|
|
|
|
|
The Morning Risk Report: Apparel Importers Like Uniqlo Tripped Up by U.S. Ban on Forced-Labor Goods From China
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Port of Los Angeles, where customs officers in January detained shipments of clothing from retailer Uniqlo. PHOTO: DAMIAN DOVARGANES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
Good morning. Surging enforcement by Customs and Border Protection officers of import bans on products made from forced labor is producing disputes over halted cargo and complaints from importers about the delays and a lack of transparency.
Enforcement has accelerated over the past year, according to customs data, as Washington issued multiple orders banning cotton and tomato products and other items from China’s Xinjiang region, where the government is conducting mass detentions of Uyghurs and other largely Muslim ethnic groups.
[Continued below...]
|
|
|
Caught up in the sweep are apparel companies such as retailer Uniqlo Co.—which had a shipment of men’s shirts stopped early this year—and other importers of cotton products, which have to show that their often multilayered supply chains are free from forced labor. Importers have three months from the time a shipment is detained to prove the products are clean, under rules that trade lawyers and business groups said require a high burden of proof. Otherwise, the cargoes must be exported or abandoned.
Trade lawyers and business groups expect more import bans and disputed shipments to come as Washington puts more emphasis on human rights in its intensifying rivalry with Beijing and CBP steps up enforcement.
|
|
|
|
Congress Passes Bill to Fund CFTC Whistleblower Program
|
|
A U.S. House of Representatives bill to temporarily set up a separate account to pay for the operation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s whistleblower program is heading to the White House.
If President Biden signs the bill into law, the CFTC Fund Management Act, passed by the House last Wednesday, would pave the way to enabling the U.S. derivatives markets regulator to resolve a funding crisis over a large potential payout.
It is unclear when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will send the bill to the White House. A spokesman for the White House said the president is expected to sign the bill but didn't have a specific date. Representatives for Mrs. Pelosi didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Congress’ broad bipartisan support for this bill demonstrates just how important this program is and President Biden should sign it into law right away,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), who wrote the bill, said in a statement.
Currently, the CFTC Customer Protection Fund, funded by money the agency collects in enforcement penalties, is used to pay eligible whistleblowers as well as for operating expenses and educational initiatives associated with the whistleblower office. The fund can be replenished only when it falls below its cap of $100 million.
The bipartisan legislation proposes the establishment of a separate account at the U.S. Treasury Department until Oct. 1, 2022, to ensure the CFTC’s whistleblower office can continue its operations even if the amount in the fund drops to a critical level.
The CFTC has been in turmoil in recent months over a potential whistleblower payout of more than $100 million to a former executive at Deutsche Bank AG, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. CFTC leaders contended there was no mechanism to pay the bank executive and other eligible whistleblowers while maintaining funding for the whistleblower program.
—Mengqi Sun
|
|
|
|
|
The Facebook lawsuits were part of an effort by government antitrust enforcers to pursue tech giants. PHOTO: NINA RIGGIO/BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
|
A federal judge on Monday dismissed antitrust lawsuits the federal government and most states filed against Facebook Inc., a major win for the company before the cases even got off the ground.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington granted the social-media giant’s requests to dismiss lawsuits filed by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general in December. The dismissals, which came in a pair of rulings, came before any pretrial proceedings had progressed.
|
|
|
Juul Labs Inc. agreed to pay $40 million to the state of North Carolina to settle a lawsuit alleging that the e-cigarette maker had targeted underage users, resolving the first of a string of legal and regulatory challenges facing the once-hot startup.
The lawsuit by the attorney general of North Carolina was slated to go to trial in July, one of hundreds of similar cases brought against the vaping company by state officials, school districts and young people. Those cases are pending.
|
|
|
-
Kim Jong Un has shed some weight. Much of North Korea is now in tears. Photographed recently at Workers’ Party meetings, Mr. Kim looks slimmer, prompting the regime’s carefully choreographed state media to run interviews with ordinary North Korean citizens. They voiced concerns about the country’s leader held across the impoverished nation.
-
After permission to sell alcoholic drinks to-go expired last week, some New York state lawmakers are pushing for a special session to pass a measure extending the practice and act on other items.
|
|
|
|
|
PricewaterhouseCoopers is being investigated over its fiscal 2019 audit of Wyelands Bank PLC. PHOTO: LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
|
A U.K. regulator said Monday that it has opened investigation into Saffery Champness over its audit of Greensill Capital (UK) Ltd.’s 2019 financial statements, and PricewaterhouseCoopers over its fiscal 2019 audit of Wyelands Bank PLC.
The Financial Reporting Council said it made the decision to launch the investigations into the chartered accountancy firms on June 15. The investigations will be conducted by its enforcement division, under the Audit Enforcement Procedure.
|
|
|
|
|
Raees Cajee’s fund was set up to invest in bitcoin and other crypto-tokens. PHOTO: PAUL YEUNG/BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
|
A South African cryptocurrency entrepreneur, pursued by investors who allege that billions of dollars of their digital assets have vanished, says that less than $5 million is missing.
Raees Cajee, 21, and his 18-year old brother Ameer founded Africrypt in 2019, setting it up as a fund that invested in bitcoin and other crypto-tokens. But in April, Africrypt said its systems were hacked and tokens were stolen. Lawyers hired by disgruntled investors say as much as $3.6 billion may be missing.
|
|
|
|
|
The NCAA indicated that it would allow athletes in all 50 states to make money from their name, image and likeness as soon as July 1 without forfeiting their eligibility. PHOTO: KEITH SRAKOCIC/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
Under pressure to overhaul its vision of amateurism in college sports, the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Monday indicated that it would allow athletes in all 50 states to make money from their name, image and likeness as soon as July 1 without forfeiting their eligibility.
In making the move—which is still one step from final approval—the NCAA bowed to the actions of numerous state legislatures around the country, which have already moved to make it legal for college athletes to profit from their images. Some of those laws are set to take effect on Thursday.
|
|
|
|
|
UBS’s commitment to flexible working marks a departure from other banks such as Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. PHOTO: FABRICE COFFRINI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
|
-
UBS Group AG will allow around two-thirds of its staff to mix working from home and the office as an employment perk after determining it won’t hurt productivity.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|