Lawmakers Raise Concerns about UFLPA Enforcement
A bipartisan group of lawmakers raised their concerns this week with the Department of Homeland Security about the enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), including implementation of the law’s “rebuttable presumption.” The signatories, which include the law’s lead sponsors, acknowledged major challenges in UFLPA implementation amid global supply chains and offered in the letter, “We would like to help CBP improve its enforcement process to ensure that the law —which also imposes a rebuttable presumption on goods from third countries as long as those goods use inputs produced in XUAR—is implemented as intended.” Read the bipartisan letter.
CBP Publishes Cyberattack Guidance for Brokers
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published guidance on best practices for customs brokers to prepare for and respond to cyberattacks. CBP says the Cyber Incident Guidance for Customs Brokers has recommendations on “how to prevent, respond to, and recover from potential cyber-attacks on customs broker data systems.” See CBP’s new guidance document.
COAC Issues Fresh Round of Recommendations, Issue Papers
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published the latest round of Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) issue papers and recommendations. COAC’s Intelligent Enforcement Subcommittee, Next Generation Facilitation Subcommittee, and Rapid Response Subcommittee submitted the reports, including:
- IE Forced Labor Issue Paper-March 2023
- E Bond Issue Paper-March 2023
- IE ADCVD Issue Paper-March 2023
- Intelligent Enforcement Subcommittee Executive Summary-March 2023
- NGF Passenger Air Operations Issue Paper – March 2023
- NGF E-Commerce Task Force Issue Paper-March 2023
- NGF 21st CCF Issue Paper-March 2023
- RR United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Recommendations-March 2023
- RR Broker Modernization Issue Paper- March 2023
COAC held its first public meeting of the year late last month. See CBP’s meeting summary.
ILWU: Last Week's "Slowdown" at POLA/POLB Not a Work Action
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) says a “slowdown” last Friday at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach was not the result of a coordinated work action related to ongoing contract negotiations. Instead, the ILWU says, it was a due to thousands of union workers attending a monthly membership meeting on Thursday evening and observing the Good Friday holiday. Both ports were mostly shut on Friday when not enough workers showed up for work. Read the latest from Reuters.
WTO Director General: "Reglobalization" Is Underway
AAEI joined other trade professionals at a Washington International Association event today to meet and hear from World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The Director General thanked the U.S . government for accepting the WTO’s agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Okonjo-Iweala also reflected on the last three years, highlighting the important role of the WTO in establishing COVID vaccinee access rules; encouraging cooperation in export controls; and communicating the importance of establishing subside rules in fisheries and environmental goods and services. The Director General stated that we are now in a period of “reglobalization,” where strategic competition is creating nearshoring, friendshoring, and reshoring. She noted that we can not allow strategic competition to restrict trade. Okonjo-Iweala left the audience with one ask to continue to speak of trade’s importance for development and inclusion. Read more the WTO’s agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.