January 20: ... According to people close to the discussions, the two sides have so far made little progress on the issue any deal Trump strikes with China may ultimately be judged on: ending what the U.S. has dubbed as decades of state-coordinated Chinese theft of American intellectual property. (Source: Bloomberg)

January 18: ... The EU’s negotiating mandate comes amid criticism from some U.S. officials that Brussels is dragging its feet on trade talks in the hope of waiting out the Trump administration. (Source: Wall Street Journal)

January 16: The US ‘first sale’ rule allows duties to be levied only on the initial sale from the manufacturer to the initial wholesaler. (Source: South China Morning Post)

January 17: A new breed of material makers is creating the fabrics we'll all be wearing in 10 years. (Source: Esquire)

January 16: Coming to recruit training near you: American-made standard-issue sneakers. After a lengthy and sometimes divisive process, the Pentagon's Defense Logistics Agency has begun delivering athletic shoes made by three American manufacturers to the military services for issue during entry-level training. (Source: Military.com)

January 16: … Dressed in a blue denim shirt and white jeans, Bahl explains that his jeans-making operation recycles 98 percent of the water it uses. … Saitex invested $2 million in the water system alone to prove it’s not only possible to make environmentally safe blue jeans, but you can turn a profit doing it. (Source: Bloomberg)

January 21: ... The YouTube channel ‘C3 TheCollywoodLife’ first launched in mid-2017 and currently has over 250,000 views and nearly 4,000 subscribers. The focus of each video is content creator Colin walking around shopping centres in the city of Guangzhou, south China, and revealing the various counterfeit goods that are openly for sale. (Source: World Trademark Review)

January 21: ... As for why the fine was issued, CNIL says that Google doesn't make it clear enough in regards to what data it collects from users and fails to give people enough control over how their data is used by Google. ... This is officially the largest GDPR fine to be issued against a company. (Source: Android Central)

January 16: Many of China's best fakers are now hawking their wares via social messaging networks like WeChat, as well as marketing their offerings at home and globally on platforms like Instagram or Tik Tok. Buyers then order and pay through private messaging apps. (Source: Digital Commerce 360)

Join the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment: In late October, AAFA and the Fair Labor Association launched the Apparel & Footwear Industry Commitment to Responsible Recruitment, a proactive industry effort to address potential forced labor risks for migrant workers in the global supply chain. To date, 127 companies have signed onto the Commitment. But we are looking for more. If your company has yet to sign on, consider joining today!

AAFA's Nate Herman discusses the Commitment to Responsible Recruitment. Watch here.

U.S./UK Trade agreement? On January 15, AAFA submitted comments requesting to testify at a U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) hearing regarding a potential U.S./UK Trade Agreement. In these comments, AAFA conveyed that overarching goal of the negotiations should be to craft an agreement that expands trade between the United States and the UK, while reducing regulatory and market access costs currently associated with those trade links. Learn more.

AAFA sessions in Las Vegas: AAFA will lead two sessions at the upcoming SOURCING AT MAGIC and FN PLATFORM in Las Vegas, on Tuesday, February 5. Join us for:

1. E-commerce and The Real Deal (10:30 to 11:30 AM)
2. Trade Wars and Trade Deals (1:30 to 2:30 PM)

View session descriptions.

See all of AAFA’s latest letters, comments, and testimony here.