Top Stories: Coffee and Labor
McDonald’s and Others Respond to Claims of Forced Labor in Coffee February 7, 2024 – McDonald’s released a statement last week in response to a report by the Netherlands-based Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and Brazil-based Conectas claiming that companies including McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Illy import coffee produced using forced labor. McDonald’s […]
Top Stories: Trade with Vietnam
Lawmakers and Stakeholders Deliberate Vietnam’s Market Position January 31, 2024 – A group of senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, expressed concerns Vietnam to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo this week, asserting that there is substantial evidence indicating the country has not met legal conditions for market economy status. The group, which includes eight senators, highlighted […]
Top Stories: More Sanctions
BIS Expands Sanctions Against Russia, Belarus January 24, 2024 – The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expanded export controls this week against Russia and Belarus to include a wider scope of products, including more materials and parts affecting the aerospace industry. A new final rule, which also includes refinements to existing export controls, went […]
Top Stories: Aluminum Extrusions
AAEI Co-Signs Letter on DOC Investigation of Aluminum Extrusions January 17, 2024 – AAEI joined 35 other trade associations this week in sending a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about “the proposed overly broad scope of the ongoing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on aluminum extrusions from 14 countries.” As the […]
Top Stories: Cost of Conflict
FMC Allows Ocean Carriers to Increase Rates January 10, 2024 – The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has allowed ocean carriers to increase rates on containers rerouted around Africa’s southern cape due to concerns over Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea routes. To justify the longer transit, the FMC granted several companies special permission to […]
Top Stories: U.S.-EU Tariff Truce
Biden Extends U.S.-EU Steel & Aluminum Trade Deal January 3, 2024 – President Biden announced last month that he is extending the U.S. side of a steel and aluminum trade peace deal with the EU. In a pair of presidential proclamations, President Biden extended steel and aluminum tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) that the administration negotiated with […]
Top Stories: Customs Facilitation?
AAEI Assured Companion to Cassidy Enforcement Bill Coming December 27, 2023 – Sen. Bill Cassidy introduced his long-awaited Customs Modernization legislation (S.3431) this month, which he says will update U.S. customs law. The bill does not include any of the trade facilitation measures that his office sought and received from AAEI and the U.S. trade […]
Top Stories: Customs Modernization
Senators Introduce Customs Modernization Legislation December 20, 2023 – Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced a long-awaited Customs Modernization bill this week. It includes provisions for intellectual property violations, investigation of detained de minimis packages, and the government’s use of advanced trade data as an enforcement tool. AAEI members worked with […]
Top Stories: Target on Deforestation
New Bill Targets Imports Tied to Illegal Deforestation December 13, 2023 – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the Fostering Overseas Rule of Law and Environmentally Sound Trade (FOREST) Act yesterday, which is intended to stop imports of products created through illegal deforestation. The lawmakers, including Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Mike Braun (R-IN) […]
Top Stories: Securing Supply Chains
Biden Administration Announces Supply Chain Resiliency Plan President Biden unveiled a comprehensive plan during the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience launch, incorporating recommendations from AAEI for enhanced data-sharing among shippers, carriers, ports, and government entities. AAEI has advocated for data sharing improvements for more than two years and submitted five pages of recommendations to the […]
