The impact of the Amazon drivers' strike has expanded! The RMB exchange rate fell below 7.3 for the first time, and the EU's new product regulations丨This week's foreign trade information
Amazon truck drivers continue to strike in the US
As early as June, many delivery drivers in Palmdale, California, went on strike, but Amazon not only chose to ignore the drivers' demands, but also refused to negotiate. Eventually, the conflict between the two sides further intensified, and the strike wave intensified.
It is reported that as of now (the seven-week strike), they have expanded the scope of the strike to 10 Amazon warehouses, including ONT1, BDL3, DCB4, DDT6, ONT5, DPS5, ATL6, OAK5, OAK7, etc., covering California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan and Georgia.
The striking drivers are demanding that Amazon stop unfair labor practices, reinstate illegally fired Palmdale employees, recognize the Teamsters, honor the contract negotiated by the workers, and negotiate with the Teamsters to address low wages and dangerous working conditions. If Amazon does not address them, they will continue to expand the scope of the strike.
The strike is getting more intense, not only because delivery drivers are seeking fair pay and a safe working environment, but also because of the previous victory of UPS truck drivers in negotiations. On August 14, UPS and the Truckers Union reached an agreement that will benefit more than 340,000 truck drivers across the United States.
Under the agreement, existing full-time and part-time UPS truck drivers will see an hourly wage increase of $2.75 in 2023, and an hourly wage increase of $7.50 over the life of the contract (2023-2028). The wage increase for full-time workers will bring the average hourly wage for UPS truck drivers to $49, continuing to be the highest-paid delivery drivers in the United States.
This incident undoubtedly gave more confidence to the striking delivery drivers, who tried to copy the path taken by UPS truck drivers in their fight for their rights and use strikes to win better treatment for themselves.
2023 will be a big year for strikes. What is more noteworthy is that with the opening of the second half of the year, popular promotional activities such as the back-to-school season, Amazon's autumn Prime membership promotion, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday Cyber Monday, and Christmas will come one after another. It can be said that the peak consumption season is coming, and sellers need to prepare goods in advance.
The peak season is an important period for sellers to prepare goods for shipment. Waves of packages delivered to warehouses will continue to increase the pressure on Amazon's logistics. At this time, coupled with the negative impact of various uncertain factors such as large-scale strikes and logistics delivery delays caused by insufficient manpower, a series of problems such as warehouse overflow, package backlogs, slow listing, and difficulty in booking warehouses will gradually emerge.
Huifeng International would like to remind all customers to make preparations in advance. Huifeng International can tailor a full logistics solution for you to minimize the impact of various force majeure factors. Welcome to consult.
Offshore RMB falls below 7.30
Since July, the ups and downs of the US dollar have once again caused significant disturbances to the RMB exchange rate; under the recent suppression of the strong US dollar, the onshore and offshore RMB has weakened rapidly, hitting a new low since November 2022, breaking through the 7.2 and 7.3 levels in succession. On August 16, the offshore RMB exchange rate against the US dollar fell below 7.33 during the session, falling by more than 800 basis points for five consecutive days, hitting a new low since November last year.
Since August 1, the US dollar has risen by 0.8%, 0.7% and 2.2% against the euro, pound and yen respectively, and the US dollar index has risen by 1.1%. The rapid strengthening of the US dollar has exerted a significant pressure on the RMB, with both onshore and offshore RMB depreciating by 1.7% against the US dollar.
Pang Ming, chief economist and head of research at JLL Greater China, told the media that considering that the Federal Reserve's pace of interest rate hikes is nearing the end, my country's macroeconomic foundation is good, its strength is strong, its confidence is high, and its foreign exchange policy toolbox is rich in methods and tools, it is expected that 7.3 will be the lowest point of the RMB in the third quarter.
The recent weakening of the RMB against the US dollar is mainly caused by short-term pressure, including the change in interest rate differentials caused by the divergence of monetary policies between China and the United States, the temporary strengthening of the US dollar exchange rate and other factors that put short-term and temporary pressure on the RMB exchange rate. In the medium and long term, the RMB exchange rate continues to remain basically stable at a reasonable equilibrium level with solid fundamental support.
Under the current macroeconomic situation, tolerating a moderate depreciation of the RMB against the US dollar can help the People's Bank of China open up room for interest rate cuts. On the other hand, against the backdrop of a sluggish domestic economic situation and greater downward pressure on export growth, a moderate depreciation of the RMB effective exchange rate can also help stabilize trade growth.
US imposes new sanctions on Russia
On July 20, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department and State Department respectively imposed new sanctions on Russia.
Main content:
1. Imposing sanctions on four Kyrgyz Republic entities that provide Russia with controlled items such as semiconductor devices, electronic integrated circuits, and foreign-made aviation equipment.
2. Imposing sanctions on an UAE entity that provides electronic components and engineering services to Russia.
3. Imposing sanctions on a Russian entity that transfers foreign semiconductor technology to Russia and acquires high-tech products from Asian, European and Middle Eastern manufacturers through Serbian intermediaries.
4. Imposing sanctions on 11 Russian entities that import dual-use technologies from foreign countries.
5. Imposing sanctions on six Russian entities involved in the trade of ammunition and weapons.
6. Imposing sanctions on eight Russian entities involved in industries such as aerospace, quantum technology and advanced computing.
7. Imposing sanctions on six Russian research institutions and entities engaged in nuclear, quantum, nano, high-power laser and other fields.
8. Imposing sanctions on five Russian banks, restricting their access to the international financial system.
9. Imposing sanctions on three Russian entities engaged in mineral mining and non-ferrous metal processing, and one investment institution investing in the energy and mining industries.
10. Imposing sanctions on 12 Russian entities engaged in energy industry equipment manufacturing and chemical manufacturing.
11. Imposing sanctions on a Russian entity engaged in ship leasing and shipping and its 14 ships.
All property and interests in property of the above-mentioned persons located in the United States or owned or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked and required to be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entity that is 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, by one or more blocked persons is also subject to sanctions. All transactions involving any property or interests in property of designated or blocked persons by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States are prohibited unless authorized or exempted by a general or specific license issued by OFAC.
It is recommended that Chinese companies involved in semiconductors, engineering services, aerospace, quantum technology, advanced computing, energy and chemical industry, and minerals, if they have export trade involving Russia, should continue to pay attention to the sanctions measures taken by major foreign economies regarding Russia, and comprehensively analyze and assess trade risks involving Russia.
"Made in China" is catching up with Germany in the EU market
Reuters reported on August 15 that a report released by the German Institute for Economic Research (IW) pointed out that between 2020 and 2022 alone, the share of "Made in China" in many EU imports will increase by as much as the entire decade from 2000 to 2010, and in some cases even more. Reuters said this is particularly evident in precision industrial products, which is Germany's "strength" so far.
The report cited data from the report, saying that in 2000, 2.5% of the EU's imports in the above-mentioned fields came from China, and by 2022, this proportion had reached 13%. At the same time, the share of "Made in Germany" fell from 17.7% to 15.5%, and "from many perspectives, the growth of China's share and the decline of Germany's share are often synchronized."
Specifically, in terms of mechanical engineering products, in 2010, Chinese companies still accounted for 6.8% of EU imports, but last year it reached 11.4%. During the same period, the share of German machinery manufacturers in EU imports fell from 22.6% to 20.5%. According to the conclusion of the report, chemical products also show a similar trend.
EU releases latest battery and waste battery regulations
The European Commission recently released a new regulation on batteries and battery waste. The new regulation retains most of the chemicals and labeling requirements specified in Directive 2006/66/EC, but adds limit limits for lead and labeling limits for cadmium. The main chemical ingredients and labeling requirements are as follows:
- Limitation
Lead (new)
Portable batteries: ≤ 0.01%, effective August 18, 2024
Portable zinc-air button batteries: ≤ 0.01%, effective August 18, 2028
Battery: ≤ 0.002%
Mercury battery: ≤ 0.0005%
- Tag restrictions
The chemical symbol should be marked below the separate collection symbol if the following limits are exceeded:
Lead (Pb)
All batteries: ≤0.004%
Cadmium (Cd) (newly added)
All batteries: ≤ 0.002%
- Labelling, marking and information requirements
Information identifying the manufacturer
Battery types and information to identify the battery
Manufacturing location
Production Date
weight
capacity
Chemical
Hazardous substances present in batteries (other than mercury, cadmium or lead)
Available fire extinguishing agents
The concentration of key raw materials in batteries exceeds 0.1% by weight
Symbol for separate collection of batteries (crossed-out wheeled bin)
QR code
Directive 2006/66/EC will be repealed from 18 August 2025.
Source: Focus Vision and the Internet, etc.
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