What has changed? On March 11, 2020, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (“CECC”) announced new proposed legislation, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, co-sponsored by the chairs of the CECC, Rep. Jim McGovern (D – MA) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R – FL), targeting supply chains linked to forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would establish a rebuttable presumption that all labor occurring in Xinjiang, China,…
Baker McKenzieās Canadian international trade and customs team is publishing a series of articles reviewing 2024 trade and customs compliance developments and looking ahead to 2025ās burgeoning issues. This article focuses on Canadian legislative and enforcement developments in combatting forced and child labour. Before we dive into Canada’s commitments to combatting forced and child labour, here is an overview of the current state of politics in Canada, which includes a discussion of the legislative powers…
On 27 June 2024, the UK Court of Appeal (“CA”) notably overturned a High Court decision by finding in favour of the World Uyghur Congress (“WUC”) in a case on forced labour and human rights abuses in overseas supply chains. In its decision, the CA focused on the application of the UKĀ Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) by the UK National Crime Agency (“NCA”), in particular the requirements for commencing an investigation and how the…
While expectations remain low that federal lawmakers will be able to agree on controversial trade legislation, particularly in a presidential election year, chances are better that Congress will agree on a narrower proposal to address a topic of growing interest and concernāde minimis reform. Background Congress amended Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. Ā§ 1321) with the enactment of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-125) to…
On June 24, 2021, the White House announced that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) on silica-based products made by Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., Ltd., a company located in Xinjiang, and its subsidiaries. This WRO is based on information reasonably indicating that Hoshine used forced labor to manufacture silica-based products. As a result, personnel at all U.S. ports of entry have been instructed to immediately begin detaining shipments…
On 22 March 2021, the EU imposed restrictive measures on eleven individuals and four entities in relation to alleged human rights violations, including: four individuals and one company with links to the large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uyghurs in Xinjiang;two individuals and one company in the DPRK, responsible for implementing repressive security policies and other human rights violations;two officials in Libya and the armed Libyan militia, responsible for serious human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings;two Russian individuals involved in violations of LGBTI…
On December 22, 2020, the US Commerce Departmentās Bureau of Industry and Security (āBISā) published a final rule (āFinal Ruleā) in the Federal Register adding 77 entities and individuals to the Entity List, including several prominent Chinese multinationals (together, the āDesigneesā). The Final Rule took effect on December 18, 2020. On the same day, BIS also published FAQs related to its recent expansion of the foreign-produced direct product rule (the āHuawei FPDP Ruleā). Entity List Designations In press statements (here and here) released with the…
On September 14, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it had issued five Withhold Release Orders (WRO) on products from the Peopleās Republic of China (PRC). CBP said the products subject to the WROs are produced with state-sponsored forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where the Chinese government is engaged in systemic human rights abuses against the Uyghur people and other ethnic and religious minorities. The new WROs direct CBP…
On October 9, 2019, the US Commerce Departmentās Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 28 Chinese entities to the Entity List because they are accused by the US Government of being associated with human rights violations and abuses against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinijiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). All exports, reexports, or in-country transfers of items (i.e., goods, software, technology) subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR),…