Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote to CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller, arguing that since a Chinese-owned cobalt mining company is partnering with Ford and PT Vale Indonesia to open a nickel processing facility in Indonesia, "there is a high likelihood that Huayou will also introduce forced and child labor to Indonesia."
The chairman and ranking member of the House Select Committee on China wrote to Adidas and Nike, telling them they were told by a witness that they source material from Xinjiang for their products, and to Shein and Temu, asking them questions about their use of de minimis, and, in the case of Shein, asking it to share all its cotton DNA test results with the committee.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he'll use the 2021 trade title from the Senate China package as his committee works on its contribution to a second China package envisioned by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to address economic competition with China and to deter Chinese aggression toward Taiwan.
University of Delaware Professor Sheng Lu, who specializes in Fashion and Apparel Studies, told an audience from the U.S. Fashion Industry Association that although there are good reasons to want to source more apparel from Central America and the Dominican Republic -- to avoid forced labor from Xinjiang or generally reduce China exposure -- growth is unlikely unless Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement countries are able to access more nylon, viscose, wool or linen fabrics.
Apparel imported through the port at Newark, New Jersey, held under suspicion of being manufactured using forced labor was found to be inadmissible by CBP, in an April 26 ruling. In a rare ruling focused on forced labor, CBP found that importer Muji U.S.A. failed to provide satisfactory evidence that the goods were not manufactured with forced labor or that their supply chain was not connected with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, finding the goods are subject to a withhold release order on Xinjiang cotton.
Some U.S. states were willing to pay Volkswagen more than Canada was for a new Volkswagen electric vehicle factory, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. But, Trudeau said, when Canada matched the national incentives offered by the Inflation Reduction Act, Ontario's other advantages were enough to land the major economic development win.
NEW ORLEANS -- While a CBP pilot on pipeline imports may not at first glance have relevance for many importers, the ramifications of the pilot could have wide-ranging effects for importers and customs brokers as CBP applies any lessons learned to its development of ACE 2.0, according to Amy Magnus of A.N. Deringer.
A majority in the House voted to restore antidumping and countervailing duties on Southeast Asian solar panels ruled by the Commerce Department to be circumventing antidumping duties on the products from China, but the 221 votes in favor are far from a veto-proof majority.
CBP is providing an additional benefit to Trade Compliance program members of its Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, the agency said in a letter to CTPAT members posted to the agency’s website April 26. Since March 5, the agency has been offering preliminary notifications of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act holds, CBP said.
CBP modified a withhold release order on imports of synthetic disposable gloves manufactured by the Smart Glove group of companies, and will now allow gloves from the Malaysian company to enter the U.S. “provided they are otherwise in compliance with U.S. laws,” it said. “Shipments of Smart Glove’s synthetic gloves received on or after April 26, 2023 will no longer be detained at U.S. ports of entry,” CBP said. The original WRO was issued in 2021 (see 2111040045).