The White House released its annual reports on securing critical American supply chains shortly after President Biden announced major investments in the domestic rare earth industry. It appears the administration is continuing to use carrots, not sticks, to incentivize reshoring supply chains. Read more
The Justice Department announced it will end its China Initiative and will instead pursue a broader approach to countering Chinese threats. The anti-espionage program...
USTR says past China trade strategies have not addressed key issues. A new report calls for the creation of new trade tools in order to meet these challenges, though it is unclear what those new tools might be. Read more
The Biden administration released its Indo-Pacific strategy late last Friday and plans to launch its regional economic framework early this year. According to the administration, the blueprint is not meant to serve as a China strategy. Read more...
Commerce adds 33 Chinese entities to its Unverified List
On Tuesday, the Commerce Department added 33 China-based companies to its Unverified List (UVL) because it was unable to verify the “legitimacy and reliability” of the entities through end-use checks. The 33 additions to the UVL are biotechnology, electronics, and optics companies, two Chinese universities’ mechanical and energy engineering departments, and a biotechnology laboratory. The UVL additions reflect the Biden...
House Democrats push forward on COMPETES without Republican support
This week, the House began consideration of the America COMPETES Act, House Democrats’ China package, just days after the 2,900-page bill was introduced. Like the Senate’s US Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), COMPETES includes funding for domestic research and innovation in key high-tech sectors. Though some elements touching on diplomatic, economic, and military aspects of the US-China relationship would change...
House Democrats introduce America COMPETES Act
On Tuesday evening, House Democrats unveiled a comprehensive China bill—the America COMPETES Act—a step toward readying the bill to be conferenced with the Senate’s US Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). See here for the press release, bill text, section-by-section summary, and fact sheet on the House bill.
According to USCBC sources, lawmakers must submit amendments to the America COMPETES Act by the end of the week, setting...
Forced labor task force to seek input on implementing ban on Xinjiang imports
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force released a federal register notice asking stakeholders for input on how the US government should implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which starting in late June will ban any imports from Xinjiang unless the importer can prove its supply chain is free of forced labor. Comments will be...
The US government has been uncharacteristically quiet on China policy issues since the start of 2022. Publicly, the focus of lawmakers and the administration remains on domestic matters, but privately, trade and foreign policy staff are negotiating and drafting major proposals that could have an outsized impact on the US business community once these efforts move forward this year.
UFLPA benchmarking outreach
Now that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act has been...
Uyghur forced labor law enacted, starting 180-day countdown to import ban
On December 23, President Joe Biden enacted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which blocks the import of all goods with ties to Xinjiang over forced labor concerns. The rebuttable presumption, the mechanism that bans these imports unless an importer can prove its supply chain is free from forced labor, is scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday, June 21.
Before June 22, a Department of Homeland...
Uyghur bill passes, enabling Burns confirmation vote
Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Nicholas Burns as US ambassador to China after Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) released their hold on his nomination following the passage of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The idea for a trade off was first conceived on Wednesday, when Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) argued that Burns and other State Department nominees must be confirmed so the United States “has the...
US and allies pledge diplomatic boycott of Olympics
On Monday, the White House announced a diplomatic boycott of the winter games hosted in Beijing in February next year in response to China’s treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The United States was quickly joined by Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada, which have each decided not to send diplomatic or official government representation to the games. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the boycott takes a...
