Forced Labor

CBP posted the following documents ahead of the Dec. 7 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:

The World Uyghur Congress and the Global Legal Action Network launched a case at the High Court in London accusing U.K. government agencies of breaking the law by not investigating the importation of cotton products made by forced labor in China's Xinjiang region. The court heard a trial on Oct. 25 in which the WUC challenged the British home secretary, HM Revenue and Customs and the National Crime Agency for refusing to investigate goods allegedly made by forced labor of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the region, The Guardian reported.

The EU's parliament is considering a proposal to ban goods made with forced labor from entering into commerce, as was reported before it was officially announced (see 2209120063). EU customs authorities will aim to stop products made with forced labor at EU borders. A FAQ about the proposal, which would have to pass both the parliament and the European Council, says the customs agents would take a "robust, risk-based enforcement approach. In a preliminary phase, they will assess forced labour risks based on many different sources of information that together should facilitate the identification of risks and help focus their efforts. These may include submissions from civil society, a database of forced labour risks focusing on specific products and geographic areas, and the due diligence that companies carry out."

Despite the fact that the administration has not opened any formal free trade agreement negotiations in two years, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman said he's confident a trade agreement can be reached with Taiwan.

The EU is in line to ban products made using forced labor, likely targeting shoes, clothes and commodities including timber, fish and cocoa, the Financial Times reported. The European Commission is expected to announce plans to implement a ban this week, and the Green/European Free Alliance bloc in the European Parliament has publicly declared support for restrictions that emulate the U.S.' ban on all goods from China's Xinjiang province.

Twenty-seven House Republicans, led by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, asked CBP to defend its implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, in light of a recent report from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (see 2209060033). They asked if any red jujube dates from Xinjiang have entered the U.S. since June 21, and if so, how many shipments have done so.

CBP posted several documents ahead of the Sept. 14 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai had a first video call with Japan's new trade minister, Nishimura Yasutoshi, ahead of an in-person meeting next week. "Ambassador Tai and Minister Nishimura reaffirmed ongoing collaboration to address non-market policies and practices, including economic coercion, and shared commitment to respect internationally-recognized worker rights, including eradicating forced labor," USTR's readout said. This followed a lower-level series of meetings, called the U.S.-Japan Partnership on Trade, where the U.S. said they discussed regulatory transparency, standards issues that are barriers to U.S. exports of products and services, and the U.S.'s desire that Japan buy more ethanol.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jayme White emphasized the importance of Mexico blocking the import of goods made with forced labor, the importance of a science- and risk-based regulatory approval process for agricultural biotechnology, implementation of labor reform and the importance of hearing from stakeholders as new regulations are developed, according to a readout of his Aug. 23 meeting with Mexico's Under Secretary for Foreign Trade, Luz Maria de la Mora. The Mexican government didn't release a readout of what was discussed during the video call.

The U.S. and Taiwan this week agreed to soon begin trade talks under a new initiative aimed at increasing trade in goods and removing “discriminatory barriers,” the Office of U.S. Trade Representative said. The negotiations, which USTR said are set to begin “early this fall,” also will include discussions on trade facilitation measures, anti-corruption, agriculture, technology standards, digital trade, labor and non-market policies. The U.S. and Taiwan plan to “pursue an ambitious schedule” for the talks, Deputy USTR Sarah Bianchi said, adding the discussions will result in a “fairer, more prosperous and resilient 21st century economy.”