News Room

A law to crack down on China’s alleged use of forced labor was one of the few pieces of legislation the U.S. Congress could agree on last year. When the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act unanimously passed both the House and Senate and became law in December, one of its sponsors, Sen. Marco Rubio (R–Fla.), called it “the most important and impactful action taken thus far by the United States to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for their use of slave labor.” Another sponsor, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D–Ore.) said the law “sends a powerful, bipartisan message that the United States will not turn a blind eye” to China’s violations of human rights.

It began with cleaning supplies and toilet paper in early 2020. Baby formula shortages created concerns among mothers with infants. Most recently, tampon shortages have surfaced. Automobile parts and computer chips available from multiple providers scattered around the globe have supply chains that are particularly fragile. Energy prices are at record levels. All these shortages are driving prices higher, which in turn are impacting numerous other consumer products and services.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops and health care workers on the frontlines in south Ukraine on Saturday during a trip to the Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.

LONDON (AP) — Russian hostilities in Ukraine are preventing grain from leaving the “breadbasket of the world” and making food more expensive across the globe, threatening to worsen shortages, hunger and political instability in developing countries.

Over the past three years, the U.S. government has intervened frequently to shield American consumers from the pain of wrenching global supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, the Ever Given's misadventures in the Suez Canal, and labor shortages. Last October, President Joe Biden's newly created White House Supply Chain Disruption Task Force convinced port workers and terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles to keep the facility running 24/7 to avert a Christmas supply chain crisis. This week, Congress passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act that is aimed at clearing red tape and backlogs in U.S. ports to ease shortages and delays.