BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen each told us in emailed statements early on June 22 that they can’t directly comment on allegations in a forced labor complaint purportedly filed against them in Germany, because they have not seen the contents of the complaint. But they each said they do set standards for labor in their supply chains, and verify compliance with those standards.

A European human rights advocacy group recently filed a complaint with the German government against BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen alleging the three automakers aren’t meeting German Supply Chain Act due diligence requirements that their supply chains are free from forced labor.

Canada's proposal to alter its customs valuation policy to value imports according to the price of their "last sale" or "sale for export" not only would be bad for business, it "could also be illegal," lawyers at Sandler Travis said in a June client alert. The firm said the proposal is contrary to Canadian court precedent and the World Trade Organization's Customs Valuation Code that identifies the sale for export as the one in which "title is passed to the importer of the goods."

The European Commission said the EU Council will still have to approve negotiating instructions for a critical minerals agreement with the U.S. before formal negotiations can begin, but the Commission adopted those directives June 14, it announced.

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said the U.S. should immediately halt its political manipulation and smear attacks in response to the recent U.S. listing of two Chinese companies and their subsidiaries under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, according to an unofficial translation. The U.S. added Ninestar and Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical for working with the Xinjiang government to "recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs” and other persecuted groups (see 2306090011). The Commerce Ministry spokesperson said that there is no forced labor in Xinjiang and that China will take the necessary steps to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.

Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) Law Center addressed common concerns about Uyghur forced labor in a new evidence brief published May 31. Among the topics addressed, the paper focuses on topics such as the ethics of withdrawing from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), supply chain tracing, sourcing, auditing, certification, attestations and codes of conduct. The paper focuses on answering frequently answered questions about the topics to address the concerns.

A limited trade deal announced between the U.S. and Taiwan (see 2305190074) angered the Chinese government. When asked about the deal at a regular press conference in Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that signing a deal with Taiwan "implies sovereignty." He added: "The U.S. move gravely violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, and contravenes the U.S.’s own commitment of maintaining only unofficial relations with Taiwan. China deplores and strongly opposes this move."

The European Commission this week proposed to reform its customs system, including by creating a single interface called the EU Customs Data Hub that will allow for the submission of all customs information on imports. Under the plan, the EU also would create an EU Customs Authority, which it said would boost cooperation between customs surveillance and law enforcement authorities at the EU and member state level, and would eliminate the de minimis threshold for imports under $162.

The chair of the World Trade Organization's Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures urged all WTO members to submit missing subsidy notifications as soon as possible. Chair Sally Bardayan Rivera of Panama, during a May 2 meeting, said 88 members have yet to submit their 2021 notifications, which were due by the middle of 2021. Seventy-five members have not submitted their 2019 subsidy notifications, while 64 have yet to submit their 2017 notifications. "Eight delegations took the floor to urge members to step up their efforts and ensure both timely submission of notifications as well as complete notifications," WTO said.

Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng said that Canada and its partners in NAFTA 2.0 will not be caught unawares when it's time for the sunset review in 2026. She said that she and her counterparts in Mexico and the U.S. will be taking stock of how the agreement is working in July.