Foreign Trade Information | The CPI of the United States in May increased by 4% year-on-year; the EU's most stringent forest protection law is about to come online!

NO.1, Ministry of Commerce: The process of African integration will provide new opportunities for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation

According to the introduction of the Ministry of Commerce at the press conference of the State Council Information Office on June 13, in recent years, the progress made in African integration is particularly reflected in the construction of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The Continental Free Trade Area was officially launched on January 1, 2021, and is committed to forming a large market covering 1.3 billion people and a scale of 2.3 trillion US dollars. At present, 54 of the 55 members of the African Union have signed the master agreement, and some substantive negotiations such as tariff concessions and rules of origin are being accelerated.

Eight countries including Cameroon have started free trade trials for some products, and supporting systems such as pan-African payment and settlement and African trade monitoring have been launched and promoted. At the same time, the construction of cross-border infrastructure in Africa is being accelerated and good progress has been made. African economic integration will inject strong momentum into local economic and social development, and will also provide new opportunities for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.

NO.2, the US May CPI increased by 4% year-on-year

The U.S. CPI in May increased by 4% year-on-year, the lowest level since March 2021, and lower than the expected value of 4.1% and the previous value of 4.9%. But down from 5.5 percent previously, the data may justify the Fed pausing rate hikes this week.

For now, economists generally believe that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged this week, but are divided on whether the Fed's July meeting will justify raising interest rates again at its meeting next month.

NO.3. The most stringent forest protection law in the EU is about to come online

In December, the EU agreed to new rules that ban companies from selling coffee, beef, soybeans, rubber, palm oil and other commodities linked to deforestation to the EU market. Companies must prove that their supply chains do not destroy forests or face a fine of 4 percent of their turnover in EU member states.

Lawmakers expect the legislation to be implemented by the end of 2024. While consumer goods makers are particularly affected, other industries that import goods linked to deforestation, including commodity companies and industrial companies, will also face scrutiny.

NO.4, Amazon uses AI to identify and combat fake reviews

According to news on June 13, there are media reports that Amazon is using the latest artificial intelligence (AI) to identify and combat fake reviews.

Fake review brokers are understood to use third-party platforms, including social media and encrypted messaging services, to buy, sell and host fake reviews. In 2022, Amazon reported more than 23,000 abusive social media groups with more than 46 million members and followers, fueling fake reviews on social media sites.

The company said it continued to invest in more "sophisticated tools" to improve protections for customers and sellers on its platform. Amazon's fraud detection AI looks at a range of factors to calculate the likelihood that a review is fake. This may include the author's relationship to other online accounts, their login activity, comment history, and any unusual behavior.

NO.5, TikTok Shop US will be open to Chinese sellers

According to news on June 13, TikTok's US cross-border store will soon open to the public. The current TikTok Shop in the United States only supports local stores, but from the end of July to the beginning of August, TikTok will begin to open up Chinese main sellers to settle in.

If the seller already has a US entity, they can move in by the end of June. Amazon sellers who meet the following requirements can apply to settle in: have an American entity (Chinese people only need to hold shares); have stock in the United States, and can ship with American FBA; Amazon’s US site has an annual sales of more than 2 million US dollars.