Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., reintroduced a bill Feb. 13 to help American companies identify and avoid doing business with foreign entities linked to human rights abuses, especially forced labor in China. The Combating CCP Labor Abuses Act would require the Commerce Department to offer training and guidance to U.S. exporters to increase their awareness of human rights abuses. The bill, which has two Republican co-sponsors, was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. The full Senate unanimously passed the legislation in the previous Congress.
Sohan Dasgupta has joined DHS as assistant secretary for trade and economic security, he announced on LinkedIn. Dasgupta will work on issues related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, along with other trade and supply chain issues. He previously served as a DHS deputy general counsel before going to a private practice in 2021.
The Senate Commerce Committee voted, 16-12, Feb. 5 to advance President Donald Trump’s choice of Howard Lutnick to be commerce secretary, sending the nomination to the full Senate for its consideration. The vote came days after Lutnick promised to scrutinize U.S. export controls on advanced artificial intelligence chips, telling lawmakers in recently published comments that a review of the restrictions will be “a top priority” if he’s confirmed.
Moments after President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on all Chinese products took effect Feb. 4 (see 2502030034), China announced new tariffs and export controls against the U.S. and added two American companies to its so-called unreliable entity list, including one that it accused of adopting “discriminatory measures” when sourcing products from China's Xinjiang region.
The Canadian government intends to create a new framework for eradicating forced labor from supply chains, its minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development, Mary Ng, said in a Dec. 18 response statement. The proposed legislation would require government entities and businesses "to scrutinize their international supply chains for risks to fundamental labour rights and take action to resolve these risks," and, "a new oversight agency will be created to ensure ongoing compliance."
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EU ministers this week officially adopted a ban on products made with forced labor, marking one of the final steps in a yearslong lawmaking process designed to eliminate EU imports, exports or other sales of those goods (see 2404230048 and 2403050035). The new regulations will apply about three years after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
The EU, the U.K. and Canada this week announced new, coordinated sanctions against Myanmar to target people and entities supplying controlled items to the military or for their involvement in human rights violations in the country.
Canada is studying several policy and legislative options to strengthen its forced labor enforcement, including one that could establish new import traceability requirements for certain goods and another that could require importers to pay all fees associated with imports detained for forced labor.
China is investigating American clothing company PVH Group, which owns Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and other major fashion retailers, for possible inclusion on its so-called unreliable entity list, China's Ministry of Commerce announced Sept. 24, according to an unofficial translation. China said PVH is suspected of violating “normal market trading principles” for products related to the country’s Xinjiang region, along with the “interruption of normal transactions with Chinese companies, other organizations or individuals, and adoption of discriminatory measures.”