Effective January 13 at all U.S. ports of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will detain cotton products and tomato products produced in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.  

CBP issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against cotton products and tomato products produced in Xinjiang based on information that reasonably indicates the use of detainee or prison labor and situations of forced labor. The agency identified the following forced labor indicators through the course of its investigation: debt bondage, restriction of movement, isolation, intimidation and threats, withholding of wages, and abusive living and working conditions.

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The deployment of the Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis (AIM) system scheduled for January 25, 2021 has been delayed until March 29, 2021. The AIM system website consists of an online aluminum import license application platform and public monitoring. This delay means that licenses will not be required for covered aluminum products until the new implementation date.

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The U.S. Trade Representative has determined to suspend the tariff action in the Section 301 investigation of France’s Digital Services Tax (DST).  The additional tariffs on certain products of France were announced in July 2020 and were scheduled to go into effect on January 6, 2021.  The U.S. Trade Representative has decided to suspend the tariffs of the ongoing investigation of similar DSTs adopted or under consideration in ten other jurisdictions.  Those investigations have significantly progressed; however, have not yet reached a determination on possible trade actions.  A suspension of the tariff action in the France DST investigation will promote a coordinated response in the ongoing DST investigations.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that the 2021 Customs Broker Triennial Status Report and fee submission period for all licensed customs brokers will run from December 15, 2020 to February 28, 2021. Each licensed broker is required to file a status report with CBP every three years.

Customs Broker Triennial Status Report and fee submissions can be made online via the eCBP portal, which accepts credit card, debit card, and digital wallet (e.g. PayPal and Amazon Pay) payments. No additional fees are charged for any payments and receipts are provided electronically.

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The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released the findings of its 2020 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (the Notorious Markets List), which highlights online and physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy.

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As we continue to practice social distancing, share the gift of love through sending a Valentine’s card to your family, friends and loved ones this year!  Did you know that Valentine’s Day is the 2nd most popular day of the year for sending cards?  Christmas is the first most popular!  Also, did you know that 9 million people buy their pets a gift for Valentine’s Day?  Maybe get them a card!  Hopefully, they won’t eat it!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Complying with U.S. Export Controls

Date:  March 2-5, 2021

Location:  Webinar

The two-online workshop is led by BIS's professional counselling staff and provides an in-depth examination of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).  The program will cover the information exporters need to know to comply with U.S. export control requirements on commercial goods.

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2021 CBP Trade Symposium

Date:  March 23-24, 2021

Location: Anaheim, CA

CBP announced the rescheduled dates from the Trade Symposium that was originally scheduled for March 2020.  Save the date!

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