Free Republic

CBW ACT SANCTIONS Description of Sanctions: Pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (the CBW Act), the United States will impose a second round of sanctions on the Russian Federation over its use of a “Novichok” nerve agent in the August 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition figure Aleksey Navalny. New sanctions imposed today under the CBW Act include: Restrictions on the permanent imports of certain Russian firearms. New and pending permit applications for the permanent importation of firearms and ammunition manufactured or located in Russia will be subject to a policy of denial....

(Reuters) - Nearly three dozen of the United States' most influential business groups have asked President Joe Biden's administration to restart trade talks with China and cut tariffs on imports, the Wall Street Journal reported https://www.wsj.com/articles/business-groups-call-on-biden-to-restart-trade-talks-with-china-11628212436?mod=latest_headlines on Thursday. (Please see link for full article)

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate approved legislation to ban imports from China’s Xinjiang. The bipartisan measure was passed unanimously. The bill, as written, would shift the burden of proof to importers. Add title U.S. Senate approves bill banning all products from China's Xinjiang On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate approved legislation to ban imports from China's Xinjiang. Republican Senator Marco Rubio introduced the legislation along with Democrat Jeff Merkley. He called for the House to quickly act. This is the latest attempt by Washington to punish Beijing over what U.S. officials call a continuing genocide against Uyghurs. “As the Chinese Communist...

On the same day that China published a much stronger than expected (if largely laughable as we first noted and Michael Pettis subsequently confirmed) GDP print, making China the only major economy to grow in the “year of covid”, China customs data showed that grains imports soared to record highs in 2020 after tight domestic corn supplies pushed prices to multi-year peaks, driving demand for cheaper imports. China, the world’s top agricultural market, bought a record 11.3 million tonnes of imported corn last year, according to General Administration of Customs data, exceeding the annual quota – which was set at...

China has constructed a vast string of factories inside the walls of Xinjiang mass internment camps, and Chinese authorities are forcing thousands of Muslim minorities to work in cotton fields, according to two recent investigations. Why it matters: Xinjiang products are deeply integrated into lucrative supply chains around the world. The Chinese Communist Party's official embrace of coerced labor will force Western governments and institutions to choose between pleasing business leaders or enforcing universal human rights values. Details: In the past three years, the Chinese government has forced hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang to...

China’s food supplies remain stable and consumers should not be “overly anxious” or even resort to “panic buying”, a senior agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday.

Beijing’s June 30 decision to impose its national security law on Hong Kong renders the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 null and void. Promising one China, two systems, that treaty guaranteed Hong Kong’s political autonomy through 2047. So another Chinese Communist Party guarantee has entered the dustbin of history. Now tyrannical whim backed by military threat will rule the city. After a decent interval of propaganda glorifying “one China, one system,” the Pearl of the Orient’s free media and honest courts will die along with its democracy. CCP guarantees go poof when its senior leaders decide breaking a treaty, ignoring...

WASHINGTON—The CCP virus pandemic has put global supply risks into the limelight, and recent data compiled by a Hong Kong-based supply chain inspection company shows that U.S. firms have already started moving their sourcing away from China. A manufacturing exodus was already underway due to the uncertainties created by the U.S.–China trade war in 2019. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus, has accelerated that trend and encouraged more companies to reduce their excessive dependence on China as a single supplier. Much of the manufacturing is moving to Southeast Asia and South Asia, according to...

The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says he doesn’t believe it’s necessary to ‘reshore’ all industrial production to the United States, which runs counter to President Donald Trump’s “America First” mindset and strategy to reinvigorate American manufacturing. In an online conference this week, Chamber CEO Tom Donohue cautioned about “reshoring” too much of the supply chain from China back to the U.S., Reuters reported.“Protecting the resiliency of our supply chain doesn’t have to mean reshoring all production in the United States,” he said.While it may be that the U.S. will need to bolster its domestic production capabilities in...

A Bloomberg poll has revealed that an overwhelming majority of Americans would be willing to spend more money on products if they are manufactured outside of China, with 40% saying they simply will not buy anything made in China at all. In addition to these findings, 55% said that they do not believe China can be trusted to fulfil its trade-deal commitment to buy more U.S. products, while 66% said they favor raising import restrictions over the pursuit of free-trade deals as a better way to boost the U.S. economy. The findings come as President Trump announced that he now...

A sickening video (see link) has appeared on social media showing a chuckling factory worker in China deliberately contaminate face masks. The laughing factory worker–who isn’t properly wearing his own face mask–appears to take pleasure in rubbing the face masks against his shoe at a time much of the world struggles to cope with the extra pressure brought about by the deadly Covid-19, which originated in China. In a tweet captioned, “This is SICKENING! It’s time to bring manufacturing back home to America,” a growing sentiment against offshoring was repeated. Unsurprisingly, the video received several negative remarks. One Twitter account...

A U.S. official said he is preparing an executive order to hand to President Donald Trump that would help relocate medical supply chains from overseas to the United States, as the coronavirus outbreak exposes the vulnerabilities of foreign supply chains. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, told CNBC that the United States is heavily dependent on the global supply chain “not just for its medicines but for its medical supplies and medical equipment.” “The essence of the order … is to bring all of that home so that we don’t have...

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ECONOMIC POLICY THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY SUBJECT: The Effect of Titanium Sponge Imports on the National Security By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862) (the “Act”), it is hereby ordered as follows:...

The vast majority of key ingredients for drugs that many Americans rely on are manufactured abroad, mostly in China. Antibiotics, which turn life-threatening infections into minor nuisances, are considered the single biggest advance in modern medicine. A leading Chinese economist gave voice to the worst fears of U.S. policymakers in March, in a speech to an annual national congress.

If you’re a bride to be and are on the search for the perfect dress, you may want to start looking earlyIf you're a bride to be and are on the search for the perfect dress, you may want to start looking early. The coronavirus is interrupting the supply chain for wedding and prom dresses that are coming out of China. Some bridal shops on the Central Coast say they haven't taken a hit yet but are aware it could happen. "It's not just the factories, but also the manufacturers that create the lace and the fabric that are also...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. E-commerce, including transactions involving smaller express-carrier or international mail packages, is being exploited by traffickers to introduce contraband into the United States, and by foreign exporters and United States importers to avoid applicable customs duties, taxes, and fees. It is the policy of the United States Government to protect consumers, intellectual property rights holders, businesses, and workers from counterfeit goods, narcotics (including synthetic opioids such as fentanyl), and other contraband now...

Despite its cool Green parties and ambitious wind and solar agendas, Europe remains by far the world’s largest importer of oil and natural gas. Oil output in the North Sea and off the coast of Norway is declining, and the European Union is quietly looking for fossil fuel energy anywhere it can find it. Europe itself is naturally rich in fossil fuels. It likely has more reserves of shale gas than the United States, currently the world’s largest producer of both oil and natural gas. Yet in most European countries, horizontal drilling and fracking to extract gas and oil are...

Chinese consumers are not happy about higher prices and decreased supplies of food.  Yesterday, Chinese buyers snapped up "at least 10 boatloads of soybeans," according to Reuters, as the U.S.-China trade war showed signs of compromise.  The South China Morning Post reports: Beijing will allow Chinese businesses to purchase a "certain amount of farm products such as soybeans and pork" from the United States, according to the Xinhua report. "China's market is big enough and there's great potential to import high-quality US farm products." The official Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday that China's National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce made...

The Trump Administration announced in July it will allow Americans to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, including penicillin treatments for diabetes. Only one problem: Canada develops few drugs. Most that are used in the country actually come from multinational companies, mostly American. It is impossible to believe that drug companies will provide the gun to shoot themselves in the foot. Buying medications from Canada is not importing them, it is reimporting them - from the subsidiaries of multinational companies that are seen as the source of high prices. All that Americans are doing when they purchase penicillin and other...

China said Friday it will impose new tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods and resume duties on American autos. The Chinese State Council said it decided to slap tariffs ranging from 5% to 10% on $75 billion U.S. goods in two batches effective on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15. That happens to be when President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs on Chinese goods are to take effect. It also said a 25% tariff will be imposed on U.S. cars and a 5% on auto parts and components, which will go into effect on Dec.15. China had paused these tariffs...