Highlights of This Month’s Edition
- U.S.-China Trade: In May 2021, U.S. exports to China were $12.4 billion, an increase of nearly 29 percent over the same month in 2020, while imports from China totaled $38.7 billion, up 5.8 percent; year-to-date, the U.S. goods deficit with China continued to grow, reaching $130.7 billion.
- Supply Chain Security: The Biden Administration formulates strategy to revitalize U.S. manufacturing capabilities in key industries following review of supply chain vulnerabilities.
- Forced Labor: The Biden Administration and the U.S. Congress took additional steps to restrict imports related to forced labor in Xinjiang, reflecting broad bipartisan recognition of abuses and need for action.
- China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law: China’s National People’s Congress passed broad legislation to counter foreign sanctions with potentially significant consequences for foreign business and entities operating in China.
- COVID-19 Economic Disruptions: COVID-19-related lockdowns at Guangdong ports precipitated a regional shipping bottleneck, exacerbating the rise in global shipping prices; Chinese government extended border restrictions to the second half of 2022, indicating China’s economy is unlikely to reopen fully for at least a year.
- Cryptocurrency Crackdown: Chinese government’s expanding crackdowns on cryptocurrency mining and related business cause rapid drop in value in digital currency markets.
- In Focus: China’s Data Governance: The June passage of China’s Data Security Law, the latest in a series of laws on data, underscores the Chinese government’s increasing efforts to gain control of data stored in China and to influence international data governance practices.
July 2021 Trade Bulletin772.26 KB