While Ford Motor Company announced on September 25 that it has paused its partnership with world’s leading EV battery maker, Republican lawmakers complain that Ford will not release confidential business information pertaining to its agreement to license Chinese technology.

On September 18, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updated the Withhold Release Order (WRO) issued against Supermax Corporation Bhd. and its subsidiaries following the remediation of forced …

Chairman Mike Gallagher of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party urged U.S. officials to enforce sanctions against certain Chinese officials and entities. In a letter addressed …

House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich) are calling on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to withhold any federal support for Chinese battery companies in the United States.    The lawmakers – in a letter to Ms. Yellen – specifically scrutinized Treasury for greenlighting new plans for a Michigan battery factory owned and operated by China based Gotion High-Tech Company.  

House Republicans, led by Chairman Michael McCaul, have urged the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to take stringent action against Chinese tech giants Huawei and SMIC. According to a letter sent to BIS Under Secretary Alan Estevez, the lawmakers cited national security concerns following reports of Huawei's new smartphone which integrates 7-nanometer chips developed by SMIC, allegedly violating U.S. export control regulations.

The Market Impact Committee is seeking public comments on the potential market impact of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Annual Materials Plan (AMP) The Department of Defense (DOD) maintains a stockpile of critical and strategic materials known as the National Defense Stockpile (NDS). During a war or national emergency, this stockpile is meant to provide strategic and critical materials to support national defense and essential civilian requirements in a time of national emergency.

Chinese printer manufacture Ninestar, parent of Lexmark International, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other related parties of the U.S. government before the U.S. Court of International Trade. DHS added 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.

While staffers from the other China Committee recover from their CoDel to New Guniea, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a hearing Monday, August 21, on "China's Current Economy: Implications for Investors and Supply Chains" starting at 9:30 a.m. ET. Agenda indicates the first two hours will address China's Economy, with the trade discussion beginning at 11:20 AM.  Livestream on the commission's web page.

Arizona-based First Solar released findings from a third party audit of their Malaysia facility, highlighting unethical practices involving foreign migrant workers. The report details the actions taken by First Solar to address the issues, emphasizing the company's commitment to transparency and responsible solar energy development.

Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party continued his quest with a letter calling for the Federal Communications Commisssion to answer questions about the role of the Chinese in the market for "Cellular IoT Modules," the radio devices which connect industrial equipment and home appliances to each other and central stations through the internet. Later in the week, Mr. Gallagher led a fact-finding mission to Australia to deliver a speech on "United States and Australia's rich history united by freedom, security imperatives, economic interests, and common values," according to a statement.

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).