January 27: ... Vice Premier Liu He will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington for two days of talks starting Wednesday. They’ll build on discussions that have focused on everything from how many American soybeans China buys to the subsidies Beijing gives its state-owned companies. (Source: Bloomberg)

January 24: Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) introduced a bill Thursday that would give President Donald Trump expansive new power to raise tariffs in response to actions taken by other countries. (Source: Politico)

Winter issue: 2019 could be a defining moment for U.S. trade policy. Two years into Donald Trump’s presidency, it should finally become clear whether the U.S. president’s brazen rhetoric on the subject is simply a negotiating ploy in the pursuit of new deals or whether a trade war—and with it the destruction of the post-World War II international order—is his real end goal. (Source: Foreign Policy)

January 28: ... As fashion customers demand more from their clothes – both functionally and technically – innovations like Bio represent the potential of the industry to create change. (Source: Highsnobiety)

January 24: An import surge across the country — led by a rush to bring in product before Chinese New Year and a scheduled tariff increase on March 2 — is leading to congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. (Source: Supply Chain Dive)

January 21: The ongoing US-China Trade War has shifted global sourcing away from China to other less mature markets where ethical and quality control compliance issues in manufacturing are more prevalent, according to an analysis of data collected during hundreds of thousands of onsite inspections, audits and lab tests. (Source: just-style - login required)

January 29: ... Officers said it was the biggest seizure of its kind in a decade, and was the first time a crime syndicate that sold fake goods to domestic workers had been broken up. ... Some 18,000 fake products, including from Vietnam and mainland China, were found in the showroom and storage rooms during a raid by customs officers on Sunday. (Source: South China Morning Post)

January 28: China's political advisors on Monday called for more efforts to enhance the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and put forward their suggestions at a bi-weekly consultation session presided over by top political advisor Wang Yang. (Source: Xinhua)

January 24: ... I had zero buyer’s remorse until the next day, when I got the confirmation email with the tracking information. My new Canada Goose coat was on its way from Singapore, by way of Hong Kong. Wait, what? Wasn’t the whole point that the coats were made in Canada? I checked the small print, and the seller of my coat was no longer listed as Canada Goose, but as someone named Greg Adamserft. (Source: The Atlantic)

Access AAFA’s NEW international minimum wage matrix: The AAFA International Apparel & Footwear Minimum Wage Matrix was created to help members navigate international minimum wage requirements. Information ranges from the official minimum wage in local currency (as of January 2019) and maximum working hours, to the expected timeline for next minimum wage increase. Download here (member login required).

AAFA heads to Long Beach: Next week, AAFA's team will be in Long Beach, California for the Spring Environmental Committee and Social Responsibility Committee meetings on February 6 and the Product Safety & Compliance Seminar on February 7. We are excited to welcome CPSC Commissioner Dana Baiocco as our keynote. There's still time to register and join us in sunny California!

Steel and aluminum tariff pushback: On January 23, AAFA joined more than a three dozen associations in a letter to the Administration urging the removal of steel and aluminum tariffs currently imposed on Mexico and Canada.

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.