The May 2019 revision of the EU’s tariff-free textile quotas was a development that, while not entirely unexpected, prompted a flurry of recalibration across the apparel import sector. Many importers, already navigating a complex patchwork of preferential arrangements, found themselves needing to revisit sourcing strategies with little time to spare. The revision itself—intended, according to […]
In light of the ongoing US-China trade war, the International Trade Council is offering insights into potential strategies that Beijing could employ to destabilize President Trump’s approach. Drawing inspiration from Chinese history and ancient strategic manual The Art of War, we delve into a range of tactics that China could utilize in response to the […]
The cybersecurity landscape for federal contractors shifted markedly after the issuance of Executive Order 13800 on May 11, 2018. Though the order itself was broad in its directive—aiming to enhance the resilience of federal networks and critical infrastructure—it quickly became clear that its real teeth would be felt in the supply chains supporting those networks. […]
The International Trade Council is closely monitoring the impact of US-China trade tensions on global markets. As President Trump vows to double tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods, stock markets worldwide have experienced significant losses. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1.5% on Wednesday, following a 1.8% drop in the Dow Jones. European markets also […]
E-commerce has always moved fast, but in Southeast Asia, 2019 felt like a turning point. The region saw digital marketplaces multiply, payment apps rise, and a new cohort of small businesses take their first steps online. For regulators and policymakers across the ASEAN bloc, the challenge was not just to keep up, but to quantify […]
When Bill C-208 received Royal Assent in June 2019, it marked a notable shift in Canada’s stance on tax avoidance and profit shifting, particularly where cross-border supply chains are concerned. The changes it introduced, especially to transfer pricing rules, were not revolutionary in isolation. But taken together, they represented a tightening of the net—an unmistakable […]
No one doubts the importance of small and medium enterprises—SMEs—in driving employment and economic diversification. They feature in nearly every ministerial speech, every multilateral policy report, and every five-year economic plan. But the persistence of generic, one-size-fits-all support measures suggests a gap: the reality is that SMEs are anything but homogenous. Their challenges differ sharply […]
Small furniture exporters operating within or supplying to the European Union found themselves increasingly under scrutiny by mid-2019, as regulators stepped up enforcement of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). The regulation, originally adopted in 2013, has long aimed to prevent illegally harvested timber and timber products from entering the EU market. Yet for many smaller […]
The 2019 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report, released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative in March, once again drew attention to a range of non-tariff barriers affecting American exporters, particularly in the electronics and automotive sectors. For seasoned trade analysts, much of the content felt familiar—concerns about divergent technical standards, opaque licensing […]
The march of automation into factory floors has been a defining feature of industrial change, but the reality of robotics adoption—who’s buying, who’s installing, and what it means for jobs—remains difficult to capture in real time. For analysts and policymakers, ISIC 2825, covering the manufacture of machinery for mining and construction, offers a strategic vantage […]
In January 2019, Natural Resources Canada released a discussion paper that, while perhaps under the radar for many outside policy circles, signaled a potentially significant shift in how large firms—particularly those in energy-intensive sectors—will be expected to account for supply-chain emissions. The paper focused on Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, those indirect emissions that arise […]
The Social Value Act, first enacted in 2013, has long been praised—and sometimes quietly criticized—for its ambition to embed social benefit considerations into public procurement processes. For years, the legislation encouraged contracting authorities to look beyond price and technical merit, to consider how procurement decisions might contribute to broader community wellbeing. Yet, for all the […]
The European Union’s Medical Devices Regulation, published back in May 2017, introduced a host of transformative requirements aimed at reshaping medical device oversight, not least in the realm of supply chain traceability. The deadline for compliance may have felt distant at first. But by early 2019, manufacturers, suppliers, and regulators alike found themselves grappling with […]
The gig economy has a reputation for being everywhere and nowhere at once—a headline trend, but hard to pin down in official data. In cities around the world, the surge of freelancers, micro-entrepreneurs, and niche service providers has transformed daily life. Yet, quantifying that change, especially at the pace it happens, remains a puzzle. For […]
When the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill was signed into law that December, it marked a turning point for hemp cultivation and its downstream industries, particularly for the burgeoning CBD sector. The removal of hemp from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act created both opportunity and uncertainty, especially as stakeholders sought clarity on supply chain […]
The passage of Canada’s Bill C-69 in June 2019 marked a profound change in how resource projects, notably pipelines and mines, would be evaluated and monitored from both environmental and social perspectives. The introduction of the Impact Assessment Act under this bill signaled a shift—not merely in procedural requirements, but in the expectations placed on […]