Milwaukee Tool reportedly denied recent claims that it is selling gloves in the U.S. that are produced at a Chinese prison with convict labor. Posted to the website of the U.K. non-profit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, the statement refutes allegations from the wife of a Chinese human rights lawyer that the prison where her husband is jailed for subversion is manufacturing Milwaukee gloves sold at major U.S. retailers for little pay and under inhumane working conditions.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark, in her annual "State of American Business" speech Jan. 12, said that if the Biden administration fails to strike a balance on how to respond to China's economic posture, it "could undermine our security, our economy, our competitiveness, and our future."
Law firm Polsinelli on Jan. 3 announced the launch of a new practice group covering International Trade Commission Section 337 litigation and trade remedies proceedings. The ITC Section 337 Litigation and Trade Remedies Practice is made up of seven international trade attorneys and will be based in the Washington, D.C., office. Five of the attorneys join Polsinelli from AMS Trade: Deanna Tanner Okun, former commissioner and two-time chair of the ITC, who will head the new practice; Louis Mastriani; Daniel Smith; Lauren Peterson; and Lydia Pardini, the firm said.
The Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT) thanked the champions of the Inform Consumers Act after it was included in the year-end spending bill on Dec. 23, saying it "is a critical element in the fight against the online sale of counterfeit and stolen products," but noting that the group still wants movement on Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-commerce Act, or Shop Safe.
B.I.G. Logistics has acquired Xcell Logistic Services and Xcell Logistics Corporation for an undisclosed amount, it said in a Dec. 20 news release. The third-party logistics provider (3PL) and warehouse management IT platform with warehouses in Texas and along the Mexican border gains in Xcell Logistic Services a 3PL and customs broker with warehouses in Laredo, Texas. Xcell Logistics Corporation “has offices in key Mexican ports, industrial hub cities and border crossings with the United States,” B.I.G. Logistics said. Together, “the companies offer pharmaceutical-licensed, 3PL cross-dock and temperature-controlled warehouses, fulfillment, transload, border brokerage, container examination station (CES), operate and manage Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) facilities and light manufacturing and e-commerce services,” the release said.
The Inflation Reduction Act creates opportunities for more North American economic integration, according to a Mexican diplomat and a top General Motors official.
The American Action Forum said it is disappointed that the Democrats are using the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill as bargaining chips to get Trade Adjustment Assistance restored. The lobbying group called TAA controversial, and wrote, "In short, members trade new free trade agreements and new markets for this contested aid program, not common-sense tariff elimination." The AAF said it seems unlikely that the "grand bargain" sought by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, that would wrap all four of those issues and antidumping reform into one package, can get on the omnibus, which could be passed next week. "It’s time for Congress to stop holding GSP and MTB hostage to its usual bartering and allow these programs to get back to saving Americans money," the group wrote Dec. 13.
The United Autoworkers, responding to a British university report that the auto parts industry is tainted by Uyghur inputs (see 2212060054), said its members' employers need to make sure their supply chain does not include goods from Xinjiang.
Clarification: A Roth Capital analyst said that JinkoSolar modules detained on suspicion of forced labor "may have just been released" by CBP, and the analyst believes "this could result in a ramp up of volume and imports.” JinkoSolar “likely has a substantial amount of Hoshine WRO & UFLPA backlog to get through,” the analyst said (see 2212050039).
A Roth Capital analyst said that JinkoSolar modules detained on suspicion of forced labor "may have just been released" by CBP, and the analyst believes "this could result in a ramp up of volume and imports.” JinkoSolar “likely has a substantial amount of Hoshine WRO & UFLPA backlog to get through,” the analyst said.