On June 13, 2021, leaders from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Japan, France, Germany, and Italy (the G7) — announced their joint actions to support and strengthen free and fair trade. The joint actions emphasized efforts to combat forced labor in global supply chains as well as other initiatives to review trade policies to further women’s economic empowerment, increase sustainability by aligning trade practices with the Paris agreement, and modernize the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The G7 included the removal of forced labor from global supply chains as a major concern in their communiqué. The group specifically referred to state-sponsored forced labor of vulnerable and minority groups in the agriculture, solar, and garment sector supply chains. Notably, these are the same sectors that have drawn international scrutiny and government action in Xinjiang, China.

The United States has already taken steps to exclude goods suspected of utilizing forced labor in their supply chains. On January 13, 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order on cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang, and on May 4, 2021, CBP seized nearly 4 million disposable gloves following the receipt of information that led to a forced labor finding. On May 28, 2021, CBP also issued a WRO against Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. based on information that reasonably indicated the use of forced labor in that entity’s fishing operations. CBP has begun detaining tuna, swordfish, and other seafood harvested by vessels owned or operated by the Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd.

As next steps, the G7 Trade Ministers intend to collectively identify cooperative efforts towards eradicating all forms of forced labor in global supply chains ahead of the G7 Trade Ministers’ meeting in October 2021.

Alongside efforts to remove forced labor from global supply chains, the G7 emphasized other initiatives to strengthen free and fair trade, which include:

• Reviewing trade policies to ensure the economic empowerment of women, which comes via developing a strong evidence base of gender-disaggregated data and analysis;

• Transitioning to more sustainable supply chains by acknowledging the risk of carbon leakage and aligning trading practices with commitments under the Paris agreement; and

• Modernizing the WTO to promote fair competition and shared prosperity. The modernization effort involves updating the global trade rulebook to reflect the new global economy and protect against unfair practices as well as supporting the interests of the least-developed and low-income countries.

A copy of the press release is available here.

For more information on actions regarding forced labor abuses and global supply chain policies, contact our team and see previous posts below.

CBP Issues Withhold Release Order on Cotton and Tomato Products Produced in Xinjiang | International Trade Law (cmtradelaw.com)

CBP Seizes Millions of Disposable Gloves Following Forced Labor Finding Against Top Glove Corporation | International Trade Law (cmtradelaw.com)

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Photo of John Brew John Brew

John Brew is the co-chair of Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group and a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has extensive experience in import and export trade regulation, and he regularly advises corporations, trade associations, foreign governments, and non-governmental organizations…

John Brew is the co-chair of Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group and a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has extensive experience in import and export trade regulation, and he regularly advises corporations, trade associations, foreign governments, and non-governmental organizations on matters involving customs administration, enforcement, compliance, litigation, legislation and policy.

John represents clients in proceedings at the administrative and judicial levels, as well as before Congress and the international bureaucracies that handle customs and trade matters. He advises clients on all substantive import regulatory issues handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such as classification, valuation, origin, marking, tariff preference programs, other agency regulations, admissibility, import restrictions, quotas, drawback, audits, prior disclosures, penalties, investigations, Importer Self Assessment and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs, importations under bond, the Jones Act, vessel repairs, and foreign trade zone matters.

Photo of Frances P. Hadfield Frances P. Hadfield

Frances P. Hadfield is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group in the firm’s New York office. Her practice focuses on forced labor and withhold release orders (WRO), import regulatory compliance, and customs litigation. She regularly advises corporations on matters involving…

Frances P. Hadfield is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group in the firm’s New York office. Her practice focuses on forced labor and withhold release orders (WRO), import regulatory compliance, and customs litigation. She regularly advises corporations on matters involving customs compliance, audits, customs enforcement, as well as import penalties.

Frances represents clients before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as in proceedings at the administrative level. She advises corporations on both substantive federal and state regulatory issues that involve U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife in matters pertaining to product admissibility, audits, classification, import restrictions, investigations, marking, licenses, origin, penalties, and tariff preference programs.

Photo of Martín Yerovi Martín Yerovi

Martín Yerovi is an international trade analyst in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. He provides practice support to the International Trade Group on import regulatory matters pending before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection…

Martín Yerovi is an international trade analyst in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. He provides practice support to the International Trade Group on import regulatory matters pending before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He works closely with attorneys developing courses of action for clients impacted by investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. He also supports unfair trade investigations, including antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations, sunset reviews, and changed circumstance reviews before the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission (ITC).