U.S. climate envoy John Kerry was in China last week to meet with Chinese officials on issues related to climate change, in advance of the November UN climate conference. The meetings did not make much progress in this area, however, and China took the opportunity to criticize U.S.

Last week, the Australian Senate passed a bill [https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1307] – Customs Amendment (Banning Goods Produced By Forced Labour) Bill 2021 – that would ban imports of goods made with forced labor. There are significant hurdles to the bill

Today the U.S. Senate passed a long-awaited $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, called the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act [https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr3684/BILLS-117hr3684eas.pdf]." One provision in this bill is of particular interest for trade with China, as it requires a report within

On July 21, the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee held a hearing [https://waysandmeans.house.gov/legislation/hearings/trade-subcommittee-hearing-global-challenge-forced-labor-supply-chains] on "The Global Challenge of Forced Labor in Supply Chains: Strengthening Enforcement and Protecting Workers [https://waysandmeans.house.gov/legislation/hearings/trade-subcommittee-hearing-global-challenge-forced-labor-supply-chains] ." Among the many issues discussed at

On July 14, the U.S. Senate passed [https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2021/7/14/senate-section/article/s4905-6] , by voice vote, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act [https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/65?r=12&s=1]. In a press release [https://www.rubio.senate.gov/

On June 24, the Department of Homeland Security announced [https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/department-homeland-security-issues-withhold-release-order-silica] that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order [https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/forced-labor/withhold-release-orders-and-findings] (WRO) on imports from the Chinese company Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd. [http:

Last week, the Biden administration took two separate actions related to forced labor in commercial fishing. The first action was by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and directly targeted Chinese practices with an import ban on certain products tied to a particular Chinese company. The second action was