Think tank scholars from Cato Institute, a libertarian organization, say the best chance for preventing a 20% tariff on all non-Chinese imports and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports is for Congress to curtail the executive's power to impose tariffs during the upcoming lame-duck session.

The Federal Maritime Commission is bringing on two temporary administrative law judges to help it handle a “significant increase” in complaints and disputes filed before the commission, the FMC said Oct. 8. Most complaints involve COVID-19 pandemic-era supply chain issues. “Adding two additional judges will permit the OALJ to ensure timely adjudication of the record number of pending proceedings,” the commission said.

The Federal Maritime Commission urged carriers and terminal operators not to retaliate against shippers for questioning an invoice or filing a complaint with the FMC, warning the cargo shipping industry this week that it will pursue serious penalties against those that violate the anti-retaliation provisions of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act.

The U.S. should use its Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain executive order as a tool to restrict a broader range of imports that are dumped by foreign companies in the U.S., said Rush Doshi, a Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow and former National Security Council official. He also said the administration and Congress should work to codify the ICTS order, which could allow the U.S. to better harmonize the restrictions with allies.

Economists at the Peterson Institute for International Economics said that if the U.S. were to move all Chinese imports into Column 2 of the tariff schedule, removing permanent normal trade relations status, it would increase inflation by four-tenths of a percent if China were to retaliate, and it would hurt manufacturing the most -- the area politicians most want to protect.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the Apache trout (Oncorhynchus apache), a fish native to Arizona, from the Endangered Species List, it said in a final rule released Sept. 5. An FWS review indicated that “threats to the Apache trout have been eliminated or reduced to the point that the species no longer meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species," the agency said. The delisting takes effect Oct. 7.

The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has 72 additions to its list of goods that could potentially be produced by forced labor or child labor, including a record 37 new goods that have not previously been identified as involving labor exploitation, ILAB said Sept. 5 in its latest edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.

The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is seeking comments on its Comply Chain: Business Tools for Labor Compliance in Global Supply Chains, as well as three reports on child labor and forced labor in certain foreign countries, through Dec. 16, it said in a Federal Register notice.

The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Affairs said in a notice it's removing two goods from its List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor: shrimp from Thailand and garments from Vietnam. Federal contractors who supply products on Labor's list must certify that the product wasn't made using child labor.

American Apparel and Footwear Association CEO Steve Lamar said California's Responsible Textile Recovery Act is more implementable than the version that was introduced two years earlier. He said the trade group is pleased that amendments were made "that addressed some AAFA concerns by tightening a loophole for online marketplaces, ensuring brands’ resale efforts will be accounted for, ensuring brands’ circularity partners will be able to participate in the program, and removing brand liability for counterfeit products, among other concerns."