Developments on the Uyghur Forced Labor Situation

Legislation: Congress recently re-introduced The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (S. 65/H.R. 1155), with legislative action likely over the next few weeks. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill would ban all imports with ties to the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China unless companies can show the products are not made with forced labor. The House and Senate bills differ in a number of key ways, including when the bills would take effect. See the differences The Senate Finance Committee will hold a broad hearing on forced labor this Thursday (March 18th), featuring testimony on apparel. CBP released an FAQ to provide guidance to importers on the current Withhold Release Order (WRO) that covers all cotton from the region.

Footwear Intellectual Property in Focus

Next month, the Biden Administration will release its breakdown of intellectual property challenges in countries around the world. FDRA provides input on footwear IP for this annual report, known as the Special 301 Review, which serves as an important tool for U.S. engagement with our trading partners (Read FDRA's 2021 testimony). Congress is also working on two separate initiatives to increase accountability for e-commerce platforms, the INFORM Consumers Act and the SHOP SAFE Act. FDRA will explore these key footwear IP issues in depth next month at the Footwear IP Digital Summit. The event features conversations with CBP, leading footwear brands, and IP experts. View the agenda and register here:

Key Trade and Footwear Updates This Month in DC

Stimulus Checks and Possible Tax Increases: On Thursday, March 11th, President Joe Biden signed into law the recently-passed $1.9 trillion COVID economic relief package. The new law includes $1400 in stimulus checks for millions of Americans. According to published reports, the Biden Administration is also considering tax increases as part of a proposal for an additional and even larger economic relief package. This could include raising both the corporate tax rate and certain individual rates.

USTR Nomination: On March 3rd, the Senate Finance Committee approved Katherine Tai to become the next United States Trade Representative (USTR). Her nomination is now pending before the full Senate for a final vote. Tai will bring a deep level of trade policy experience to USTR, as the top trade staffer for the House Ways & Means Committee and former head of China enforcement at USTR. Her nomination also has strong bipartisan support. Both the top Republican and top Democrat of the House Ways & Means Committee introduced her during her Senate confirmation hearing.

MTB and GSP: Congress has not yet been able to find a path forward on two separate trade initiatives that expired at the end of 2020, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). There are several potential holdups: Members of Congress wanting the Administration to get its trade team in place, a desire by Democrats to expand the eligibility criteria for GSP, objections to specific items in the MTB, and new Members trying to understand the MTB process. FDRA will continue to keep you updated on these key trade initiatives.

Past FDRA Member Weekly Check-In Call Recordings

FDRA Members can view past FDRA Member Weekly Check-In calls here: FDRA Intel Center (You need to register and create a password to access).