Issuance of the Updated Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory - U.S. Department of State
The U.S. Department of State, alongside the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the U.S. Department of Labor, issued an updated Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory in response to the government of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and the growing evidence of its use of forced labor there. The updated Advisory highlights the heightened risks for businesses with supply chain and investment links to Xinjiang given the entities complicit in forced labor and other human rights abuses there and throughout China.
Among other elements, the updated Business Advisory:
• Includes information from the Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which are now co-signatories;
• Notes that the PRC government is perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang;
• Provides specific information regarding risks related to investment in PRC companies linked to surveillance and forced labor in Xinjiang;
• Strengthens recommendations for businesses regarding the risks and potential exposure related to supply chains and investment links to Xinjiang, including but not limited to surveillance;
• Updates the list of U.S. government enforcement actions in and in connection to Xinjiang;
• Adds information on silicon and polysilicon supply chains linked to Xinjiang; and
• Provides a list of other countries’ relevant regulatory provisions and information on forced labor in supply chains.
The United States will continue to promote accountability for the PRC’s atrocities and other abuses through a whole-of-government effort and in close coordination with the private sector and our allies and partners.
________________________________________
Federal Register Notices:
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Aluminum Wire and Cable From the People's Republic of China: Rescission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2019
• Petroleum Wax Candles From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited Fifth Sunset Review of the Antidumping Duty Order
• Certain Potassium Phosphate Salts From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders
• Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada
• Pentafluoroethane (R-125) From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part, in the Countervailing Duty Investigation
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers and Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order and Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
• Certain Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers and Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders
• Methionine From France: Antidumping Duty Order
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Reviews; Certain Magnesia Carbon Bricks From China and Mexico
• Ironing Tables and Certain Parts Thereof From China; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Review
• Certain Seamless Carbon and Alloy Steel Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe From China; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Reviews
• Seamless Carbon and Alloy Steel Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe From Korea, Russia, and Ukraine; Scheduling of the Final Phase of the Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts From Thailand: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2019-2020
• Certain Cased Pencils From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2018-2019
• Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide From the People's Republic of China: Rescission of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2018-2019
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Rescission of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Resin From Canada, China, India, and Oman; Notice of Commission Determination To Conduct Full Five-Year Reviews
• Notice of Request for Submissions on the Public Interest; Certain Chemical Mechanical Planarization Slurries and Components Thereof________________________________________
Commerce Department Adds 34 Entities to the Entity List to Target Enablers of China’s Human Rights Abuses and Military Modernization, and Unauthorized Iranian and Russian Procurement - U.S. Department of Commerce
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 34 entities to the Entity List for their involvement in, or risk of becoming involved in, activities contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States. Of these 34 entities, 14 are based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and have enabled Beijing’s campaign of repression, mass detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions of China (XUAR), where the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity. Commerce added another five entities directly supporting PRC’s military modernization programs related to lasers and C4ISR programs to the Entity List.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo issued the following statement:
“The Department of Commerce remains firmly committed to taking strong, decisive action to target entities that are enabling human rights abuses in Xinjiang or that use U.S. technology to fuel China’s destabilizing military modernization efforts. We will continue to aggressively use export controls to hold governments, companies, and individuals accountable for attempting to access U.S.-origin items for subversive activities in countries like China, Iran, and Russia that threaten U.S. national security interests and are inconsistent with our values.”
As part of this package, Commerce added eight entities for facilitating the export of U.S. items to Iran in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) or to entities on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially-Designated Nationals List. Commerce added another six entities for their involvement in the procurement of U.S.-origin electronic components, likely in furtherance of Russian military programs. Additionally, Commerce added one entity to the Military End-User List under the destination of Russia. Finally, Commerce removed one entity from the Unverified List, as a conforming change to this same entity being added to the Entity List for being involved in proliferation to unsafeguarded nuclear activities.
The Entity List is a tool utilized by BIS to restrict the export, reexport, and transfer (in-country) of items subject to the EAR to persons (individuals, organizations, companies) reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. Additional license requirements apply to exports, re-exports, and transfers (in-country) of items subject to the EAR to listed entities, and the availability of most license exceptions is limited.
For more information, visit www.bis.doc.gov.
________________________________________
Port of New York and New Jersey Continues Record-Breaking Streak of High Cargo Volume, Rail Activity - Port of NY/NJ -Breaking Waves
May 2021 saw another double-digit, record-breaking month at the Port of New York and New Jersey. Total volume, imports, autos, and rail posted double-digit volume increases compared to the previous year, and rail broke its all-time monthly record for May.
Read further
__________________________________________
TMF at Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to Increase 2.2% on August 1, 2021 - PierPass
LONG BEACH, Calif., June 30, 2021—The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) today announced that on August 1, 2021, the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will increase by 2.2 percent. The adjustment matches the combined 2.2 percent increase in longshore wage and assessment rates that take effect in early July.
Beginning August 1, the TMF will be $34.21 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) or $68.42 for all other sizes of container. The TMF is charged on non-exempt containers. Containers exempt from the TMF include empty containers; import cargo or export cargo that transits the Alameda Corridor in a container and is subject to a fee imposed by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority; and transshipment cargo. Empty chassis and bobtail trucks are also exempt.
Read further
________________________________________
CBP Agriculture Specialists in Pharr Intercept Rare Pest, a First in the Nation Discovery - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
Made in USA labels will finally mean goods were made in America
PHARR, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the Pharr International Bridge discovered a rare pest, a first in nation discovery, in a shipment of coconuts.
“By intercepting these exotic pests, our agriculture specialists help protect American agriculture and contribute to the nation’s economic security by denying entry to invasive species not known to exist in the U.S.” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.
On June 17, 2021, CBP agriculture specialists at the Pharr cargo facility conducted an inspection on a commercial shipment of coconuts arriving from Mexico, which resulted in the discovery of a live pest. The insect was submitted for identification to a U.S. Department of Agriculture entomology laboratory and the initial identification was later confirmed by a national specialist as Eburia nigrovittata. A member of the Cerambycidae family, the Eburia nigrovittata is a species of longhorn beetle, which feeds on stems, trunks, roots of herbaceous or woody plants and can cause extensive damage to living trees or untreated lumber. According to USDA entomologists, this pest has never been found at any of the nation’s ports of entry. CBP refused entry to the shipment and returned it back to Mexico.
The interception is an example of the diligent work CBP agriculture specialists do on a daily basis to fulfill CBP’s agriculture mission, which is crucial in preventing foreign pests from establishing in the United States. Pests that are not known to occur in the U.S. may be detrimental to the nation’s agriculture industry
________________________________________
U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Proposed Rule to Require Airlines to Refund Fees to Consumers for Significantly Delayed Bags and Services Not Provided by the Airline - U.S. Department of Transportation
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) today announced that it is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would require airlines to refund fees for checked bags that are significantly delayed and for ancillary services, such as advance seat selection and wi-fi, when consumers pay for them but they are not provided. The Department is acting on President Biden’s Executive Order Promoting Competition in the American Economy.
“Consumers deserve to receive the services they pay for or to get their money back when they don’t. This proposed rule would require airlines to refund fees to passengers whose bags are significantly delayed or who don’t receive the services that they paid for.” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Under an existing DOT rule, passengers are entitled to a fee refund if their checked bags are lost. The NPRM announced today proposes to require airlines to also refund checked baggage fees when the baggage is delayed beyond 12 hours for domestic flights and beyond 25 hours for international flights. It also proposes to require airlines to promptly provide a refund to a passenger of any fees paid for ancillary services anytime that the services are not provided by the airline. The Department’s existing rule requires airlines to refund fees for services that were not provided only due to an oversale situation or flight cancellation. The proposed rule addresses two additional aviation consumer protection issues as directed by the FAA Extension, Safety and Security Act of 2016 and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.
The NPRM can be found here.
The Department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) assists, educates and protects aviation consumers by, reviewing and responding to consumer complaints about air travel, investigating and enforcing as appropriate violations of aviation consumer protection, civil rights and licensing requirements against airlines and ticket agents, and assessing the need for and drafting aviation consumer protection and civil rights regulations. Additional information and resources, including information on how to file a complaint with OACP, can be found here.