The United States and Mexico announced yesterday they have agreed on steps to address worker rights violations at a Mexican denim factory that is one of Levi’s largest suppliers. The course of remediation will address denials of rights at the Industrias del Interior facility in the state of Aguascalientes.
The Titanium Sponge Working Group (TSWG), established under the Trump administration in 2020, has released a report highlighting increased dependence of the U.S. on imported titanium sponge, a crucial raw material for titanium metal production. According to the TSWG's findings, U.S. dependency on imported titanium sponge has risen dramatically from 68% in 2020 to 100% today, emphasizing a severe reliance on overseas supplies. These findings underscore the urgency for measures ensuring access to this critical input, which plays a pivotal role in the defense and industrial sectors, particularly in aerospace applications.
The Uyghur Region produces between one third and one half of the world’s solar-grade polysilicon, as well as much as 32% of global metallurgical grade silicon (MGS), polysilicon’s pre-cursor material. So if it's a solar panel, the odds are good slavery had a hand making it. Alan Crawford and Laura Murphy of Sheffield Hallam University published a review of the solar panel supply chain and its potential exposure to modern slavery, and the findings were discouraging. “Despite significant global pressure for increased transparency, information regarding solar industry sourcing is becoming less transparent over time, thwarting the world’s ability to source ethically,” the Authors write.
The Commerce and Defense Departments announced yesterday that they have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to expand collaboration to strengthen the US semiconductor defense industrial base. The agreement will increase information sharing between the departments to facilitate close coordination on the CHIPS for America’s incentives program, ensuring that their respective investments position the United States to produce semiconductor chips essential to national security and defense programs.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., requested in a new letter that Lear Co., the nation’s largest car seat manufacturer, explain how it oversees leather supply chains in Brazil to prevent the illegal importation of goods made with forced labor or deforestation. The letter comes as part of Wyden’s ongoing inquiry into forced labor in auto supply chains. Wyden has written to major automakers and their tier 1 suppliers regarding evidence of parts made with forced labor in Xinjiang, China, as part of his investigation into the effectiveness of customs enforcement regarding forced labor. In June, he held a Finance Committee hearing investigating how cattle supply chains contribute to Amazon deforestation.
The operating practice of trade compliance is bifurcated into customer due diligence (CDD) and managing import and export controls. CDD involves vetting customers and suppliers using …
Along with sanctions on miners affiliated with th Wagner Group, the U.S. released a multiagency advisory on compliance concerns associated with the Gold Trade. Jointly issued by six Departments - State, Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, Labor, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) the advisory had been delayed several days, along with the Wagner Sanctions, to allow the mutiny in Russia to sort itself out.
The United States has asked Mexico to look into whether workers at a Mexican denim factory are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The request announced …
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in collaboration with the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), has unveiled the updated UFLPA Entity List. This consolidated register serves as a comprehensive record of the four lists mandated by Section 2(d)(2)(B) of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
Early last month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in collaboration with the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), has unveiled the updated UFLPA Entity List. This consolidated register serves as a comprehensive record of the four lists mandated by Section 2(d)(2)(B) of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
The Administration is once again making use of the rapid response labor mechanism in the US- Mexico-Canada Agreement to deal with alleged worker rights violations at a Mexican factory, this time naming a Mexican-controlled entity. …
Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) voted in favor of policy proposals designed to combat the ongoing Uyghur genocide and enhance Taiwan's deterrence. The Wednesday adoption of these policy proposals comes on the heels of a March hearing featuring a survivor and witness to the ongoing Uyghur genocide by the CCP. The committee also held an April wargame highlighting the severe consequences of a deterrence failure in the Indo-Pacific.
As global supply chains become increasingly complex, businesses face significant challenges in ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, and industry standards. Non-compliance can lead to legal penalties, financial losses, and reputational damage, making supply chain compliance risk mitigation crucial.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement announced a report detailing actions taken to address workers' rights allegations at the Unique Fabricating facility in Querétaro, Mexico.
The Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resource (TIMBER) Working Group, a new interagency collaboration, was announced at the TIMBER Trafficking Enforcement Roundtable April 19.
Chinese "fast fashion" platforms like Shein and Temu are expanding rapidly in the United States, raising concerns about exploitation of trade loopholes, sourcing relationships, product safety, and forced labor. A report released by the US China Economic Security Review Commission details the concerns, highlighting the merchants’ rapid growth, policy concerns, and reccomendations.
The lead sponsors of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), have written a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary, Robert P. Silvers, expressing concerns about the transparency and effectiveness of the law's enforcement.
The global transition to a green economy faces a serious challenge as the supply of critical raw materials struggles to keep pace with growing demand, warns a new policy paper from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report, Raw Materials for the Green Transition: Production, International Trade and Export Restrictions, emphasizes the need for a substantial increase in production and international trade of these materials in order to meet net zero CO2 emissions targets.
The United States and Japan have struck a trade deal on critical minerals used in the production of electric vehicle batteries. The agreement is meant to reduce both countries’ dependence on countries like China for critical minerals, senior Administration officials told reporters. The Treasury Department published proposed content rules for the critical minerals content required for eligibility for the electric vehicle tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act.
The US and Mexico today announced a course of remediation to address repeated denials of rights at a Troy Michigan-based VU Manufacturing’s automotive components facility in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, three miles from the US border.