A top official in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that opposition to extending a moratorium on tariffs on sales of intangible goods has surfaced before, but that the e-commerce moratorium has been renewed at every World Trade Organization ministerial conference since 1998. "There are a few countries, despite benefiting from e-commerce and digital trade, who continue to resist an extension of the moratorium," she said, but most countries, including in the developing world, see the tariff-free status as important.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced June 10 that it and the Dominican Republic have formed a working group to improve labor law enforcement in the sugar growing sector in the DR. "The group will be composed of representatives from both countries' responsible trade, labor, and foreign affairs ministries, with other agencies involved as needed. This joint endeavor takes into account the commitment of the two countries to enforce labor laws, including those regarding forced labor, improve labor conditions under the CAFTA-DR and in accordance with international standards, and continue their long-standing partnership on addressing these issues," the joint statement said.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet remotely June 29, CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by June 24.
Social compliance audits meant to show to CBP the lack of Xinjiang forced labor for imports suspected to be subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would require additional proof that the auditors weren't interfered with by the government or the company involved, said Thomas Kendrick, CBP assistant director of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Center of Excellence and Expertise. Kendrick and other CBP officials discussed UFLPA compliance on June 7 during the second of three webinars on the subject (see 2206010034).
A week before U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai heads to Geneva for the World Trade Organization's ministerial conference, she said she's excited for what the meeting could bring, though she avoided predicting that either an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines would be approved, or that the 20-year fisheries negotiations would be closed.
A panel of industry, trade group representatives and a customs broker disagreed on the proper approach to changing domestic de minimis policy, or even if it should be changed, but agreed that it's perverse that warehouses in Canada and Mexico are serving as way stations for small packages destined for U.S. consumers.
CBP posted a new fact sheet about the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and how the law will affect importers when it is implemented on June 21.
The 11 withhold release orders currently in place that involve companies or products from the Xinjiang region in China will become subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act as of June 21, said Elva Muneton, CBP acting executive director for the UFLPA Implementation Task Force, while speaking to a Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association webinar June 2. That means goods subject to those WROs that are detained by CBP as of June 21 will require clear and convincing evidence that forced labor wasn't involved to be allowed to enter the U.S, she said. Before June 21, those detained goods would continue through the WRO process, Muneton said.
Despite industry requests for delayed enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to allow for a review of CBP's coming guidance around the new law (see 2203110059), the agency seems set for full implementation starting June 21, said Elva Muneton, CBP acting executive director for the UFLPA Implementation Task Force. "The expectation is that we will be ready to implement the Uyghur Act on June 21 and that we have the resources and that we're going to take the approach of addressing any shipments coming from that region," she said. "So the question is, are we ready to implement? Yes, we are. June 21." Muneton and others spoke June 1 during the first of three CBP webinars about the UFLPA (see 2205250021).
Just three weeks before the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act will go into effect, many important questions remain unanswered, said Richard Mojica, a former CBP headquarters attorney now with Miller & Chevalier.