Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade news:     

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

  • CBP issued guidance on the modifications made to Section 301 pursuant to the findings of the four-year review of actions taken in the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.
  • CBP officers in Norfolk, Virginia, seize food trailers and golf carts from China that violate federal motor vehicle safety standards.
  • CBP officers working at the Presidio port of entry seized 748 pounds prohibited Mexican bologna.

United States Trade Representative (USTR)

  • USTR and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has secured over $26.7 billion in agricultural market access across the globe for America’s farmers, ranchers, fishers, and food manufacturers.
  • Katherin Tai submitted written responses to the Senate Finance Committee following a hearing earlier this year. In her answers, she declined to endorse a permanent e-commerce tariff moratorium and called for more money for CBP, to address Section 301 tariff circumvention.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)

  • BIS published its second quarterly update of the boycott Requester List. The list identifies potential sources of certain boycott-related requests that industry may receive during the regular course of business.
  • BIS is seeking public comments on an information collection involving export licensees transferring an active export license to another party.
  • BIS imposed a penalty on Quantum Corporation to resolve alleged violations of the Antiboycott Regulations.
  • BIS imposed administrative penalties against First Call International Inc. for submission of a back-dated document and prohibited exports.
  • BIS announced the expansion of the Validated End User (VEU) program to include data centers.

United States International Trade Commission (USITC)

  • USITC released a report on apparel export competitiveness of certain suppliers to the United States.
  • USITC made a determination in the five-year (sunset) review concerning large residential washers from Mexico.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

  • DHS places first steel and aspartame PRC-based companies on the UFLPA Entity List.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

  • The FDA announced the Unified Human Foods Program, a new model for field operations and other modernization efforts. This is the single largest reorganization in the agency’s modern history, impacting more than 8,000 employees.
  • The FDA published an artificial intelligence glossary as an educational resource to help support consistent use of artificial intelligence terminology by the FDA and interested parties.

Consumer Product Safety Commission

  • The CPSC has extended until Nov. 14 the public comment period for its rulemaking on labeling requirements for battery-operated toys.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

  • The FTC is sending more than $88,000 in refunds to consumers who bought Chinese-made measuring cups marketed as “Made in USA” by Instant Brands, the maker of Pyrex-brand kitchen and home products.

Congress

  • The President signed into law S.794 – CTPAT Pilot Program Act of 2023. The law requires the Department of Homeland Security to carry out a pilot program that assesses whether allowing certain entities (such as third-party logistics providers) to participate in CTPAT would enhance port security, combat terrorism, prevent supply chain security breaches, or otherwise meet the goals of CTPAT. 
  • Rep. Miller of West Virginia led a bipartisan letter asking the International Trade Commission to consider an antidumping and countervailing duty case brought by Ferroglobe and CC Metals and Alloys. The letter urgest the Commission to act to protect the domestic ferrosilicon industry.
  • Several House Ways and Means Committee members wrote a letter asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to brief them on the status of the dispute over Mexico’s policy on genetically modified corn, and how that might affect the 2026 review of the USMCA.

Industry News

  • Union dockworkers along East Coast and Gulf Coast ports began their strike on October 1, 2024. Shipping companies have started to issue announcements about potential surcharging.
  • A group of more than 270 trade associations, led by the National Retail Federation, sent a letter to President Biden asking him to immediately reopen the ports and get the two sides talking with the help of a federal mediator. 
  • The group, led by the National Retail Federation, called the situation dire, and said it had massive negative ramifications for the industries that participated in the letter.
  • A leaked copy of the confidential audit of Volkswagen’s Xinjiang factory shows severe shortcomings in their duty to protect Uyghur staff.

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