Importers need to look beyond the products specifically identified under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to any products with raw materials processed in China, as the country moves more and more production to the Xinjiang province, said Laura Murphy, a professor at Sheffield Hallam University, speaking at CBP's Forced Labor Technical Expo on March 15.
The State Department is encouraging importers to join legally binding agreements with labor unions that include mechanisms for workers and employers to ensure labor standards are being met and resolve labor disputes, preventing forced labor indicators in the supply chain, a State Department official said at a CBP event on forced labor on March 14.
A recent change to CBP's Part 111 customs broker regulations that requires client termination and reporting to CBP of intentional attempts by the client to defraud the government could conflict with existing prior disclosure laws and put the broker-importer relationship into conflict, Sandra Bell, a DLA Piper trade lawyer and former CBP official, said in a March 9 blog post.
The U.S. asked the Mexican government to review a Unique Fabricating, Inc. plant in Queretaro, Mexico, based on allegations that the factory is obstructing workers’ freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, the Department of Labor said in a March 6 news release. Mexican labor union Transformacion Sindical recently filed a complaint under the USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism alleging Unique Fabricating, a U.S.-based company, denied it access to the facility and interfered with organizing efforts, DOL said.
Beginning April 1, Maersk will begin invoicing shippers directly for detention charges instead of charging motor carriers by default, it said in a March 6 client advisory. "This change will support our aim to provide timely and accurate detention invoicing to the correct party," the advisory said.
There have been no known security breaches from Chinese-made cranes at U.S. ports, the American Association of Port Authorities said in a news release March 8. The statement came in response to a Wall Street Journal report that some U.S. officials were concerned that Chinese-made cranes, specifically cranes from Chinese company ZPMC, could be a spying tool for the Chinese government and a way for the Chinese government to disrupt the flow of goods. ZPMC now makes 80% of ship-to-shore cranes at U.S. ports, a U.S. official said, according to the report.
Two Canadian ministers will "closely review" proposed voluntary “Product of USA” labeling regulations for meat, poultry and egg products issued by the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service March 7 (see 2303070053), making sure “that new definitions and rules allow farmers, processors and consumers in both countries to continue to benefit from efficient, stable and competitive markets,” their joint statement March 7 said. Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau and Minister of Trade Mary Ng also said they would oppose “any proposition from the United States to renew a mandatory country of origin [labeling] system for pork and beef.”
In a recent compliance advisory, the Environmental Protection Agency warned importers that failure to comply with pesticide regulations may lead to civil or criminal penalties. Devices that fail to comply with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act could also result in a CBP “hold or denial at a port of entry, the issuance of a Stop Sale, Use, or Removal Order (SSURO)" or seizure, the advisory said.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued its first notices of violation under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, for not following the agency's new allowance system when importing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The 2023 allowances for HFCs were announced Oct. 7, 2022, as part of the “phasedown” of HFCs (see 2210070066). “Compliance with the allowance system is critical to assuring the success of the United States’ HFC phasedown program. Illegal imports undermine the phasedown, disadvantage companies who follow the rules, and contribute to global warming,” the agency said March 2.
The Environmental Protection Agency released a final rule March 3 setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 29 chemical substances subject to Premanufacture Notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect May 5. The SNURs cover the following: