ICAR and Partners Send letter to Members of COAC Advisory Committee Calling for Continued Shipping Manifest Transparency

(November 8, 2022) - Today, ICAR and several partners sent a letter to the members of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), which is a committee made up of executives from 20 companies that advises U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on ways to streamline trade regulations. The letter was sent in response to reports from the Associated Press (AP) that COAC was pushing for CBP to make shipping manifests confidential, a proposal that runs counter to the United States human rights commitment to keep goods made from forced labor from entering the country.

In the letter we highlight the dangerous precedent this change would be setting, as well as the impact it would have on civil society organizations' ability to trace imports made using forced labor in US markets.

Read the full letter here: Letter to the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC)