Almost 20 trade groups and a handful of companies disagreed on how to ensure supply chain resilience -- many arguing that liberalizing trade with allies is crucial to reduce the likelihood of shortages, or weaponization, but others asserted that friendshoring will undermine domestic production already under stress.

The official proclamation implementing an announcement in mid-May on changes to the 14.25% tariffs on imported solar panels and the tariff rate quotas on imported cells was issued by the White House on June 21.

A "back to basics" webinar on de minimis presented by CBP, which was watched by more than 1,900 in the trade community, didn't elaborate on the suspensions of customs brokers from Type 86, though CBP official Felicia Pullam said the agency has heard "a lot of concern in the trade community about this enforcement."

Although the prospects for renewing the African Growth and Opportunity Act before its expiration next year look positive, the renewal still faces “headwinds” due to an unusually partisan atmosphere on Capitol Hill, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said during a Wilson Center panel June 18.

The Federal Maritime Commission launched an investigation on whether ocean carriers are complying with a recent decision giving motor carriers the right to choose their chassis providers in four U.S. markets. The probe could lead to penalties against carriers, the commission said.

The Court of International Trade dismissed importer Greentech Energy Solutions' challenge to antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese solar cells to its Vietnamese solar cell entries for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Section 1581(i), the court's "residual" jurisdiction.

CBP said in a customs ruling earlier this month that luxury goods sold between a related European exporter and U.S. importer weren't subject to restrictions on their use that barred the use of the transaction method. In addition, CBP excluded service fees between the companies from the actual price of the goods since the fees didn't pertain to the goods' importation, and the agency found that the relationship between the parties didn't preclude the use of the transaction value method to appraise the value of the goods.

The head of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force told an audience convened by the Consumer Technology Association that Volkswagen "did the right thing" when it self-reported it had a tiny component made by a company recently added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. The task force is responsible for adding companies to the list.

There are a number of tools that the U.S. government has yet to fully utilize if it truly wants to tackle China's use of forced labor to manufacture goods, according to panelists speaking June 13 at a Hudson Institute event, “Tackling the Uyghur Forced Labor Challenge.”

Importers and the broader trade industry should expect DHS in the coming months to expand the business sectors under scrutiny for companies’ adherence to forced labor guidelines within the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, DHS Undersecretary for Policy Robert Silvers said during a June 12 webinar sponsored by Kharon, a risk analytics platform.