Category: Industry & Trade

The Department of Commerce finalized a CHIPS for America research and development award for GlobalFoundries under the CHIPS Xcelerate 2X program, supporting the expansion of domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research and development capacity, the department announced Sept. 11. GlobalFoundries is one of the world’s largest contract semiconductor manufacturers, with U.S. facilities in New York and Vermont. The award supports expansion of specialized chip production critical for defense, automotive, and industrial applications, according to Commerce. The CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law in August 2022, allocated approximately $52 billion for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research and development. The GlobalFoundries award

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella signed memorandums of understanding on civil nuclear cooperation and a critical minerals framework on Sept. 8, marking a significant diplomatic realignment between the two nations. The agreements are the first of their kind between the United States and Colombia and advance U.S. goals of diversifying critical mineral supply chains away from Chinese dominance. Colombia holds substantial reserves of nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements increasingly sought by American manufacturers. The civil nuclear memorandum signals Colombia’s interest in developing nuclear energy capacity with U.S. technical support, the State Department

The U.S. Coast Guard released its Board of Inquiry report into the March 26, 2024, collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after the container ship MV Dali struck the structure and killed six construction workers on Sept. 4. The report represents the most comprehensive federal safety review of major port infrastructure since the disaster and assessed vulnerability to similar risks at 11 major U.S. ports. The Board of Inquiry, convened under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, examined the circumstances of the allision — the term for a moving vessel striking a fixed structure — and the broader implications

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a consumer alert after a banned Chinese-manufactured air bag inflator caused an 11th fatality in the United States on Sept. 3, urging owners of affected vehicles to stop driving them immediately. Deaths have been recorded in Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Malibu and Hyundai Sonata vehicles equipped with the defective inflators, according to NHTSA. The inflator at issue is distinct from the Takata air bag recall, which affected tens of millions of vehicles, but represents a similar pattern of explosive metal fragmentation during deployment, the agency said. When the defective inflators activate, they can rupture

A banned Chinese-manufactured air bag inflator has now killed its 11th victim in the United States, with new fatalities reported in the Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Malibu and Hyundai Sonata, NHTSA announced Sept. 3. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a consumer alert confirming the additional deaths, which significantly expand the number of vehicle models known to be affected by the defective component. The inflator had been previously banned after earlier fatalities, but its presence in additional models raises questions about supply chain oversight. A death toll of 11 Americans from a single auto parts defect places the crisis among

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outlined new fisheries priorities focused on expanding the commercial fishing industry’s contribution to U.S. food production and exports on Sept. 2, framing fisheries management as an economic competitiveness issue. The policy shift aims to reduce American dependence on foreign seafood. The United States currently imports approximately 70% to 85% of the seafood consumed domestically, according to NOAA, despite having one of the world’s largest exclusive economic zones. The announced priorities represent a significant reorientation from conservation-first fisheries management toward an emphasis on economic production, according to NOAA. The agency manages fisheries in federal waters

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced new enforcement actions and a strike force targeting fraud and cargo theft in the trucking industry on Aug. 31, linking road safety, freight crime and homeland security under a single enforcement umbrella. The initiative targets criminal activity in an industry that moves approximately 70% of all U.S. freight and directly affects supply chains and consumer prices across the country. Cargo theft costs the U.S. economy an estimated $15 billion to $35 billion annually, according to industry estimates, with losses ultimately passed on to consumers through higher prices for goods

The Department of Homeland Security proposed establishing a $103,265 fee on all H-1B cap-subject visa petitions on Aug. 24, a move that would fundamentally reshape the economics of skilled foreign-worker hiring in the United States. The fee, subject to a public comment period, would come on top of existing fees already paid by employers and would represent one of the largest increases in U.S. immigration fee history, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The H-1B visa is the primary mechanism through which U.S. technology companies, research institutions and universities hire highly skilled foreign workers in fields such as computer

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that a banned air bag inflator manufactured in China has been linked to the death of an 11th person in the United States on Sept. 3, with fatalities confirmed in additional vehicle models. The escalating death toll from PSAN-based inflators — which can rupture and spray metal shrapnel into vehicle occupants — now extends to the Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Malibu and Hyundai Sonata, according to NHTSA’s consumer alert. Millions of vehicles may be affected. The failure mode mirrors the catastrophic Takata air bag crisis that triggered the largest auto recall in U.S. history,

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released national priorities focused on what officials described as “science-based American seafood dominance,” signaling a strategic reorientation of federal fishing policy toward global competitiveness, on Sept. 2. The United States imports roughly 70% to 80% of the seafood consumed domestically, a dependency the administration has flagged as a strategic vulnerability. The new priorities aim to strengthen the competitive position of American commercial fisheries in global markets. The priorities focus on commercial fishing policy, fisheries management and U.S. global seafood competitiveness, NOAA said. The framing reflects the administration’s approach to fishing as an economic and