U.S. International Trade Commission
In February 2024, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began taking a new approach to Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) enforcement—questionnaires. Once again, the solar industry is among the first targets, vanguards...more
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana. As an example of this I present to you the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. If you are not familiar with this, it is worth taking a moment...more
From Wikipedia: De minimis is a Latin expression meaning “pertaining to minimal things”, normally in the terms de minimis non curat praetor. (“The praetor does not concern himself with trifles”) or de minimis non curat lex...more
It came as something of a shock in May, 2021 when the Biden administration voiced support for waiver of intellectual property protection mandated under the TRIPS agreement for COVID-19 vaccines (see "Biden Administration...more
The fight against forced labor in trade is not a new concept. For decades, the United States has banned the importation of goods produced with forced labor through the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930 (“Tariff Act”). Section 307 of...more
The rebuttable presumption of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act ("UFLPA") took effect on June 21, 2022. As a reminder, under this presumption for purposes of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, goods produced in the...more
Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force issues required enforcement strategy, including guidance to importers. On June 21, 2022, the key operative provision of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) entered into...more
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Federal Register notice requesting public comments on methods to prevent the importation into the United States of goods made wholly or in part...more
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments on the implementation of the new regional import restriction affecting goods from the...more
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) issued a Notice Seeking Public Comments on Methods to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined,...more
Will 2022 Be the Year of Supply Chain Ethics? Effective June 21, 2022, in an effort to address forced labor concerns, U.S. law will broadly prohibit imports of products from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region...more
On December 23, 2021, President Biden signed the bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA or the “Act”), Pub. L. No. 117-78, which will ban the importation of all goods sourced from the People’s Republic of...more
US importers should participate in the Task Force's comment and hearing process to flag due diligence challenges and formulate the strategy to enforce the import prohibitions. What to Know - Effective June 21, 2022, 180...more
After more than a year of debate in the U.S. Congress as to the scope and enforceability, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA or Act) passed Congress with strong bipartisan support. President Biden has publicly...more
The UFLPA aims to clamp down on the import of items produced by alleged forced labor in and relating to the XUAR. On 16 December 2021, the US Senate unanimously passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA),...more
The Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) in U.S. Department of Commerce has added 34 more companies to its Entity List in its continued expansion of U.S. export controls to address human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur...more
On Thursday, 24 June 2021, the Biden administration took various actions against solar product manufacturers in the Xinjiang region, which will have implications on the supply chain for the construction of solar energy...more
Review Your Supply Chain and Establish Compliance Plans Because Forced Labor Laws are Here to Stay - If passed, these bills will grant US Customs and Border Protection authority for a region-wide WRO enabling the agency...more
Withhold Release Orders (“WROs”) are a key part of Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP”) efforts to enforce the Tariff Act, which prohibits the importation of merchandise mined, produced or manufactured, wholly or in part,...more
On January 13, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued a new Withhold Release Order (“WRO”) under Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 on all cotton products and tomato products from the entire Xinjiang region of...more
The US Government has taken action recently to step up enforcement against forced labor. As particular regions come under increased media scrutiny, the issue has renewed interest in Congress, which is considering several...more
Because of the time needed to mark, pack, and ship goods from Hong Kong to the US, it is imperative that importers act quickly to ensure compliance with this new requirement. As reported previously and as a result of the...more
In a decision that highlights the overlap of international trade obligations and False Claims Act (FCA) jurisprudence, a federal judge recently dismissed an FCA suit because the whistleblower’s claims, against an importer of...more
On November 22, 2017, Apple, Inc. (“Apple”) released a statement confirming reports that its major supplier in China, Foxconn Technology Group (“Foxconn”) has used illegal student labor to assemble the latest version of the...more
First, a little background for those unfamiliar with the wonderful world of the International Trade Commission (ITC). Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1337) prohibits “unfair methods of competition and...more