Amid threats of a strike, UPS this week offered union workers "significant movement on wages and other economic language" as part of ongoing labor contract negotiations, the Teamsters union, which represents package delivery and warehouse workers, said June 30. The union said UPS pledged to “reach a deal no later than July 5.”
Trade groups representing major exporters -- including the American Chemistry Council, the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and agricultural interests -- are telling the Biden administration that they are disappointed that regulatory barriers to trade are not being addressed in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
New Jersey-based Worldwide Logistics Group acquired the San Francisco-based customs brokerage P.W. Bellingall, Inc., WWL announced May 23. The “strategic move significantly bolsters WWL’s in-house customs brokerage services and establishes a strong presence for the company in the Northern California market,” WWL said.
The negotiations between Europe and the U.S. to create an arrangement that would discourage imports of dirty steel, or steel made from uneconomic excess capacity, "have a long way to go," American Iron and Steel Institute CEO Kevin Dempsey said, speaking to reporters May 16 at AISI's general meeting.
The Border Trade Alliance is asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop inspection of trucks coming from Mexico immediately. In a letter sent last week, the group noted that Texas said it would stop the inspections after massive delays last year, but said there has been another round of inspections recently.
The National Retail Federation said that although retail sales should grow this year, their forecast is that containerized imports will decline from January to the end of June, by about 23% compared with the first half of last year.
University of Delaware Professor Sheng Lu, who specializes in Fashion and Apparel Studies, told an audience from the U.S. Fashion Industry Association that although there are good reasons to want to source more apparel from Central America and the Dominican Republic -- to avoid forced labor from Xinjiang or generally reduce China exposure -- growth is unlikely unless Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement countries are able to access more nylon, viscose, wool or linen fabrics.
Sheffield University will be releasing a series of “evidence briefs” over the coming weeks on forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region and “how supply chains are changing in response to the crisis,” Sheffield professor Laura Murphy said in an emailed release April 17. The briefs will cover “the context of forced labor in the region, products made with Uyghur forced labor” and “common concerns about addressing the issue,” and provide guidance to companies and others seeking to address the issue. “Easy to digest, these briefs and updates are meant to introduce newcomers to the issue and keep experts and stakeholders up to date,” Sheffield said. The first of the reports came out April 17, and covers the evidence of the use of forced labor in the region. Murphy leads the Sheffield University team that penned previous reports on forced labor in supply chains for auto parts, vinyl flooring and cotton (see 2303150051).
UPS plans to close the Sandler Travis Trade Advisory Services headquarters in Southfield, Michigan, and cut 82 jobs, according to an April 4 report in Crain’s Detroit Business. UPS acquired the trade consultancy in 2017 (see 1712040023).
Ten trade groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Foreign Trade Council, the Express Association of America, the American Chemistry Council and the Coalition of Services Industries, are asking President Joe Biden to bring up businesses' concerns about changes to customs procedures, chemical regulations and digital services taxes.