DHS TARGETS ILLICIT TEXTILE TRADE: The Department of Homeland Security unveiled an “enhanced strategy” on Friday to crack down on illegal trade and “level the playing field” for the American textile industry. It also aims to expand restrictions to more entities that use forced labor and improve package screening for shipments claiming de minimis exemptions. “Through strengthened enforcement measures, enhanced inspection and testing, and increased information sharing, this administration is protecting thousands of American workers and the U.S. textile industry,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations will lead the primary enforcement actions. The plans include enhanced cooperation between the agencies, improved screening for packages claiming exceptions, and more customs audits and foreign verifications, among several more objectives. BTW — CBP “recently” visited 31 facilities in Mexico and 18 in Honduras, and is “on track to double” foreign verification visits compared to last year, the statement said. New restrictions on tap: DHS is also poised to expand the list of restricted entities under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and identify “malign” suppliers in the textile sector. On the Hill: House Ways and Means trade subcommittee ranking member Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is pushing legislation to block non-market economies such as China from using the so-called de minimis loophole, which enables packages under $800 to enter the country duty-free. Reps. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) and Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) joined Blumenauer last month to launch a coalition to alter the measure. A companion bill in the Senate is supported by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). KENYA, TAIWAN TALKS UNVEILED AHEAD OF HEARINGS: USTR stressed its commitment to the “highest levels of transparency in trade agreement negotiations” in a statement discussing summaries of U.S. texts in talks with Taiwan and Kenya. The statement comes as USTR Katherine Tai gears up for back-to-back oversight hearings in Congress next week. Lawmakers have repeatedly pressed the agency for greater transparency and consultations with USTR and are likely to reiterate those calls when she appears before the House Ways and Means Committee on April 16, followed by the Senate Finance Committee on April 17. The agency on Friday released two sets of summaries, one covering the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, including U.S. proposals on agriculture, the environment, and labor including improving compliance with labor rights in supply chains in far off fishing vessels. USTR also released a summary of U.S. proposals on the U.S.-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership covering agriculture, good regulatory practices, and workers’ rights and protections. Talks with Taiwan in particular are a source of strain between the Biden administration and lawmakers. That came to a head last year when President Joe Biden signed the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act, which enacted an initial agreement and set out requirements for subsequent pacts, including that they be submitted to Congress for approval. But the president said provisions that "impermissibly infringe" on his authority would be treated as "non-binding." TSMC CASHES IN ON CHIPS: The world’s top chipmaker TSMC is in line for a $6.6 billion grant from the CHIPS and Science Act to build three leading-edge fabrication facilities in Arizona, the Biden administration will announce today. Following repeated delays that TSMC blamed on a shortage of skilled U.S. workers, its first fab expects to start production in the first half of next year, and the last plans to open by decade’s end. JAPAN EYES CLOSER DEFENSE TIES: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for closer cooperation on military and weapons development ahead of a White House state dinner on Wednesday. "By building multi-layered networks of cooperation, we can further expand and strengthen our deterrence capability," he told reporters, per the Associated Press. Looming over the visit is the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese company, which Biden has said he opposes. But Kishida suggested in an interview with Nikkei that he would not discuss the proposed deal during his visit to Washington because it relates to the management of private companies.
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