The Council of the European Union last week officially adopted new EU-wide supply chain due diligence rules that will require certain companies to conduct specific due diligence on their supply chains, including to root out forced labor.
Companies with certain business activities in Canada have until May 31 to file with the Canadian government and publish a report on their supply chain due diligence procedures as part of that country's anti-forced labor law, ArentFox said in a client alert this week.
Masud Husain, a Canadian foreign service official, will replace Sheri Meyerhoffer as the new head of the government agency that investigates human rights concerns, including forced labor, in Canadian-linked supply chains, the country announced April 30. Husain will take over “later this year” in an interim role as the Canadian ombudsperson for responsible enterprise (CORE), Canada said.
The European Parliament on April 23 issued the final approval to new regulations banning the "sale, import, and export of goods made" with forced labor (see 2403050035), the Parliament announced. The European Commission, along with member state authorities, will be able investigate "suspicious goods, supply chains, and manufactures" to find if forced labor exists in a good's supply chain.
An investigation by the House Select Committee on China found that U.S. financial institutions facilitated the investment of $6.5 billion last year in 63 Chinese companies that the U.S. government has “blacklisted or otherwise red-flagged” for advancing China’s military capabilities or supporting its human rights abuses, the committee said April 18.
The two top lawmakers on the House Select Committee on China on April 16 asked the State Department to “intensify and elevate its global diplomatic efforts” to ensure the EU passes an agreement to ban imports of goods made with forced labor.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai gave testimony April 17 to the Senate Finance Committee regarding President Joe Biden’s 2024 trade policy agenda. She touched mainly on trade deal enforcement, U.S. exporters’ access to new markets and the USTR’s new stance on digital trade, though she also discussed issues such as forced labor and the upcoming legislation on the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program.
The Canadian Ombudsman for Responsible Enterprise concluded that Dynasty Gold, a mining firm headquartered in British Columbia, allowed Uyghur labor transfers to its joint venture in Xinjiang during 2017-2020, and that such forced labor "may continue to persist" at the Hatu mine in Xinjiang.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who has opposed the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel Corp. by Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp. since it was announced in December (see 2312200056), said April 2 that a new report about Nippon Steel’s ties to China provides another reason for the Biden administration to reject the deal.
The auto industry is grappling with a range of questions about how the EU’s upcoming forced labor-related rules will affect their supply chains, especially for individual car components, an auto industry official and lawyer said this week.