As global economic and geopolitical environments enter a new era, companies need to continuously develop and adjust their coherent global business strategies to secure and further expand business opportunities in all markets while minimizing political and legal risks by ensuring compliance. To assist you with that task, Mayer Brown’s US-China Trade Monthly provides news and insights related to the latest US developments impacting the US-China bilateral trade relationship.

In the current issue, we will discuss: (1) CFIUS’s determination in Fufeng Group Limited’s proposed corn milling project in North Dakota; (2) a new report on the auto industry and alleged forced labor concerns in the Uyghur Region; and (3) PCAOB securing access to inspect and investigate Chinese audit firms (a piece initially appearing as a Mayer Brown Legal Update).

CFIUS Determines It Has No Jurisdiction Over Fufeng Group’s North Dakota Corn Mill Project

Last December, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) determined that it did not have jurisdiction to review Chinese company Fufeng Group Limited’s (“Fufeng”) proposed $700 million corn milling project in North Dakota. The news came after CFIUS completed a three-month review and investigation of Fufeng’s purchase from a private citizen of a 370-acre greenfield site in Grand Forks, North Dakota, to build a wet corn mill.

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New Report on Auto Industry’s Alleged Forced Labor Links Hints at Increased Enforcement

In December 2022, researchers from Sheffield Hallam University and the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice published a report titled “Driving Force: Automotive Supply Chains and Forced Labor in the Uyghur Region” (the “Report”). The Report describes itself as detailing the automotive industry’s alleged extensive connections to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“XUAR”), and provides recommendations to automakers and lawmakers to reduce these alleged ties. It drew significant media attention, which shows that forced labor and related enforcement remain a focus for the United States.

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PCAOB Secures Complete Access to Inspect and Investigate Chinese Audit Firms, but SEC Signals Need to Remain Vigilant

Yesterday, the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) announced that it had secured complete access to inspect and investigate issuer engagements of audit firms headquartered in China and Hong Kong, marking the first time in history that Chinese authorities allowed complete access for inspections and investigations meeting US standards.

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