The urgency of vaccine development during the pandemic brought research spending into public view as rarely before. Headlines trumpeted billion-dollar pledges, but behind every news release was a web of laboratories, biotech firms, and academic partners. For economists and policy analysts wanting to trace where the money actually went—and how much of it targeted vaccines […]
Since the introduction of Canada’s Bill C-14, the Modern Slavery Act, in June 2020, many retailers and importers have found themselves facing an uncomfortable but necessary reckoning. The bill, though still progressing through the legislative process, has already sent a strong signal: the era of voluntary modern slavery reporting is drawing to a close. For […]
Brussels, 28 December 2020 – Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states have given their unanimous approval to the EU-UK post-Brexit trade deal, paving the way for it to come into force on 1 January. The UK Parliament is expected to approve it on 30 December. Under EU rules, it can take effect provisionally, […]
The International Trade Council is closely monitoring the recent move by the United States to blacklist more than 100 Chinese and Russian companies with alleged military ties. The US government has placed export restrictions on these companies and US exporters will be required to obtain a license before they transfer “designated items” to companies on […]
The signing of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 in December 2020 marked yet another turning point in the government’s approach to supply chain security, particularly for defense-related industries. While supply chain resilience has long been a concern for the Department of Defense, the NDAA 2021 codified new priorities that reflect […]
The European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan, first unveiled in March 2020, has quickly become a cornerstone of industrial sustainability policy across the bloc. For manufacturers, particularly those operating within energy-intensive and material-heavy sectors, the Action Plan has introduced not just high-level goals but increasingly detailed expectations for supply chain transparency. One of the most […]
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, signed into law on December 23, 2020, represents one of the most sweeping attempts by the United States to address allegations of forced labor in global supply chains, particularly those linked to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Act places a heavy burden on companies, especially in sectors like […]
When supply chains began to fray in early 2020, the first signs weren’t always visible on supermarket shelves. For many manufacturers, the cracks showed up as missed deliveries, empty bins in the warehouse, and anxious calls from sub-contractors suddenly unable to ship components. Metal parts—everything from fasteners to specialized castings—were among the most ubiquitous and […]
The passage of Canada’s Bill C-15, more formally known as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, marked a significant shift in how natural resource firms must navigate supply chain operations. After its Royal Assent in June 2020, the legislative framework began reshaping expectations for corporate conduct in regions intersecting with […]
The International Trade Council is pleased to announce the signing of the UK-Japan Free Trade Agreement, which marks the United Kingdom’s first major trade pact after Brexit. The deal is expected to strengthen the trade relationship between the two nations, bringing significant benefits to both countries. Under the agreement, nearly all exports from the […]
The passage of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act in 2018 prompted significant reflection across multiple sectors, but it wasn’t until the first reporting cycles in 2019 that the scale of the challenge became truly clear. Mining firms, manufacturers, retailers—each began grappling, in varying degrees of seriousness, with the Act’s reporting requirements. Yet, for all the initial […]
When the European Green Deal was formally adopted in July 2020, it marked not just another high-level policy framework, but what many saw as a decisive shift in the EU’s climate and industrial strategies. In the months that followed, as the Green Deal Work Programme took shape, attention turned rapidly to implementation mechanisms—where lofty ambitions […]
Few products became as emblematic of 2020 as masks, gloves, and gowns. Personal protective equipment (PPE)—once a niche concern for hospitals and industry—suddenly found itself at the center of global supply chains and public anxiety. For those seeking to track how manufacturing adapted to unprecedented demand, the challenge wasn’t just in counting boxes shipped, but […]
International Trade Council welcomes the decision of the United States to drop the proposed 10% tariff on certain types of Canadian aluminum. The tariff was announced by President Donald Trump just last month, citing a flood of under-priced metal into the country. After determining that imports were likely to decline after an earlier surge, the […]
The U.K. Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018, which came into force in September 2019, represented what many policymakers considered a significant, if somewhat understated, step toward greater corporate transparency. While not as headline-grabbing as some of the government’s other corporate governance reforms, these regulations introduced a key requirement: that beneficial ownership information (BOI) for companies […]
When the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 was signed into law in December 2019, the broader public attention largely fell on its topline budget allocations and headline procurement programs. Yet beneath these more conspicuous elements, the legislation embedded provisions that arguably carried equal—if not greater—long-term significance for federal contractors. Among […]