RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- University and nongovernmental organization reports on forced labor are not necessarily taken at face value, a CBP official said Oct. 27 at the Pacific Coast Council's Western Cargo Conference., known as Wesccon. With any report, an "import specialist or an analyst" has to make the "ultimate decision," Eric Choy, CBP executive director of trade remedy law enforcement, said.

Comments are due Nov. 13 to the Commerce Department on the scope of coverage of its newly begun antidumping duty investigations on aluminum extrusions from China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam (A-570-158, A-301-806, A-247-004, A-331-804, A-533-920, A-560-840, A-475-846, A-580- 918, A-557-826, A-201-860, A-583-874, A-549-847, A-489-850, A-520-810, A-552-837), and countervailing duty investigations on aluminum extrusions from China, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey (C-570-159, C-560-841, C-201-861, C-489-851).

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- CBP is "looking at better ways" to address concerns about what brokers are supposed to do to vet their customers for potential trafficking in fentanyl, meth and other illegal drugs, said Rosa Hernandez, CBP San Diego Area Port director.

Plastic sheet rolls imported from China are outside the scope of an antidumping duty order and accompanying anti-circumvention determination on polyethylene bags from China, CBP found in a recently released ruling. CBP headquarters ultimately found that the agency had improperly assessed antidumping duties on entries of plastic rolls as if they were subject to the AD order.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who traveled to China with the Senate majority leader and other senators in mid-October, said what he saw there reinforced his desire to pass what he calls a "foreign pollution fee," a tariff on imports that are more carbon intensive than domestic production. He told International Trade Today that he'll introduce the bill "we think later this month, or maybe early next month."

The U.S. will look for ways to improve the African Growth and Opportunity Act at the 20th AGOA forum in Johannesburg next weekend, two high-level trade policymakers said during a Oct. 26 press briefing.

The co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China called on DHS to report on actions it has taken to address forced labor in seafood supply chains, noting that the agency already had been informed of the contents of a recent article detailing forced labor in Chinese seafood processing operations before it was published.

EPA is finalizing new regulations banning the use of certain hydrofluorocarbons with a high global warming potential in imported and newly manufactured aerosol, foam, refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump products. The bans take effect between 2025 and 2028, depending on the product.

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.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance announced it has filed a formal allegation with CBP that shrimp harvested in Argentina and processed in China by Qingdao Yize should be barred from entry into the U.S. because, it argues, Uyghur workers have been transferred to processing plants in Shandong province.