Thea Lee, the long-time AFL-CIO trade policy director who is now leading the Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), acknowledged that apparel companies have challenges in avoiding child labor and forced labor because "it's so ubiquitous" in the sector. She said one way to try to avoid "reputational, legal and operational damage" is to identify the good players. She recommended Better Work, a program to improve working conditions funded by the International Labor Organization and the World Bank. It covers 1,700 factories in nine countries. Lee said the U.S. government helps fund the program in Haiti, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Jordan and Vietnam.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Nov. 1-5 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
David Spooner, Washington counsel for the U.S. Fashion Industry Association, said that while the U.S. trade representative's China policy speech was underwhelming, he doesn't think the possibility of renewing 549 exclusions that expired at the end of last year will be the only olive branch to importers hurt by the China trade war. "Will we see other [expired] exclusions open to renewal? A new window open for exclusions? I hear 'yes.' When that will happen, and what that will look like, remains unclear," Spooner said at a virtual USFIA conference Nov. 9.
A bill that would flip the burden of proof on forced labor to say that goods either made in Xinjiang or made by a company that accepts workers transferred from Xinjiang are made with forced labor unless proven otherwise has been attached to the National Defense Authorization Act in the Senate. That means the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is more likely to pass the Senate before the end of the year.
CBP issued a withhold release order on disposable gloves “produced in Malaysia by a group of companies collectively known as Smart Glove," the agency said in a news release Nov. 4. The “group of companies includes Smart Glove Corporation Sdn Bhd, GX Corporation Sdn Bhd, GX3 Specialty Plant, Sigma Glove Industries, and Platinum Glove Industries Sdn Bhd.” Smart Glove was one of several Malaysian companies named in recent forced labor allegations from Andy Hall, a British human rights activist (see 2105240022).
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Union parliament's committee on trade, said that though it may be tricky to do so -- given that the EU and other countries have different ways of encouraging cleaner industry -- the EU's proposed carbon border adjustment measure should not be a way to just hike tariffs. "We have to avoid trade wars," he said to reporters in Washington Nov. 4. He said if another country does not have a cap and trade system and doesn't have a price on carbon, that doesn't mean they don't have climate change measures. "So we need to find equivalencies," he said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Oct. 25-29 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative voiced support for the current CAFTA-DR rules of origin as the best way to support the textile industry in the Northern Triangle countries, following an Oct. 29 meeting with a domestic industry textiles group. Imports from Central American countries covered by the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement have been flat since the agreement came into effect 15 years ago and some have talked about loosening restrictive textile rules of origin to boost production there.
Arent Fox has brought on four lawyers to join its Customs and Import Compliance team over the course of 2021, the firm said. In the New York office are Angela Santos, a partner who leads Arent Fox's forced labor task force and focuses on customs enforcement actions, and Christine Hintze, an associate specializing in CBP's enforcement of forced labor laws and regulations. James Kim, an associate in the San Francisco office, advises clients on international trade and customs matters. Richard McManus, counsel in the Washington, D.C., and a former employee with the Office of the Chief Counsel at CBP, brings a wealth of customs experience, the firm said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Oct. 18-22 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.