Pressing for Progress on Trade Transparency & Human Rights in Labor—Not Backsliding

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair, and Trade Subcommittee Chair Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) led 24 members in urging the Biden Administration to assure continued progress in improving trade data transparency—and, specifically, to reject a current proposal to end public disclosure of import data for goods arriving to the United States via ocean transport. This would make trade data even less accessible, making enforcement of human rights legislation like the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act much more difficult.

“We need to shine a light on the labor and supply chains that produced the contents of each incoming cargo container entering America. Hiding the import data will allow abuse of human rights to flourish in the shadows,” said Congressman Doggett. “Effectively enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and protecting Americans from supporting other forms of forced labor, child labor, environmental harm, and additional wrongs demands rejecting this ill-conceived proposal. Instead of undermining transparency, now is the time to seek improved ways of ensuring accountability.”

“The trade data that is currently available to Americans buying goods from overseas that arrives on ocean-going freight should absolutely continue to be made publicly available,” said Congressman Blumenauer. “This ill-conceived proposal to limit trade data transparency goes against the grain of what the public wants, which is the reassurance that goods they are buying from abroad are not made with forced labor, child labor, or at the expense of the environment. My colleagues and I strongly urge the Administration to reject this proposal.”

You can read the letter in full here or below:

The Honorable Chris Magnus

Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20229

Dear Commissioner Magnus,

We write in strong opposition to the recent proposal submitted to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by your Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) which calls for ending public disclosure of import data for goods that arrive on our shores via ocean transport.

The public availability of such data is crucial for the enforcement trade agreements, such as those that protect American workers from competing with goods manufactured with forced labor. Currently key import data from goods arriving via air, road or rail is not subject to public disclosure. However, federal law (19 U.S.C § 1431) provides for the public disclosure of key information from vessel manifests. Ocean-going freight is responsible for approximately half of the imported goods entering the United States in a given year, and as such transparency into goods arriving via marine traffic is indispensable in tracing and monitoring forced labor risks in supply chains.

Investigative work by journalists and other members of civil society relying upon the public disclosure of such trade data has been critical in assisting your agency’s enforcement of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1307), which prohibits importing any product that was mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labor, in addition to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Additionally, public transparency of maritime trade data has greatly facilitated Congress’ authority under Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution to oversee and regulate commerce with foreign nations. Ending public disclosure of this trade information would impede congressional oversight over foreign commerce and significantly impair CBP’s capacity to ensure goods that arrive on our shores are not produced by forced labor.

Moreover, removing from public disclosure import data from shipping manifests stands in stark contrast to the stated goals of your 21st Century Customs Framework (21CCF). As your agency says, “the complexities of the modern supply chain have made it increasingly difficult to identify and deter violative behavior . . . reform is needed in order to protect American workers and business [and] ensure fair competition . . .” First among your goals for the 21CCF is achieving supply chain transparency, as “Improved visibility into global supply chains will strengthen CBP’s ability to root out violative actors, supporting ethical production methods and leveling the playing field for domestic industry.” We concur, and call upon CBP to adhere to this 21CCF goal to increase and not lessen supply chain transparency.

The COAC’s proposal would obscure public visibility into key trade data, in contravention of clear congressional intent, and inhibit the identification of supply chains that rely upon unfree labor and the exploitation of workers abroad. We urge CBP to reject COAC’s proposal and continue to take a strong stand against initiatives that would permit the prevalence of coerced labor.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to receiving your response.

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