There are a number of tools that the U.S. government has yet to fully utilize if it truly wants to tackle China's use of forced labor to manufacture goods, according to panelists speaking June 13 at a Hudson Institute event, “Tackling the Uyghur Forced Labor Challenge.”

The head of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force told an audience convened by the Consumer Technology Association that Volkswagen "did the right thing" when it self-reported it had a tiny component made by a company recently added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. The task force is responsible for adding companies to the list.

Importers and the broader trade industry should expect DHS in the coming months to expand the business sectors under scrutiny for companies’ adherence to forced labor guidelines within the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, DHS Undersecretary for Policy Robert Silvers said during a June 12 webinar sponsored by Kharon, a risk analytics platform.

There was no disagreement at a June 12 hearing on the need to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act before it expires about 15 months from now, and Democrats and Republicans on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade also talked about changing the terms of "graduation" from AGOA. Democrats on the committee were more vocal than members of the Republican majority about the need to change AGOA before renewing it.

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Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. asked BMW to come clean after what he characterized as "shifting explanations" about its use of components made by a company added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list.

DHS has added three more companies to the list of companies cited for using forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), according to a notice.

The Court of International Trade on June 10 signaled that CBP's practice of not notifying companies when they become subject to interim Enforce and Protect Act investigations could give rise to a due process claim should the company sufficiently allege that it suffered "specific enough harm." However, the court found that importer Phoenix Metal failed to allege that harm with enough specificity.

A bipartisan pair in the Senate is in the early stages of writing a trade facilitation bill, which is intended to build on CBP's 21st Century Customs Framework -- an approach that trade professionals felt was too focused on enforcement, and neglected trade facilitation.

False consignee addresses and vague descriptions of products are beginning to be flagged by CBP, as the agency tries to wrap its arms around the flood de minimis packages -- and CBP's insistence on better labeling is spreading to other modes of entry as well, Flexport customs experts said.