International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he knows that Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., is sincere in his concern that the more generous de minimis threshold since 2016 has had unintended consequences. Blumenauer was one of just 24 House Democrats who supported the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act that raised the threshold to $800. Blumenauer introduced a bill (see 2201180053) that would bar importers of Chinese goods from using de minimis, and would also end the ability to send exports to Canada and Mexico to wait in warehouses until a U.S. buyer makes an online purchase.

The broadest set of changes to tariff classification in five years is set to take effect toward the end of January, as the latest set of amendments to the World Customs Organization's Harmonized System tariff nomenclature is implemented in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. Announced by a presidential proclamation published Dec. 28, the changes are slated to take effect 30 days after that, Jan. 27 (see 2112270032). This is the sixth part of International Trade Today's multipart summary, covering stone, ceramics, glass, precious metals, base metals and articles of base metals of chapters 68-83.

The broadest set of changes to tariff classification in five years is set to take effect toward the end of January, as the latest set of amendments to the World Customs Organization's Harmonized System tariff nomenclature is implemented in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. Announced by a presidential proclamation published Dec. 28, the changes are slated to take effect 30 days after that, Jan. 27 (see 2112270032). This is the fifth part of International Trade Today's multipart summary, covering textiles and apparel of chapters 50-63.

The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee chairman's bill that would restrict the use of de minimis for Chinese sellers has already inspired a coalition of opponents, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Express Association of America, National Retail Federation and others. The Import Security and Fairness Act was introduced Jan. 18.

The broadest set of changes to tariff classification in five years is set to take effect toward the end of January, as the latest set of amendments to the World Customs Organization's Harmonized System tariff nomenclature is implemented in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. Announced by a presidential proclamation published Dec. 28, the changes are slated to take effect 30 days after that, Jan. 27 (see 2112270032). This is the fourth of International Trade Today's multipart summary, covering plastic and rubber products, wood and wood products, and paper products of chapters 39-49.

Many companies may not have insight into where their raw materials come from, said Wiley lawyers while speaking on a webinar about preparing for the enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. But doing the best they can to eradicate any links to the Xinjiang province in China is needed to lower the risk that goods could be detained under suspicion of forced labor, given that imports with links to Xinjiang will be assumed to be made with forced labor, starting in June.

FDA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies with a hand in regulating trade included several new import-related rules on their regulatory agendas for fall 2021. FDA finally hopes to issue a proposal on certifications for high-risk imports, while NOAA lists two rules amending its regulations on seafood import permits and certifications of admissibility.

The broadest set of changes to tariff classification in five years is set to take effect toward the end of January, as the latest set of amendments to the World Customs Organization's Harmonized System tariff nomenclature is implemented in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. Announced by a presidential proclamation published Dec. 28, the changes are slated to take effect 30 days after that, on Jan. 27 (see 2112270032). This is the third of International Trade Today's multipart summary, covering chemical products, pharmaceutical products and explosives of chapters 28-38.

The Border Interagency Executive Council is meeting the functions spelled out in a 2014 White House executive order that tasked the BIEC with coordinating the government's trade requirements (see 14021928), it said in a new "report card." The council will continue to advance the functions mentioned in the EO, which include improving agency review of electronic data, encouraging foreign governments to use single window systems and developing metrics to measure ACE and other border management coordination, the BIEC said.