Human Rights Watch says that "some car manufacturers in China have succumbed to government pressure to apply weaker human rights and responsible sourcing standards at their Chinese joint ventures than in their global operations," and argues that car companies should disengage from all suppliers that source aluminum from Xinjiang, and should map aluminum supply chains back to the bauxite mines, whether for aluminum ingots or semi-fabricated aluminum.
Mara Lee
Mara Lee, Senior Editor, is a reporter for International Trade Today and its sister publications Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. She joined the Warren Communications News staff in early 2018, after covering health policy, Midwestern Congressional delegations, and the Connecticut economy, insurance and manufacturing sectors for the Hartford Courant, the nation’s oldest continuously published newspaper (established 1674). Before arriving in Washington D.C. to cover Congress in 2005, she worked in Ohio, where she witnessed fervent presidential campaigning every four years.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas directed CBP and Homeland Security Investigations to "provide him with a comprehensive enforcement action plan in 30 days" to protect domestic textile interests. The announcement, after a meeting with domestic textile mill owners who asked the government to step up free trade agreement enforcement and Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act apparel enforcement and to end de minimis sales, also says that report should include "a determination whether current trade law provides adequate authorities to solve the core issues."
An analysis of how the stricter rule of origin for auto imports has been implemented -- including the unprecedented labor value content element -- praised coordination among the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Labor Department, CBP and other agencies with expertise, but noted that final regulations have been held up because the U.S. has not reached a final resolution in the dispute it lost at a USMCA panel.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., along with Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., and two California Democrats, announced they are launching a caucus to push for boosting agricultural exports and knocking down trade barriers in ag.
In a party-line vote, the House Homeland Security Committee voted to advance articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The U.S. and the EU held the fifth meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council in Washington on Jan. 30, where the two sides again committed to increasing trade and cooperating on economic security and emerging technology issues, according to a European Commission readout of the meeting. The commission said the EU and the U.S. agreed to “explore ways to facilitate trade in goods and technologies that are vital for the green transition” and strengthen approaches to investment screening, export controls, outbound investment and “dual-use innovation.”
Eight senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that "there is abundant evidence" to suggest that Vietnam has not met legal conditions for market economy status.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance formally petitioned for the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to add eight Chinese processing companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act's Entity List.
Japan, which suffered economic coercion from China earlier than any other country, is largely on the same page as the U.S. when it comes to supply chain resilience and restrictions on exports, but the two diverge in their attitudes about China's role in the global economy.
The U.S. says its "mini deal" approach is better than traditional free trade deals, because of their speed and focus on current problems, and while two trade experts didn't dismiss FTAs as a 20th-century tool, they acknowledged those advantages mean mini deals are here to stay.