A Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson blasted as “groundless and denigrating” remarks by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Africa that countries that choose Huawei for their 5G deployments risk “giving up their sovereignty” by “turning over their data” to the Chinese government. Chinese companies, including Huawei, “have conducted mutually beneficial cooperation with many countries in Africa and the world beyond,” said the spokesperson Monday: “There is not a single case of cybersecurity accident, surveillance or wiretapping in the course of cooperation.” Countries that do business with Huawei “may find themselves bringing in a surveillance capability they didn’t even know was there,” Sherman told African journalists in a digital media briefing Friday from Libreville, Gabon.

Imports at major U.S. retail ports reached a record 2.34 million 20-foot containers or their equivalents in March, up 10.8% from February and 3.2% higher year over year, reported the National Retail Federation Friday. March topped the previous record of 2.33 million containers set in May 2021 for the highest volume of containers imported in a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002, it said. “Retailers are importing record amounts of merchandise to meet consumer demand, but they also have an incentive to stock up before inflation can drive costs higher,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president-supply chain and customs policy. Retailers also are preparing for potential disruptions due to the West Coast port labor negotiations, which are expected to start within days, said Gold: “NRF has previously encouraged the parties to remain at the table and not engage in disruptions if a new contract is not reached by the time the current agreement expires July 1.”

Customs and Border Protection will issue its guidance on complying with the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act before the new law takes effect June 21 (see 2112250001), Commissioner Chris Magnus told the annual conference of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America Wednesday in Tucson. The guidance will be out “very, very soon,” he said. “I’ve heard loud and clear your concerns about receiving this guidance,” Magnus said. Under UFLPA, CBP must instruct importers on what constitutes the clear and convincing evidence they must produce to overcome the rebuttable presumption that their goods were produced in whole or in part with forced labor in Xinjiang, China. “Our team will be ready to answer your questions and able to address any concerns you have,” Magnus said. CBP will hold educational webinars on UFLPA, and provide additional guidance as it becomes available, he said. The interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, which is headed by the Department of Homeland Security, will also present a strategy to Congress on how CBP plans to enhance its legal authorities and other tools, plus address the additional resources required for enforcement. UFLPA requires CBP to report to Congress anytime it accepts an importer’s evidence that goods weren't made with forced labor, granting an exception from the rebuttable presumption requirement for the goods to be imported. Those exceptions will be made public.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting requests for “continuation” of the List 1 Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, or the duties will face “possible termination” on July 6, their four-year anniversary, as required under the 1974 Trade Act, said the agency Tuesday. “If one or more requests for continuation are submitted, USTR will publish an additional notice after July 6 announcing the continuation of the tariff action and will proceed with a review of the tariffs,” it said. “The review will include an opportunity for all interested persons to provide comments.” Under the statute, a petitioner must file a continuation request in the 60 days before the tariffs are due to expire. For List 1, that 60-day window opens Saturday. Observers speculate it’s a virtual certainty USTR will receive at least one request for continuation and the resulting review will give the public an opportunity to learn more about the direction of the Biden administration’s tariff policies toward China (see 2203120001). USTR Katherine Tai conceded during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing in March that four rounds of tariffs have “not incentivized China to change” its unfair trade practices (see 2203300051). Customs and Border Protection reported collecting $136.47 billion in Section 301 tariffs on China through April 27.

Apple doesn’t carry the Voice of America app in its China App Store because the Cyberspace Administration of China told the company that VOA lacks a license to operate in China and thus the app doesn't comply with local laws, said an Apple spokesperson in response to a letter from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to Apple CEO Tim Cook released Thursday (see 2204210053). “We are required to comply with local laws where we do business, even though we may sometimes disagree,” Apple said. “The app remains available for download in other countries.”

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will travel to Aberdeen, Scotland, and London beginning Sunday for the second of two U.S.-U.K. “dialogues” on the future of Atlantic trade, said her office Thursday. Tai hosted the first dialogue in Baltimore late last month, and she and her U.K. counterpart, International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, emerged with a nine-point commitment list for the two sides to “deepen their cooperation on trade,” including promoting an “open and competitive digital economy” and building “strong, durable supply chains that can withstand future global shocks.” Tai and Trevelyan also agreed that the U.S. and U.K. would work to "address third party market-distorting practices," an evident reference to China.

A Mexican union and a U.S. nonprofit, Rethink Trade, jointly filed a rapid response complaint Monday with the U.S. Labor Department against Panasonic Automotive's plant in Reynosa, Mexico, alleging workers there are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining. The complaint was filed under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement on free trade. The plant manufactures automotive audio systems and displays for export to the U.S. and other markets. The union complainant, Sindicato Nacional Independiente de Trabajadores de Industrias y de Servicios "Movimiento 20/32" (SNITIS), says more than 600 workers at the plant asked the organization to be their new union, but Panasonic is collaborating with an alternative union, Confederacion de Trabajadores de Mexico (CTM). According to the complaint, the plant has about 2,000 workers. SNITIS and Rethink Trade say Panasonic fired more than 60 workers who support SNITIS, and alleged Panasonic won't sign a contract with the union that receives the majority of the votes in elections scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Panasonic reached a contract with CTM, and the company started withholding union dues for that union March 25, the complaint says. The petition asks that dues deductions end, and that fired workers get reinstated with full back pay and interest. It also says the contract with the CTM union must be terminated, and the Mexican government should order the company to negotiate in good faith with whichever union wins the elections. The last time the U.S. was asked to start a rapid response case against a Mexican factory, it took a month for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Labor Department to announce they would begin consultations with the Mexican government over the issue. USTR didn't comment, nor did Panasonic Automotive. If the U.S. government brings a case, the Mexican government would have 10 days to declare if it will look into whether the complaint has merit.

Thursday’s visit to Taiwan by a delegation led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., violates the U.S. “one-China policy,” said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Friday. The U.S. should abide by the one-China principle, “cut off official interactions and military ties with Taiwan, stop arms sales to Taiwan and take concrete actions to fulfill its commitment of not supporting Taiwan independence,” he said. Taiwan is “a legacy of the Chinese civil war,” said the spokesperson. “China must and will be reunified. We will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts. That being said, we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures in response to the interference of foreign forces.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting nominations for members of any of 15 Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITACs) for a new four-year “charter term” ending in February 2026, says a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. ITACs, under a program run jointly by USTR and the Commerce Department, “provide detailed policy and technical advice, information, and recommendations” on trade barriers, negotiation of trade agreements and the implementation of existing trade agreements affecting industry sectors,” says the notice. ITACs also “perform other advisory functions relevant to U.S. trade policy matters,” it says. There’s no deadline for applications, as the program “will accept nominations throughout the charter term,” it says. The ITACs recently came to light during the Section 301 litigation when it was disclosed in previously confidential “decision memos” that USTR consulted with members in 2018 before imposing the List 3 tariffs on Chinese imports (see 2203250038). ITAC members generally supported the Trump administration’s effort to curb China’s unfair trade practices but expressed concern about the negative effect that the tariffs would have on U.S. businesses and consumers, said one of the memos. None of the advice ITAC members gave USTR proposed “any viable alternatives to increased tariffs as a tool for obtaining the elimination of China’s unfair trade practices,” said the memo.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., scrapped her planned visit Sunday to Taiwan after testing positive for COVID-19, but “what she should do is not postpone the visit, but cancel it immediately,” said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Friday. Before the announcement of the postponement, that same spokesperson said that China "will take firm and strong measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity” if Pelosi were to go through with her visit, in violation of the “one-China” policy. “All possible consequences that arise from this will completely be borne by the U.S. side,” he said, not specifying what those consequences might be.