in response to a complaint filed by 28 civil society organizations in June 2022.
NEW YORK -- The chair of the committee that puts together the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list told an audience from the apparel industry that the process is no "rubber stamp," and is instead a "meaningful process" involving investigations by agencies on the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force.
NEW YORK -- Apparel industry lobbyist David Spooner, speaking at the U.S. Fashion Industry Association annual conference, said employees of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have indicated to him that the office "might actually sunset some of the tariffs," and that importers will be able to apply for a new product exclusion. "Hopefully this is the case," he added.
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If a bill that unanimously passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee becomes law, CBP's Office of Trade would get rid of these job descriptions -- Import Specialist, Entry Specialist, National Account Manager, International Trade Specialist, Drawback Specialist and National Import Specialist -- and combine those duties all under the job of Global Trade Specialist. CBP has been asking for the change for about five years, according to a former government official now working in trade.
Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on China, said that policymaking around economic competition with China is "messy."
Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., introduced a bill that would require public disclosure of air cargo, truck and rail manifests, not just ocean shipments. Manifests usually include the name and address of the shipper, a cargo description, number of packages and gross weight, name of the carrier, port of exit, destination port and country destination.
The leaders of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China asked the CEO of Costco to give them "a detailed response to reports about Costco’s sale of seafood from Chinese companies that use forced labor to catch and process seafood for the U.S. market." In a letter made public on Nov. 1, CECC Chair Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Co-chair Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. noted that the committee recently held a hearing about forced labor in fish processing facilities in China. They asked Costco to describe what audits and risk assessments it has done to ensure that fish processed in China was not done with forced labor.