The Labor Council of the USMCA discussed several topics, including "key labor policies on violence and discrimination in the workplace," as well as "cooperation and technical assistance projects," and "implementation of the USMCA’s provision related to imports produced with forced labor," at a meeting June 28-29 in Mexico City. The meeting included government representatives who oversee labor issues from all three member countries. The council also discussed "the USMCA’s Labor Chapter implementation and conferred on further opportunities to collaborate on labor priorities as a North America Region," the joint statement from the meeting said. This was the Labor Council's second meeting, after the first took place in June 29, 2021 (see 2106300043).
Longshore workers are "prepared" to walk out of work at Canadian West Coast ports at 8 a.m. on July 1, after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada issued a 72-hour strike notice to the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, ILWU Canada said in a news release June 28. The ILWU Canada Bargaining Committee "has run out options at the bargaining table because the BCMEA and their member employers have refused to negotiate on the main issues, and we feel we are left with no choice but to take the next step in the process," the news release said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Correction: Looming elections in the U.S. put pressure on negotiations with the EU on sustainable steel and aluminum, limiting talks because new elections would make announcing potential tariffs as part of the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum unpopular or maybe "not possible at all," Charlotte Unger, a research fellow for the American-German Institute (AGI), said during a webinar June 27 (see 2306270059).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP released the agenda for the inaugural "Green Trade Innovation and Incentives Forum," in an agency news release June 28. Speakers will include "a range of trade industry experts," CBP officials, and a "federal executive panel with representation from the Department of Homeland Security, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation and other federal agency partners" that "will hear public comments from a robust roster of trade associations, individual importers, technology providers, academic experts and non-governmental organizations in response to CBP’s call for comments on the themes of sustainable innovation, green trade incentivization, and green data as a strategic asset," CBP said.
CBP released its June 28 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 57, No. 25), which includes the following ruling actions:
Roberto Vaquero took over as director of CBP San Juan Field Operations on June 22, CBP said June 27. Vaquero has more than 21 years of federal government service and "has served in critical leadership positions within CBP," the agency said, including as acting director of field operations for the San Juan Field Office. Vaquero also held leadership positions in the Miami and New York CBP field offices, and was acting director of CBP's Immigration Advisory Program, overseeing operations in 13 countries.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Looming elections in the U.S. put pressure on negotiations with the EU on sustainable steel and aluminum, limiting talks because new elections would make announcing potential tariffs as part of the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum unpopular or maybe "not possible at all," Charlotte Unger, a research fellow for the American-German Institute (AGI), said during a webinar June 27 (see 2306270059).