DHS will add three entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, the agency said Aug. 1. The additions, effective Aug. 2, will add Chinese battery manufacturer Camel Group Co. for working with the Xinjiang government to “recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs” and other persecuted groups. Chinese spice manufacturer ChenGuang Biotech Group Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary, Chenguang Biotechnology Group Yanqi Co. Ltd., will be added for sourcing material from Xinjiang or from entities in the region that are involved in a “government labor scheme that uses forced labor,” DHS said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's recent ruling in Royal Brush Manufacturing v. U.S., which found that CBP violated importer Royal Brush's due process rights by not giving it access to business confidential information in an antidumping and countervailing duty evasion proceeding, "may have broader implications," including on forced labor issues, customs lawyer Lawrence Friedman said in a July 28 blog post. If the decision "applies generally, it may require that" CBP make its record fully available, including BCI, which would be an "interesting unintended consequence" of this Enforce and Protect Act case, Friedman said.
Compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act has "significantly impacted" U.S. fashion companies' "sourcing practices," and many importers are diversifying away from China and other countries in Asia to mitigate supply chain risks, the U.S. Fashion Industry Association said in its annual survey of industry executives released July 31. Nearly 80% percent of survey respondents said they plan to reduce apparel sourcing from China over the next two years, with a record high 15% planning to “strongly decrease” sourcing from the country.
High Forced Labor Risk in Chinese Apple Juice Concentrate, Mexican Fruits and Vegetables, Study Says
Apple juice concentrate from China and avocados, tomatoes and peppers from Mexico are among the imported foods identified as carrying the highest risk for forced labor in their supply chains, according to an academic study published July 24 in the online journal Nature Food, an offshoot of the journal Nature.
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Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked Lear Co., a multinational auto parts supplier, to defend its leather supply chain from Brazil, and, in a footnote in the letter, cited a Reuters story that said 1,324 workers had been rescued from slavery-like conditions while cutting down forests in Brazil from 1995 to 2021. However, that article also said Brazil defines slave labor as not just forced labor -- where workers are not free to leave jobs -- but also working in degrading work conditions, or working such long hours that it's a health risk.
The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and the chairman of the House Select Committee on China told Ford its response to its earlier letter "did not provide the level of detail sought by the Committee," and they continue to have questions about whether Ford's partnership with a Chinese electric vehicle battery maker will obscure Chinese imports in the EV batteries produced in Michigan, and whether those inputs will be produced with forced labor.
CBP awarded Altana a “multi-year contract” to map supply chains for the agency for CBP’s use in addressing forced labor, the company said in a news release July 20. “This new award expands Altana’s relationship with CBP to help enable CBP officers and analysts to quickly understand the complexities of rapidly-shifting global supply chains, all using Altana’s Atlas,” Altana said. “The Atlas will assist CBP officers and analysts to analyze highly messy data at scale, harness artificial intelligence to triage and prioritize actions, and collaborate across borders to stop the flow of goods created by forced labor,” it said. CBP did not immediately comment.
CBP in June identified 405 shipments valued at more than $239 million for further examination based on the suspected use of forced labor, including goods subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and withhold release orders, the agency said in its most recent operational update. In May, CBP identified a total of 460 shipments valued at more than $197 million (see 2306210021). CBP also seized 1,709 shipments in June that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $120 million, the agency said.
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