The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Thursday published a notice in the Federal Register seeking input to inform the development of trade and investment policy initiatives that promote supply chain resilience. The notice seeks information on developing sector-specific policy tools, strengthening domestic manufacturing and services, collaborating with like-minded trading partners and allies, and measuring resilience, among other topics.
House Republican leaders have sent a letter to Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), the dominant supplier of port cargo cranes, demanding answers regarding findings of the Committees’ joint investigation into the operation of ZPMC-manufactured cranes at U.S. ports. The letter details concerns related to cellular modems discovered on ship-to-shore (STS) crane components at a U.S. seaport and a cellular modem discovered in another U.S. seaport’s server room that houses STS cranes’ firewall and networking equipment.
The nation"s chief regulator for consumer safety told a congressional panel that the flood of small packages from China has rendered effective enforcement impossible. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) director of the Office of Import Surveillance James Joholske told the panel that his agency's resources were overwhelmed by fast-fashion and Fulfilled by Amazon third party shipments.
“According to CBP, more than 485 million de minimis shipments have already entered the United States in FY24, on top of the 1.05 billion shipments that entered tax-free under de minimis rules in 2023, itself a shocking 53% increase from 2022," reads a report from Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, "No less than 94% of all import transactions now enter the U.S. through De Minimis rules, accounting for 90% of all illegal narcotics, agricultural goods, and counterfeit seizures by customs," said the lawmaker.
Beginning on the effective date of March 1, 2024, all entry and certified from summary transactions that include Russian diamonds will require a self-certification statement to be uploaded to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Document Image System (DIS).
Citing the Chinese government's broad authority to access and control the "vast amounts of data" generated by by chinese vehicles and components, the US Department of Commerce is preparing rules to bar trading with Chinese Automakers and suppliers of advanced componentry. Commerce has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment to inform the potential development of regulations to secure and safeguard the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) supply chain for connected vehicles (CVs).
Sen. Josh Hawley has introduced legislation to increase the tariffs on Chinese Electric Vechicles form the current 25 percent to 125 percent. This would be the first time that congress has actually set tariff rates since the Tariff Act of 1930, cosponsored by Rep. Willis Hawley of Oregon.
The U.S. Department of Commerce and GlobalFoundries (GF) have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide approximately $1.5 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. The proposed funding would support a new state-of-the-art facility, significant capacity expansion, and the modernization of GF’s U.S. manufacturing sites in New York and Vermont, which produce essential automotive, communications, and defense semiconductor technologies.
Customs & Border Protection has released a new training video "How to Submit Allegations of Forced Labor," the latest in its CBP Trade Webinars series. This video outlines how to submit an allegation for forced labor, including where to submit and what to include in the allegation.
The White house announced initiatives to improve the cyber security of the US Port infrastructire, with enhanced authorities for the Coast Guard to inspect vessels and write minimum cybersecurity rules. Additionally, the administration will invest over $20 billion to subsidize the manufacture of cranes in the US and Korea, to reduce a dependance on Chinese supply. There are no plans to replace the over 200 Chinese cranes already in place.
A Florida couple were both sentenced to 57 months in prison for illegally importing and selling between $25 million and $65 million worth of plywood products in violation of the Lacey Act and customs laws. The defendants engaged in a sophisticated scheme to evade antidumping and countervailing duties owed on hardwood plywood products made in China by falsely declaring the species, country of origin or country of harvest of the wood from which the plywood was made.
French oilfield services giant SLB has applied for the Export Import Bank to extend a long-term loan guarantee in excess of $100 million to entities controlled by the investment arm of the in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The vote for this project comes after resignations from climate advisors who were shut out of project evaluations and deliberations. ExIm also failed to disclose the project funding amount, despite pressure from civil society and environmental groups.
Volkswagen said Tuesday that U.S. Customs had detained several thousand Bentley, Porsche and Audi vehicles at ports because the cars contained a part made by a Chinese supplier on a sanctions list for using forced labor in Xinjiang. The automaker describes the part's origin as a "sub-supplier," meaning a supplier to one of its suppliers—an entity far down the supply chain. Last year VW committed to conducting a supply chain audit for exposure to modern slavery.
The United States and Japan held the first round of government and stakeholder dialogues under the Task Force on the Promotion of Human Rights and International Labor Standards in Supply Chains. Established in January 2023, the Task Force aims to protect and promote human rights and internationally recognized labor rights in supply chains. Its activities include sharing information on respective trade policies, laws, guidelines, and, where appropriate, enforcement practices.
The United States and Mexico announced the successful resolution of the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) matter at the Fujikura Automotive wire harness facility in Piedras Negras. A complaint alleged the firm was blacklisting workers from an American-owned trim plant shuttered in a prior RRM dispute. After the United States requested that the Government of Mexico review the matter, Mexico conducted an investigation and undertook multiple remediation steps to ensure workers’ rights are protected at the facility.
The United States today announced the successful resolution of the eighth USMCA facility-specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) petition regarding the facility operated by Goodyear-SLP, S. de R.L. de C.V. in the city and state of San Luis Potosí, where workers were previously denied their freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. In 2019 US lawmakers threatened to hold up ratification of the USMCA over pay and conditions at the plant. Reporting by Reuters at the time suggested wages at the facility are range from $2 to $6 an hour. By comparison Goodyear workers in the US reportedly receive a basic wage of $23 per hour.
The Department of Defense released an updated blacklist with more than a dozen new Chinese companies on it, including memory chip maker YMTC, artificial intelligence company Megvii, LiDAR maker Hesai Technology and tech company NetPosa. Section 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry NDAA for FY21 (Pub. L. 116–283) directs the Secretary of Defense to continue to list “Chinese military companies” (CMCs) annually until December 31, 2030.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has urged the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to "work expeditiously" to initiate a rulemaking on shipping exchanges and "establish healthy and fair competition in the global shipping market." "If the U.S. does not approve a competitor, the CCP could obtain a monopoly, leading to a troubling outcome for American shippers and global commerce," the lawmakers write.
The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience, generally referred to as the Supply Chain Agreement, will enter into force on February 24, 2024. The focus in the coming months will turn to various milestones set out in the Agreement related to establishing three supply chain bodies – the Supply Chain Council, Crisis Response Network, and Labor Rights Advisory Board.
House Select Committee on China Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) is continuing to put pressure on Ford Motor Company because of its partnership with China-based electric-vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL) to build a Michigan factory. Mr. Gallagher and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash) said their "cursory review" uncovered evidence that Ford plans to use technology and software from at least four Chinese companies that supply the same types of information technology tools to the Chinese military, North Korean government and China’s Ministry of Public Security.