The U.S. Trade Representative has issued findings in the Section 301 investigation of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) targeting the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance, concluding that the PRC’s targeted dominance in these sectors is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce, and is therefore “actionable” under Section 301. As the petitioner U.S. unions have highlighted, the entrenchment of the PRC’s dominance means that U.S. international trade is “carried out on vessels made in China, financed by state-owned Chinese institutions, owned by Chinese shipping companies, and reliant on a global maritime and logistics infrastructure increasingly dominated by China.”
CBP proposes to make merchandise that is subject to specified trade or national security actions (Section 301, Section 232, or Section 201 trade measures) ineligible for the $800 de minimis administrative exemption. They propose to require that certain shipments claiming this exemption provide the 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) classification of the merchandise.
Legislation to prohibit companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party from qualifying for green energy production tax credits implemented by the Biden administration through the Inflation Reduction Act has been reintroduced in the 119th Congress. If signed into law, the bill would prevent any company based in China, Russia, Iran or North Korea, and the subsidiaries of those companies from benefiting from these tax credits.
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) released a new report, Biopower: Securing American Leadership in Biotechnology by Vivek Chilukuri and Hannah Kelley . The report identifies key …
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule prohibiting transactions involving the sale or import of connected vehicles or components integrating specific hardware and software linked to the PRC or Russia. The final rule bans the import of VCS hardware or connected vehicles containing such hardware, as well as the import and sale of vehicles with VCS or ADS software linked to the PRC or Russia. VCS encompasses systems enabling external communication, such as telematics, Bluetooth, cellular, satellite, and Wi-Fi modules. ADS refers to components enabling highly autonomous vehicle operation without a driver. The rule also prohibits manufacturers with a sufficient nexus to the PRC or Russia from selling new connected vehicles that incorporate VCS hardware or software or ADS software in the United States, even if the vehicle was made in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of 37 entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, marking the largest expansion since the law’s enforcement began in 2022. The additions include globally recognized companies involved in mining critical minerals, producing solar modules, and manufacturing textiles.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a proposed amendment to its regulations to strengthen oversight of low-value shipments valued at $800 or less. The proposed rule would establish a new process for entering low-value shipments under Section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act. This process would enable CBP to collect enhanced electronic data to better identify high-risk shipments, including those potentially containing illicit drugs such as fentanyl, counterfeit goods, or other contraband.
The US Trade Representative’s Office issed six policy papers on trade and investment policy initiatives that promote supply chain resilience. The policy papers address a trade policy framework for supply chain resilience; challenges and opportunities for advancing resilience in the US textile and apparel industries; use of rules of origin to promote resilience; how more effective responses to non-market policies and practices build resilience; data and analytics for developing resilience-oriented trade policy; and sectoral trade agreements for enhancing resilience.
Prepared by a team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the National Bureau of Asian Research, this report examines the existing export control regime of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and presents a methodology for anticipating and identifying future PRC controls on raw materials. The PRC’s system of export controls has historically been piecemeal, and its administration poorly understood. Recent formalization of the system beginning in 2020 and escalating in 2023 is consistent with the PRC’s increased exercise of lawfare and demonstrates greater regulatory capabilities. PRC authorities are able to weaponize supply chains by targeting specific critical minerals under new export controls.
The United States is asking Mexico to review whether workers at Compañía Hulera Tornel SA de CV tire plant are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The request marks the 32nd time the United States has formally invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Tornel produces tires for industrial, cargo, off-road, agricultural and passenger vehicles that are exported to the United States. Compañía Hulera Tornel is part of JK Tyre group of India.
The Department of Defense (DoD) announced the formal establishment of the Strategic and Critical Materials Board of Directors, pursuant to the Stock Piling Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Board is a non-discretionary Federal Advisory Committee and will advise the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment on a strategy for securing DoD's supply chains for strategic and critical materials and strengthening the National Defense Stockpile (NDS).
Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) approved a program to subsidize foreign mining projects to better ensure American industry's access to raw materials. EXIM will provide financing for international projects with signed long-term “off-take” contracts with U.S. companies, providing these U.S. companies with access to critical minerals from partner countries. The Supply Chain Resiliency Initiative (SCRI) provides "targeted financing to develop projects that secure critical minerals and rare earth elements, essential for transformative technologies like battery storage and semiconductors, from trusted international partners." according to EXIM.
Troubled Chinese-owned printer manufacurer Lexmark agreed to be acquired by Xerox Corporation, clearing the way for resolution of its slavery problem. The Department of Homeland Security had added the firm's parent Ninestar and certain of its subsidiaries to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, and the company "is suffering irreparable harm to its business and reputation based on the listing," according to a statement at the time.
Troy A. Miller, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner, delivered opening remarks to the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting Dec. 11 in Washington, DC, where he outlined steps being taken to address the flood of de minimis shipments swamping customs operations.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is launching a Section 301 investigation to examine the PRC’s targeting of foundational semiconductors (also known as legacy or mature node chips) for dominance and the impact on the U.S. economy. In addition, the investigation will initially assess the impact of the PRC’s acts, policies, and practices on the production of silicon carbide substrates or other wafers used as inputs into semiconductor fabrication.
The White House issued the first-ever Quadrennial Supply Chain Review Thursday, highlighting US government’s efforts to tackle risks, eliminate bottlenecks and ensure the efficient operation of supply chains. Key initial findings shared in the review include that nearly every industry in the economy scores high in at least one indicator of risk interdependence is high, and US goods industries have poor import diversification.
This week Commerce Department announced the latest in the Biden Adminstration's scramble to get the CHIPS grant commitments out before the change of regime. The $7.626 billion of subsidies went to two American companies, two from Korea, and one from Taiwan. The funds are to build facilities in the United States.
On Tuesday the American Anode Material Producers filed a petition calling for an anti-dumping investigation with punitive tariffs of up to 920% on Chinese graphite, acccording to news reports and an announcement from the producers' lawyers. A ninefold increase in graphite pricing would double the cost of a US-made EV battery. While the US produces no natural graphite, synthetic material from China is subject to a 25% levy, imposed during the first Trump administration in 2018. Tesla and two Korean battery firms have been lobbying for exemptions, asserting that nascent US synthetic graphite capacity is inadequate.
The United States – for the third time – is seeking establishment of a panel under the US-Mexico Canada Agreement’s labor rights dispute settlement mechanism. The request comes after the US was unable to agree with the Mexican Government on a response to alleged worker right violations at a mining facility state of Zacatecas owned by a Canadian miner. In at least 22 cases to date, the United States and Mexico have been able to cooperate to successfully address labor rights violations at the Mexican facilities in question, according to the US Trade Representative’s Office. But the two sides were not able to reach agreement on a resolution in this case.
President Joe Biden plans to formally block Nippon Steel's proposed takeover of U.S. Steel on national security grounds once the $15 billion deal is referred back to him later this month, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. CFIUS, the U.S. national security panel reviewing the deal must refer its decision on the merger to Biden by Dec. 23. A referral to the president suggests at least one panel member sees the deal as risky, the report added.