The Canada Border Services Agency has seized one shipment of goods due to forced labor concerns as of Nov. 15, a CBSA spokesperson said, confirming a recent report in The Globe and Mail. "The goods were declared as women’s and children’s clothing from China" and "the shipment was intercepted in the Quebec region," the spokesperson said. "CBSA’s officers have the authority to make tariff classification decisions on imported goods, based on an analysis of supporting evidence" and the shipment was classified in tariff number 9897.00.00 as goods made from forced labor, the spokesperson said. "Tariff classification determinations are made on a case-by-case basis for each importation intercepted."
The trade imbalance at U.S. ports has widened in recent months, as heavy congestion from record imports has continued to cause issues for U.S. exporters, the Federal Maritime Commission’s Bureau of Trade Analysis said this week. As U.S. consumer demand picks up for the holidays, the BTA suggested exporters are seeing more delays and less opportunities to ship their goods.
The Census Bureau hasn’t yet decided whether to eliminate export filing requirements for shipments to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, despite struggling to find a legitimate, alternative data source for those filings. A Census official suggested in September the agency was unlikely to move forward with a rulemaking to eliminate the requirements because no alternative data source had been found (see 2109140037), and said a final decision on the rule would be made within days. But two months later, it’s still under review, a Census spokesperson said Nov. 15.
Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the generally pro-trade New Democrat Coalition, told a webinar audience that reaching an international agreement to lower tariffs on environmental goods and services would be good for U.S. companies, since the U.S. has lower tariffs on these goods than the European Union and China. She said that the European Union and China both export more environmental goods than the U.S. does.
Bilateral and small group discussions ahead of the 12th Ministerial Conference at the World Trade Organization made some progress fisheries subsidies, heads of delegations reported, the WTO said. More than 20 delegations at the Oct. 29 Negotiating Group on Rules meeting reported on the progress, including on special and differential treatment for developing and least-developed countries. The 12th Ministerial will be held Nov. 30 - Dec. 3.
A European Union official said that even once the bloc passes its Carbon Border Adjustment Measure, "that definitely doesn’t preclude joint work on international coordination" on preventing manufacturing from moving to countries that aren't as ambitious in fighting climate change.
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., opened up a discussion on a recent report on targeted decoupling based on risk, with a focus on artificial intelligence, at a virtual event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Oct. 22. Hill said the discussion was "long overdue," and that China's direction is "squarely in conflict with the global order, balance of power in East Asia, and the continued open, market-based trading system."
Lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would seek to further protect the U.S. agriculture industry from “improper” foreign investment and add the agriculture secretary to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. The Foreign Adversary Risk Management Act, introduced in the Senate by Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and in the House by Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, and Filemon Vela, D-Texas, would address that CFIUS “does not directly consider the needs of the agriculture industry when reviewing foreign investment and ownership in domestic businesses,” the lawmakers said.
About 12% of global container capacity is unavailable due to delays from congested ports, Lloyd’s Loading List reported Oct. 4. The report, which references an analysis by supply chain research firm Sea-Intelligence, said the amount of additional capacity needed to meet global shipping demand is “being outstripped by the amount of capacity being held up out of service as it awaits berthing slots.” That adds up to global delays for about 3.1 million 20-foot equivalent units, the report said. The amount of “capacity absorbed by delays” had peaked at 11.3% in February before falling to 8.8% in April, but it has since peaked beyond the previous high point, the report said.
Taiwan’s customs agency recently issued guidance on making a transfer pricing adjustment on imported goods, KPMG said Sept. 13. The guidance summarizes frequently asked questions on how to comply with the customs requirements, which “offers an opportunity” for multinational companies to make a post-importation adjustment on the price of imported goods.