Above the Fold: Supply Chain Logistics News (January 17, 2025)

By Adrian Gonzalez

I’m attending a funeral later this morning for a family friend. He died unexpectedly last week. His wife came home from having dinner with friends and found him unresponsive in bed. Based on family history, he likely suffered a heart attack. He was 64 years old and had retired less than 2 years ago.

Earlier this month, I read a post on X by an executive in the transportation industry who proudly shared that he works 91 hours per week on average (sometimes up to 109 hours), watches TV with his wife while working on his laptop with his headphones on, and that “financial success” is how he keeps score in life.

To each their own, I suppose, but it was the saddest thing I have read in a while.

There’s nothing else to say.

Moving on, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:

Global Trade: De minimis and UFLPA Updates

In September 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that it planned to “issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would exclude from the de minimis exemption all shipments containing products covered by tariffs imposed under Sections 201 or 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, or Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.”

Well, this past Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced “a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to strengthen CBP’s information collection requirements for low-value shipments, also known as de minimis shipments. The proposed Entry of Low-Value Shipments (ELVS) rule will enhance supply chain visibility and will enable CBP to better interdict illegal shipments across U.S. ports of entry.”

As highlighted in the September 2024 press release, “a shipment is eligible for the de minimis exemption if the aggregate fair retail value of the articles imported is $800 or less. De minimis shipments enter the United States with less information than other imports and are not subject to duties and taxes.” Among several proposed changes, “this regulatory action will propose to require specific, additional data for de minimis shipments – including the 10-digit tariff classification number and the person claiming the de minimis exemption – which will improve targeting of de minimis shipments and facilitate expedited clearance of lawful de minimis shipments.”

At the Descartes Innovation Forum last October, I moderated a panel discussion on these proposed changes to the de minimis regulations (Section 321 rules). The audience was mostly freight forwarders and customs brokers. One hot topic of conversation was whether or not to remove goods subject to Section 301 tariffs from eligibility for duty-free entry under Section 321 rules. It doesn’t appear that the announced NPRM makes any changes related to Section 301 goods.

If you feel strongly one way or another about the NPRM, you have 60 days to comment. “Individuals wishing to comment on the proposed rule may access the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for submitting comments. Submissions must include the agency name and docket number.”

In other global trade news, “the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), announced the addition of 37 entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, marking the largest single expansion of the list to date.” Here are some details from the press release:

Among entities added are a large supplier of critical minerals and one of the world’s largest textile manufacturers, both linked to forced labor practices in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This addition brings the total number of entities on the UFLPA Entity List to 144, representing significant progress in three years since the law was passed. These significant efforts reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to eliminating forced labor from our global supply chains and protecting U.S. consumers and businesses from tainted goods.

The entities added today include globally recognized companies that mine and process Xinjiang’s critical minerals, that grow Xinjiang cotton and manufacture textiles for global export, and that manufacture inputs for solar modules with polysilicon made in Xinjiang.

Effective January 15, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will apply a rebuttable presumption that goods produced by the named 37 entities will be prohibited from entering the United States as a result of the companies’ activities, either sourcing materials from the XUAR or working with the government of Xinjiang to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the XUAR.

I’ve written extensively about forced labor in supply chain management, so I encourage you to read the linked posts below. I’ll just repeat what I’ve said many times before: If you want to create socially responsible supply chains, you have to develop a more granular and detailed understanding of your supply chains. You have to improve the way you communicate and collaborate with your suppliers, especially lower-tiered ones. And most importantly, you can’t outsource the responsibility; the buck ultimately stops with you, the brand owner. You have to see and walk your supply chain, from start to finish, with your own eyes and feet.

And with that, I’m out of time. Have a meaningful weekend!

Song of the Week: I never highlight the same band two weeks in a row, but I’m making an exception this week because I’ve been binging on Brigitte Calls Me Baby the past few days. So, here’s another of their songs: “We Were Never Alive” by Brigitte Calls Me Baby.