United States resolves USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism matter at Amphenol Optimize in Nogales, Mexico

The United States announced the resolution of the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism matter at the Amphenol Optimize México, S.A. de C.V. facility in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, which manufactures automotive and aerospace connectors, cables and components, after the remediation plan addressing employer interference in union activity and retaliatory dismissals was implemented. The facility reinstated nine workers with full backpay and benefits, adopted a neutrality statement and guidelines on freedom of association and collective bargaining, and set up a worker complaint mechanism, while Mexico delivered training, monitored the facility and maintained anonymous reporting channels.

USTR invokes USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism for review of workers' rights at Carolina Performance Fabrics in Mexico

USTR has invoked the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism and asked Mexico to review whether workers at Carolina Performance Fabrics, S.A. de C.V., a high-performance automotive textile plant in Guanajuato, are being denied freedom of association and collective bargaining. The Trade Representative directed the Secretary of the Treasury to suspend liquidation of unliquidated entries of goods from the Carolina facility. Mexico has 10 days to agree to a review and 45 days from today to complete it. The action follows a September 10, 2026 RRM petition from a Mexican union affiliated with COCENA alleging interference in union activity, harassment, threats and unlawful dismissals.

USTR invokes USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism for review of alleged workers' rights denial at GLM Components Mexico

USTR has invoked the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism and asked Mexico to review whether workers at GLM Components Mexico, S.A. de C.V., an auto parts facility in Puebla, Mexico, are being denied freedom of association and collective bargaining. The action follows a September 8, 2026 RRM petition from the Sindicato Regeneración Nacional de Trabajadores y Empleados de la República Mexicana "Morenas" and an Interagency Labor Committee determination of sufficient, credible evidence. The Trade Representative has directed the Secretary of the Treasury to suspend liquidation of unliquidated entries of goods from the GLM Components facility.

CBP begins IEEPA tariff refunds for finally liquidated entries via CAPE portal

CIT grants in part and denies in part summary judgment in Inspired Ventures tire entry dispute

The U.S. Court of International Trade held in Slip Op. 26-100, Court No. 24-00062, that CBP had not released the two entries of rubber tires from China at issue, Entry Nos. AVV-0053438-1 and AVV-0053445-6, and granted in part and denied in part Inspired Ventures' motion for summary judgment.

CIT denies motion to backdate statutory injunction in Vietnamese honey antidumping case

The U.S. Court of International Trade denied a motion by Bao Nguyen Honeybee Co., Ltd. and eight other Vietnamese exporters to amend the statutory injunction in Court No. 25-00085 nunc pro tunc so that it would be effective as of August 8, 2025, the date they first moved for an injunction. The court held that the Federal Circuit's Agro Dutch exception does not apply because the liquidation at issue is alleged to have occurred before the injunction was entered, not during a post-entry grace period, and the plaintiff-intervenors did not show that the parties or the court intended the injunction to cover entries liquidated before it took effect.

CIT denies motion to extend statutory injunction to 13 already-liquidated entries in AD/CVD case

The U.S. Court of International Trade denied Kumar Industries' and Bajaj Healthcare Limited's motion to apply the statutory injunction to all entries in the period of review in Court No. 25-00081, Slip Op. 26-45, holding that the 13 entries liquidated on August 29 and September 5, 2025, before the injunction was entered on September 26, 2025, are final. The court had granted the statutory injunction covering shipments entered during the period of review of June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023, after plaintiffs missed the June 29, 2025 deadline.

CBP moves to electronic refunds on Feb. 6, 2026, ending paper checks for customs refunds

CBP states that the U.S. Department of the Treasury will stop issuing paper checks for all CBP refunds on Feb. 6, 2026, unless the recipient has an approved waiver under 31 C.F.R. § 208.4, and that two upgrades to the ACE Secure Data Portal prepare users for the electronic refund process. The changes, outlined in the Interim Final Rule: Electronic Refunds, follow Executive Order 14247 on modernizing federal payments. The first upgrade adds a secure online tool for authorizing electronic refunds and the second simplifies the application process for creating importer accounts.