Supply Chain

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On March 31, 2022, President Joseph Biden issued Presidential Determination No. 2022-11 invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA) to ensure a sufficient and sustainable domestic industrial base for the production of large-capacity batteries. Stating that the United States “depends on unreliable foreign sources for many of the strategic and critical materials necessary for…

On March 1, 2022, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released President Joe Biden’s 2022 Trade Agenda and 2021 Annual Report.  The trade agenda highlights President Biden’s continued focus on a “worker-centered trade policy” by “promoting a broader agenda of fair competition to ensure that workers are competing on the basis of…

Key Notes:

  • Several federal agencies recently released a business advisory emphasizing the heightened risk of doing business in Burma.
  • Four key areas of risk were identified: (1) state-owned enterprises (SOEs); (2) gems and precious metals; (3) real estate and construction projects; and (4) arms, military equipment, and related activities.
  • U.S. businesses with supply chains tied

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On January 24, 2022, the Department of Commerce issued a Federal Register notice requesting information that will assist the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to guide programs designed to support a strong domestic semiconductor industry. The notice seeks public comment that will “inform the planning and design of potential programs to incentivize investment…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a “Notice of Finding” in which it has determined that certain palm oil and derivative products made wholly or in part with palm oil produced by Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, its subsidiaries, and joint ventures with the use of convict, forced or indentured labor, are…

On January 24, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security, on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (Task Force), issued a request for public comments on “how best to ensure that goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor in the People’s Republic of China are…

On January 1, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will open the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP) for FY 2023. Participants in the fee-based program receive expedited review of animal and human foods entering the United States. Specifically, an import screening tool will be used to recognize and typically immediately release shipments that are…

On December 10, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 15 individuals and 10 entities in several countries for their connection to human rights abuse and repression. In addition, OFAC imposed investment restrictions on one Chinese company in connection with the surveillance technology sector

In China, OFAC has placed…

On September 24, 2021, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a notice seeking public comment and input from domestic and foreign semiconductor design firms, semiconductor manufacturers, materials and equipment suppliers, and semiconductor intermediate and end-users regarding ongoing risks in the semiconductor supply chain. The goal of this public comment request…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued five Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) relating to its June 23, 2021 Withhold Release Order (WRO) requiring U.S. ports to detain shipments of silica-based products and materials as well as goods derived from those products manufactured by Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries (“Hoshine”). Hoshine operates…