Japan’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, has instructed his cabinet ministers to swiftly formulate an economic relief package aimed at alleviating the financial strain caused by soaring inflation. In his first policy address to parliament on Friday, Ishiba emphasized the urgency of supporting households grappling with rising living costs while simultaneously setting the groundwork […]

Background and Recent Developments The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expanded its Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) blacklist by adding two Chinese companies: a steel manufacturer and an artificial sweetener producer. These firms have been accused of participating in forced labor practices involving Uyghur Muslims and other minority groups in China’s Xinjiang […]

In a significant move to strengthen global critical mineral supply chains, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Washington on October 1, 2024. This collaboration marks a crucial step in the U.S. strategy to secure essential minerals, reducing dependency on single-country dominance—namely […]

U.S. ports along the East and Gulf Coasts are on the brink of closure as dockworkers prepare to strike, a scenario that hasn’t occurred since 1977. Tens of thousands of port workers, represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents port operators and shipping companies, have reached […]