The former lead negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, after a close examination of the joint statements from the latest Indo-Pacific Economic Framework negotiating session, said the "substantial conclusion" of the supply chain pillar is less than meets the eye.

CBP is now detaining imports of batteries under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, customs lawyer Richard Mojica said in a post on LinkedIn. “CBP’s Detention Notice Addendum -- a document that lists commodity-specific supply chain tracing requirements -- now references batteries,” Mojica said.

Fourteen types of frozen fruit mixtures, five of which contain vegetable ingredients, should be classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 0811.90.80 as "other" frozen fruits, dutiable at 14.5%, the Court of International Trade ruled. Judge Stephen Vaden said the merchandise is properly classified under heading 0811 since the term "Fruit ... frozen" describes these goods in whole.

Very little of a hearing on customs modernization focused on the issues CBP and the trade have focused on as they work on a modernization proposal. The agency and traders are talking about new kinds of advance data, expedited release for trusted traders, better harmonization of data requests from partner government agencies and CBP, and data sharing from CBP with rights holders on intellectual property violations, among other changes.

The high-profile House Select Committee on China is recommending that the de minimis threshold of $800 be reduced "with particular focus on foreign adversaries including the PRC."

Eighteen months after a senator launched a discussion draft on customs modernization (see 2111030035), the House Ways and Means Committee is beginning its examination of how to shape a bill to update CBP's authorities.

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Importers doing due diligence on their Chinese suppliers to make sure they don’t run afoul of forced labor prohibitions need to stick with the “nuts and bolts” of supply chain information, rather than explaining why it’s needed or asking for certifications that the suppliers comply with U.S. law, both of which could be illegal under Chinese law, Virginia Newman of Miller & Chevalier said during a recent webinar.

An International Trade Commission study of foreign-trade zones, and how U.S. policy supports or undermines their effectiveness, gave some support for the argument free trade zone advocates have made about using FTZs as a staging area for de minimis shipments, but suggested that complaints about treatment under USMCA were overblown.

CBP's upcoming regulatory changes around de minimis shipments will combine the best of the Section 321 data pilot and the best of the entry type 86 test, adding together "clearance speed of the entry type 86," CBP's E-Commerce and Small Business Branch Chief Christine Hogue said on a May 18 webinar discussion hosted by the World Trade Center Miami.