A dispute panel that will consider whether the U.S. interpretation of auto rules of origin is too stringent will have Mexico and Canada on the too-strict side of the argument and the U.S. defending itself alone.

U.S. allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang are the “lie of the century,” perpetuated by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), a group that is “biased” against Beijing and has “no political credibility at all,” a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Jan. 13, according to an English translation of a transcript of a regular press conference. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Chris Smith, R-N.J., all members of the CECC, wrote International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach Jan. 12 seeking “assurances” that the cotton that Chinese sportswear companies Anta Sports and Hengyuanxiang Group source from Xinjiang was produced free of human rights violations. Since cotton made in Xinjiang is “synonymous with forced labor and the systematic repression that takes place there,” there exists the “worrisome possibility that IOC personnel or others attending the 2022 Olympic Games will be wearing clothing contaminated by forced labor,” they said. The IOC didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment.

Although the U.S. has the most trade agreements with Western Hemisphere countries, many of those trading partners haven't developed as strongly as trading partners in Asia, said a panel of former ambassadors and a Brazilian consultant to businesses that operate in Latin America during a Center for Strategic and International Studies online panel Jan. 10.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act “maliciously denigrates the human rights situation in China’s Xinjiang in disregard of facts and truth,” a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said at a Dec. 24 regular press conference, according to an English translation. President Joe Biden signed the measure into law Dec. 23 (see 2112230018). U.S. allegations of forced labor and genocide in Xinjiang “are nothing but vicious lies concocted by anti-China forces,” the spokesperson said. The U.S. “is engaging in political manipulation and economic coercion, and seeking to undermine Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability and contain China’s development under the pretext of human rights,” he said. “China deplores and firmly rejects this” new U.S. law.

Twenty years after China joined the World Trade Organization, the U.S. is focused on the market distortions and domestic consequences caused by China's export-led growth, even as exports are a smaller and smaller proportion of China's GDP.

After postponing its 12th Ministerial Conference, which was set to start Nov. 30, due to new COVID-19 travel restrictions, the World Trade Organization is now aiming to hold the meeting in person during the first week of March. The WTO delayed the ministerial after Switzerland -- the intended site of the conference -- banned flights from many southern African nations, in response to new information about the Omicron variation of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 found in that region. In its Nov. 29 statement, the WTO emphasized the need for continued negotiations on key issues such as fisheries subsidies and the intellectual property waiver for any COVID-19 vaccines. Trade experts have speculated that the postponement of MC12 will likely mean a slowdown in negotiations on those topics (see 2111290035).

Plans to increase a tax credit for electric vehicles containing a U.S.-made battery if the car was assembled in a U.S., union-represented plant is a source of worry for Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in French Nov. 18 at a news conference after the North American Leaders' Summit, according to a story from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "This would be quite a problem for vehicle production in Canada," he said. "We stressed this with the Americans throughout our conversations. They've heard us loud and clear." The provisions are part of the Build Back Better bill that passed the House the following day on Nov. 19.

While the World Trade Organization's upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference presents an opportunity to start meaningful discussion over revising the globe's leading multilateral trading body, the event will lack an immediate solution to pressing issues such as appellate body reform or an end to the all-purpose member veto, a former WTO deputy director-general said. Speaking at a Nov. 18 event on MC12 hosted by the Washington International Trade Association, Alan Wolff, now a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, also explored the leadership dynamics that will be in play at the Nov. 30-Dec. 3 conference.

The Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre says its analysis found there's more risk that businesses used forced labor during the pandemic, both in sectors that experienced demand spikes, such as protective gear like masks, and in the garment sector, where orders were canceled. "The pandemic made it more difficult for businesses to prevent forced labour in their supply chains, but some of the early response [was] likely to have exacerbated vulnerability, for example by cancelling orders," the center said in a report released Nov. 17.

Alan Wolff, a former deputy director-general at the World Trade Organization, called on China to join the WTO Pharmaceutical Agreement, play a constructive role in the fisheries negotiations, and lead in restarting the Environmental Goods Agreement.