International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Aug. 23-27 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP announced a two-year extension of its Section 321 data pilot, through August 2023, in a notice released Aug. 27. “CBP will extend the test for another two years to continue further evaluation of the 321 Data Pilot program and the risks associated with section 321 shipments,” it said. The pilot is still “limited to a maximum of nine participants,” said CBP, which has said it intends to expand the pilot to more participants (see 2108040012).
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Aug. 16-20 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP's use of a new “de minimis” standard for allowing imports of goods in which forced labor played a minimal role will depend on the specifics of individual cases, a CBP spokesperson said by email. The standard was first mentioned as part of a set of frequently asked questions about a withhold release order aimed at silica-based products produced by Hoshine Silicon Industry, a company located in China's Xinjiang province, and its subsidiaries (see 2106240062). CBP said in the FAQs that it may consider a product outside the scope of the statute that prohibits forced labor goods if the forced labor contribution is “insignificant” (see 2108050019).
CBP seemed to open up the possibility for a new de minimis provision under forced labor withhold release orders, but more guidance is needed to determine its impact, Mayer Brown said in an Aug. 16 post. The post focused on an answer released in a recent CBP set of frequently asked questions on the WRO on silica-based products made by Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. in Xinjiang, China (see 2108030026). “CBP now appears willing to use its authority to enforce US law on the use of forced labor (19 U.S.C § 1307) to provide importers with flexibility when their imports contain de minimis amounts of product produced with forced labor,” the firm said. “However, until more guidance develops on how CBP intends to implement this policy, manufacturers and US importers should be wary of relying on it too heavily.”
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Aug. 2-6 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
A recent set of frequently asked questions about the withhold release order aimed at silica-based products produced by Hoshine Silicon Industry, a company located in China's Xinjiang province (see 2108030026), provides some insights on how CBP views its enforcement role, Miller & Chevalier lawyers said in an alert. CBP's list of example products subject to the WRO showed that the agency views the detention order as “far-reaching,” including both raw materials and “downstream products that contain silicon metals sourced from Hoshine or any [of] its subsidiaries, regardless of where the later-stage products (e.g., ingots, wafers, cells, and modules) are physically made.”
CBP is planning to extend the ongoing Section 321 data collection pilot for low-value shipments and expand it to more participants while the agency continues to work on a proposal to require new mandatory data elements (see 2101290033), said Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, who was speaking virtually during a CBP Detroit Trade Week event Aug. 3. "We think we need to expand that out, get more participation in it, get people used to the idea they have to collect this additional information, because the big effort that we're working on is regulations that will mandate that level of information," he said.
CBP recently posted answers to a set of frequently asked questions about the withhold release order aimed at silica-based products from China. The June 24 WRO applies to silicon produced by Hoshine Silicon Industry, a company located in China's Xinjiang province, and its subsidiaries (see 2106240062). The FAQs add some more details for how CBP will be administering the WRO.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from July 19-23 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.