Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and ranking member Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, told U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that USMCA's full potential has not been realized, and that USTR must pursue "robust enforcement."
House Select Committee on China Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said that the committee will definitely want to look into how the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is being enforced, and he expects there to be joint committee hearings on the topic.
Importers should consider four areas of risk as they develop anti-forced labor programs – at-risk populations, high-risk sectors, high-risk geographies and high-risk business models -- amid a rise of laws banning imports of goods made with forced labor worldwide, KPMG’s Elizabeth Shingler said during a webinar Jan. 24.
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CBP targeted 310 entries worth over $59 million in December 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 down from November's total of 444 entries worth some $128 million (see 2212270038). CBP also seized 1,501 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $178 million in December, and completed 26 audits that identified $86.9 million in duties and fees owed to the U.S. government for goods that had been improperly declared, the agency said.
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.