Canada is choosing to call for a binational panel to determine whether the countervailing duty order on its softwood lumber exports is fair, but is challenging the antidumping order at the Court of International Trade.
Contractual language against forced labor may not be enough to meet increasing supply chain due diligence regulations, particularly as the EU implements its corporate sustainability due diligence directive (see 2202230073 and 2306010022), Ernst & Young advisers said this week. Although there is still debate about how broadly the bloc’s new rules will be scoped, the advisers warned companies against blinding themselves to rising government expectations.
Trade ministers from the G-20 nations reaffirmed the role of the World Trade Organization, pledged to promote resilient global value chains and said they will increase transparency of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade within the WTO.
Taiwan is requiring a certificate of origin and customs approval before certain Chinese-origin chipmaking equipment can be shipped to the U.S. The requirement will apply to shipments of certain “machine tools operated by laser processes, of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of printed circuits, printed circuit assemblies, parts” or “parts of automatic data processing machines,” Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade announced this month.
Canada will participate as a third party in the U.S.-Mexico dispute over Mexico’s ban on genetically engineered corn in tortillas and dough, the country announced Aug. 25. Mary Ng, Canada’s trade minister, said she “shares the concerns of the United States that Mexico is not compliant with the science and risk analysis obligations under” the USMCA’s sanitary and phytosanitary measures chapter. “Canada believes that the measures taken by Mexico are not scientifically supported and have the potential to unnecessarily disrupt trade in the North American market,” Ng said.
China fined Mintz Group, an American due diligence services firm, $1.5 million for allegedly conducting "unapproved statistical work," The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 21. This comes after China raided Mintz Group's office in March and detained five officials, the report said (see 2305260054).
The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) will begin an investigation in response to a complaint accusing Ralph Lauren Canada LP of "using or benefiting" from Uyghur forced labor, CORE announced in a press release Aug. 15. This follows the publication of an Initial Assessment report for Ralph Lauren Canada detailing allegations that it has supply relationships with Chinese companies that use Uyghur forced labor.
Mexico raised tariffs for imports of steel and other items from non-free trade agreement countries, the country announced Aug 16, according to an unofficial translation. The increased tariffs -- which could subject certain products to duties "of up to 25%," the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said -- will apply to merchandise from certain “strategic industries,” including steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, aluminum, tires, plastics, glass and ceramics.
Beijing has so far received multiple license applications from Chinese companies seeking to export gallium and germanium, a spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry told reporters this week. The ministry is reviewing the applications for the metals -- which are used to produce semiconductors and became subject to new Chinese export license requirements on Aug. 1 (see 2307050018 and 2308150028) -- and will make decisions on whether to grant them after “comprehensive consideration of national security and interests, international obligations, end users and end uses, etc.”
A World Trade Organization dispute panel rejected China's claim that its retaliatory tariffs in response to Section 232 tariffs were justified because the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs were a safeguard in disguise.