CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The rules for forced labor documentation will likely become as detailed as the rules on conflict mineral reporting, Angelica Tsakiridis, a senior manager at Deloitte, said July 1 at a virtual conference hosted by the American Importers and Exporters Association. CBP has been working on a rulemaking around forced labor for years (see 1805100026), but it remains to be seen whether documentation requirements will be included.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, a Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, was cool to fellow Texas delegation member Sen. John Cornyn's proposal to study the possibility of allowing goods made in foreign-trade zones to be considered originating under USMCA.
New regulations issued by CBP that implement USMCA provisions took effect on July 1, the agency said in a notice released the same day. The interim final rule implements USMCA language on import and export requirements, "general verifications and determinations of origin, commercial samples, goods re-entered after repair or alteration in Canada or Mexico, and penalties," among other things, CBP said.
CBP issued an interim final rule that implements several provisions included within the USMCA. The rule, which took effect July 1, implements USMCA language on import and export requirements, "general verifications and determinations of origin, commercial samples, goods re-entered after repair or alteration in Canada or Mexico, and penalties," among other things. Another interim final rule to implement other USMCA provisions will also be issued "at a later date," said CBP.
Government representatives who oversee labor issues from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico held the first meeting of the USMCA Labor Council, and discussed both the implementation of Mexico's labor law reform and a complaint about the treatment of Mexican migrant workers in the U.S., and how abuses of migrant workers could be avoided in the future, whether through education and oversight through U.S. government agencies, or a better way of running seasonal work visas.
The top trade officials in the U.S., Canada and Mexico gathered virtually to celebrate the one-year anniversary of USMCA, which is July 1, with Canadian and Mexican ministers emphasizing the worth of integrated supply chains and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai emphasizing the elements of USMCA that protect workers in the region and around the world. Tai said at a Wilson Center program June 30, "A good next step in this increased cooperation can be on the issue of forced labor. The USMCA includes a strong obligation to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor. Working together to address this critical economic and moral issue would send a powerful message to the world."
A senior U.S. Chamber of Commerce official submitted follow-up comments on rapid response petitions, complaining that a petition is in a state that is not yet required to complete its ratification or rejection of union contracts, and that an alleged violation happened in part before July 1, 2020, when the USMCA went into force. The Chamber said this petition that comes before the deadline “carries the potential to set a dangerous precedent.” Glenn Spencer, senior vice president in the employment policy division, wrote to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative June 23, saying that “[t]he possibility of imposing remedies on a facility for failure to comply with the USMCA before the USMCA entered into force is a violation of the right to due process and should not be tolerated.” He also said that the owner of a facility that is being investigated for a denial of rights “must be included in consultation and remediation efforts resulting from a review.”
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from June 14-18 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade Chairman Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and ranking member Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, agree that the U.S. should be in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but the expert witnesses at the hearing they held June 22 showed no path to the U.S. reentering the agreement with the 11 countries that went on to seal the deal. This was despite agreement among most subcommittee members (though not Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio) and the witnesses that leaving TPP was a tactical mistake that leaves the U.S. at a trade and geopolitical disadvantage.