International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Sayari analysts, who say their company crunches 600 million shipment records, say that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act has had more impact than British, German, Swiss, Canadian and French laws aimed at removing human rights abuses from supply chains.
Kharon has signed a contract with the DHS office that oversees the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List to provide it with access to Kharon’s ClearView risk analytics platform, Kharon said in a news release Aug. 21. Kharon said the deal will provide access to the platform for the DHS analysts who support the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force. Kharon signed a similar deal with CBP in 2023 (see 2310190049).
Shawn Harwood, a former DHS official who worked on the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, has joined Squire Patton as an international trade investigations specialist, he announced this week on LinkedIn. Harwood left DHS in 2023 and most recently worked as an adviser on forced labor remediation and supply chain due diligence with consulting firm LRQA.
Republican attorneys general from 21 states are asking Temu how it certifies that products sold on its website "are not made with slave labor," among other questions about Americans' consumer data.
Last week, the Court of International Trade said anti-forced labor advocacy group International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) didn't have standing to challenge CBP's inaction in responding to a petition to ban cocoa from Cote d'Ivoire, alleging that it's harvested by child labor (see 2408080049). Terrence Collingsworth, counsel for IRAdvocates, told us he intends to appeal the decision but, should that fail, he is ready to bring alternative plaintiffs before the court who may more clearly establish standing.
Five Chinese companies have been added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, according to a notice released Aug. 8. The entities are: Kashgar Construction Engineering, Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper (also known as Ashele Copper), Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products; Century Sunshine Group Holdings; and Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings. Under UFLPA, CBP applies a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced or manufactured by entities on the UFLPA Entity List are made with forced labor and prohibited from importation. The listings take effect Aug. 9.
DHS has added five more entries to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, bringing the total up to 73 entities flagged by U.S. officials for allegedly using forced labor by Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
China last week imposed sanctions against U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., for frequently making "remarks and actions that interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's sovereignty, security and development interests," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said it will impose an asset freeze and travel ban on McGovern.
The Court of International Trade on July 30 stayed Chinese printer cartridge exporter Ninestar Corp.'s lawsuit challenging its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List for four months or until the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force issues a final decision in the exporter's delisting request before the task force (Ninestar Corp. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00182).