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On May 13, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office held a regular press conference. A reporter asked: Recently, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism issued an announcement stating that Shanghai residents can book group and individual tours to Kinmen and Matsu through qualified travel agencies in Shanghai and Fujian provinces. What is the current progress of this? Spokesperson Zhang Han stated that tourism industry representatives from both sides of the Taiwan Strait have recently begun mutual visits and inspections, paving the way for future cross-strait tourism exchanges and cooperation. We have already announced the promotion of the pilot program to resume individual travel to Taiwan for residents of Shanghai and Fujian provinces. We hope that relevant authorities in Taiwan will heed public opinion and open this up as soon as possible, creating conditions for the normalization of cross-strait personnel exchanges and the normalization of exchanges and cooperation in various fields.May 13th - Data shows that in the first four months of this year, Guangdongs foreign trade growth rate was 3.5 percentage points higher than the national average, and its share of the national total increased by 0.6 percentage points year-on-year to 21.5%. Foreign trade volume increased by 541.07 billion yuan, exceeding the total for the entire previous year; its contribution to the national import and export growth during the same period reached 25.8%. According to the latest data released by the Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs, in the first four months of this year, Guangdongs imports and exports totaled 3.49 trillion yuan, an increase of 18.4%. Among them, exports reached 2.06 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.4%; imports reached 1.43 trillion yuan, an increase of 30.1%; Guangdong continued to rank first among all provinces and municipalities in terms of scale, share, and increase.On May 13, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office held a regular press conference. A reporter asked: Recently, an inter-ministerial and inter-provincial working conference on the construction of a demonstration zone for cross-strait integrated development was held in Beijing. What is the current status of implementing the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Supporting Fujian in Exploring New Paths for Cross-Strait Integrated Development and Building a Demonstration Zone for Cross-Strait Integrated Development"? What are the next steps to further support Fujian in promoting the high-quality development of the demonstration zone? Spokesperson Zhang Han stated that in the past three years, the demonstration effect of the cross-strait integrated development demonstration zone on Taiwan has gradually emerged, and its influence has been expanding. Going forward, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office and the National Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant departments of the central and state organs and Fujian Province to support Fujian in continuously exploring new paths and models for cross-strait integrated development and introduce more innovative measures to deepen the integration of Fujian and Taiwan in various fields.May 13th - According to a recent OECD estimate, the Bank of Japans benchmark interest rate is projected to reach 2% by the end of 2027. The report notes that assuming inflation remains around 2%, current interest rates are still close to the lower end of a relatively neutral interest rate range for the economy. The report also recommends that the Bank of Japan should continue to gradually raise interest rates to prevent the economy from overheating. The Bank of Japan previously estimated Japans nominal neutral interest rate to be between 1.1% and 2.5%, but also pointed out that the specific level remains highly uncertain.The Indonesian rupiah fell to a record low of 17,530 against the US dollar.

Hershey, Nestle, and Cargill win the dismissal of a claim of child slavery in the United States

Charlie Brooks

Jun 29, 2022 11:06


Tuesday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. dismissed a case brought by eight Malians claiming child slavery on Ivory Coast cocoa plantations against Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY), Nestle SA (SIX:NESN), Cargill Inc, and others.


U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich determined that the proposed class action plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue because they failed to prove a "traceable nexus" between the seven defendant companies and the individual farms where the plaintiffs worked.


She added that the plaintiffs did not adequately explain the role of intermediaries in the cocoa supply chain, and that the companies did not oversee actions in "free zones" where 70 to 80 percent of cocoa is farmed.


Mali and Ivory Coast share a border in West Africa.


The plaintiffs claimed they were trafficked as children after being approached by strangers who promised them employment for which they would be compensated, but did not pay them, threatened them with starvation if they did not work, and forced them to live in squalor.


Their attorney, Terry Collingsworth, said that the plaintiffs plan to file an appeal to "compel the businesses to keep their agreements and put an end to this dreadful system they have created."


Other defendants included Mars Inc, Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Barry Callebaut AG, and Olam International Ltd.


In court filings, the seven defendants said that they "strongly abhor the practice of forced labor" and that they were addressing non-forced child labor in cocoa supply chains.


However, they contended that the plaintiffs' too broad legal theory may hold too many parties liable for forced child labor, including consumers and merchants who would benefit from lower prices.


In accordance with the Reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the plaintiffs filed suit.


The Supreme Court of the United States rejected a similar case brought by six Malians against Cargill and Nestle under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789 in June of last year.


This was the most recent in a line of judgments denying access to federal courts based on human rights breaches occurring outside the United States.


Coubaly et al. v. Cargill Inc. et al., U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, case number 21-00386.


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