Customs & Border Protection (CBP) issued an update including a high level comparison between the two Section 321 Programs (Section 321 Data Pilot and the Entry Type 86 Test). Section 321, 19 USC 1321 is the statute that describes de minimis, which provides admission of articles free of duty, but the aggregate fair retail value of articles imported by one person on one day and exempted from the payment of duty shall not exceed $800.

The inaugural Luzon Corridor Steering Committee meeting, to drive infrastructure investment and development along the Corridor met on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Manila last week. Luzon Corridor is  the first project of the U.S.-initiated Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment in the Indo-Pacific (PGI), which is touted as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Maritime Silk Road.

Tuesday Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Environment and Natural Resources Kelly Milton was in Hanoi to lead the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Vietnam Timber Working Group.

BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, and Volkswagen all rely on suppliers banned for using Uyghur forced labor, according to a report issued by the Senate Finance Committee. Interviews and documents obtained by committee staff show that Bourns, Inc., a California-based auto supplier, had sourced components from Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group, a company added to the UFLPA Entity List in December 2023, and whose goods are presumed to be made with forced labor.

The Administration is very concerned that China may try to evade the new 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told lawmakers Wednesday. The US Trade Representative’s Office, with assistance from the Commerce Department, is looking at how to ensure Chinese EVs made in Mexico are still subject to the tariff, she told members of the Senate Appropriations commerce, justice, science and related agencies subcommittee.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of 26 textile companies based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List.

May 16, the Administration announced new actions to protect American solar manufacturing from Chinese competition, including removing the bifacial module exclusion under Section 201, announcing the end of the 24 month "bridge," permitting duty free imports from ASEAN suppliers, and enhanced monitoring of trade flows.

Drones for First Responders (DFR) Act will  implement a new tariff on Communist Chinese-controlled drones and use the tariff revenue to establish a new grant program to help first responders, critical infrastructure providers, and farmers, purchase secure drones.

The President signed H.R. 1042, the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, into law May 13, 2024.   This bipartisan legislative action prohibits the import of Russian uranium products into the United States as of August 12, 2024, while enabling a three and a half year waiver process through January 1, 2028.

Ambassador Katherine Tai issued a statement Monday regarding the   finding against the United States in a determination regarding a labor dispute at the San Martin lead, zinc, copper and silver mine in the Mexican state of Zacatecas: The Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) panel established under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) determined that the agreement had no jurisdiction in the decades long labor dispute.

The United States, as Chair of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), and MSP partners welcome the new deal finalized between STL, a subsidiary of La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Belgian company Umicore that advances cooperation on germanium offtake and processing.

Ohio senator Sherrod Brown (D) is calling on the Biden Administration to ban all Chinese internet-connected vehicles and smart vehicle technology that is designed, developed, manufactured or supplied …

Controlling intangible transfers of technology (ITT) and software—including in the context of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)—is a known challenge, but the growth of the …

Commissioners from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) penned a letter to Secretarty of State Anthony Blinken asking the State Department to utilize existing rewards programs to seek information that will “deter and disrupt the market for illegally procured organs…and hold accountable those responsible for the gruesome practice” of forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim delivered remarks at the Department of Justice on April 29, 2024, marking the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resources Working Group.

Bipartisan legislation (HR 8187) introduced last week would improve transparency in the current battery supply chain by creating an Energy Department program to support the development, implementation and adoption of digital identification systems.

The US Export-Import Bank signed two new Memoranda of Understanding yesterday, one with Nigeria and the other with Mastercard. The Nigerian MOU is "to encourage collaboration and identify projects that enhance economic prosperity between Nigeria and the United States,"according to EXIM.  The Mastercard MoU is "to encourage collaboration opportunities in support of small businesses."

The Energy Department has published their interpretation of the statutory definition of “foreign entity of concern” (FEOC) in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which applies to multiple programs related to the battery supply chain. In this final interpretive rule, DOE responds to public comments, clarifying the term “foreign entity of concern” by providing interpretations of the following key terms: “government of a foreign country;” “foreign entity;” “subject to the jurisdiction;” and “owned by, controlled by, or subject to the direction.”

The Department of Defense published proposed rules prohibiting the acquisition of semiconductor parts and services manufactured by certain Chinese manufacturing concerns. DoD, GSA, and NASA are considering amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement paragraphs (a), (b), and (h) in section 5949 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 that prohibits executive agencies from procuring or obtaining certain products and services that include covered semiconductor products or services effective December 23, 2027.

The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced that Williams-Sonoma Inc.  has agreed to a settlement that requires it to pay more than $3 million in civil penalties and stop making false and misleading claims about the origins of its products.