For branded product companies, copycats can weaken or undermine a product market or create significant price pressure. And the more popular the brand, the faster competitors appear. To make business even more difficult, competitors` ability to distribute counterfeit or competing products has become much easier on e-commerce sites where manufacturers or distributors create offers or virtual stores. Externally, IoT radically changes a manufacturer`s traditional relationship with the end user, as it allows the manufacturer to access data on the use of its end products. While collecting actual consumer usage data is a fantastic benefit for manufacturers, it comes with obligations to both collect that data and secure the data after collection. Provided that data collected from end-users is done in a transparent and privacy-sensitive manner, this data represents a business asset that may ultimately prove more valuable than the original company. “It can depend on the size of the company and the scope of the product, but of course, when someone is the lead engineer of a small company, you have a lot to say,” says Stephan. As these examples show, employers in the manufacturing sector face unique challenges in 2022 due to an ever-changing legal landscape. Employers need to be vigilant when it comes to updating the current state of legislation in these and other areas. One risk that a manufacturer often cannot control is competition.

Competition takes many forms, ranging from fair competitors who make products that perform similar functions to unscrupulous competitors who “type” or copy a product. Another type of competitor is one that intentionally creates a very similar product but strategically avoids the intellectual property of the manufactured product (commonly referred to as “design-around”). Another type of competitor is that of a former employee who learns (or steals) from you and competes with what has been learned or taken inappropriately. 5 Breakdown of the sum of customs duties + rate of freight costs for imports from Mexico to the United States: tariff rate of 0.20% + transport cost rate of 0.89% = 1.09%. For imports from China: duty rate of 9.81% + transport cost rate of 4.47% = 14.28%. And for Vietnamese products: tariff rate of 6.56% + transport cost rate of 4.06% = 10.62%. Employers have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure that employees are not subjected to sexual harassment or other forms of hostility in the workplace and to treat all workers fairly. If your production environment is predominantly male, you should take special precautions to make employees feel welcome and comfortable. To address legal and ethical challenges, implement detailed anti-harassment policies and ensure that all employees comply with them. Much of compliance begins and ends with contractual clauses, which are sometimes the best (or only) leverage companies have with suppliers. We believe that proactive risk mitigation through well-thought-out contracts is obviously necessary (but clearly not sufficient). Good contracts address the following issues: Ethical puzzles in the engineering phase can take many forms: An engineer is asked to issue a permit for a building that may not meet environmental standards.

A software developer is pressured to rush a product they know isn`t free of bugs. The decision to use cheaper materials leads to an unstable product. An engineer worries that the poor work of a subcontractor could jeopardize the success of a project. Manufacturers, importers, distributors and/or retailers of consumer goods are required by law to immediately report product safety risks and deficiencies to the CPSC. 31 Don`t be ableist. Design more ethically by incorporating accessibility into your design program. Follow-up of red flags: It is essential to consider the red flags identified in the questionnaire responses or in the information report. For example, a non-diligent supplier could source product components from manufacturers in countries known for human rights abuses. Red flags like this don`t mean you can`t work with the supplier. Investigate issues to determine the appropriate course of action. Flags are available in different shades of red, and determining the appropriate response requires follow-up to better understand the facts and circumstances and possibly take specific corrective action. Ultimately, however, the handling of ethical dilemmas is determined by the engineer`s own principles as well as the stability and integrity of his employer.

Most companies will start with their current markets; However, if they are languishing or a business needs space to grow, the logical way is to look for new destinations that have an appetite for exactly the type of products you offer. An easy way to do this is to look at publicly available information on the largest import markets for your company`s production. As a final warning, it is also important to note the overlap of these supply chain-specific requirements with general changes to OFAC`s regulations on economic sanctions. The invasion of Ukraine and the US response to the imposition of very harsh sanctions on Russia and Belarus only underscore the importance of good management of international supply chains. Russia, in particular, has long been a major supplier of goods such as energy products, aluminum, copper and other raw materials. Many of these imports are now blocked (e.g. energy products) or can only be imported in strict compliance with the new economic sanctions requirements. Any company that depends on sourcing from Russia – even if those goods are not imported into the US – must carefully scrutinise all of these supply agreements to ensure that they comply not only with US import restrictions and economic sanctions, but also with coordinated responses from the EU and other governments.

All precautions taken by the U.S. government before conducting “full” due diligence also apply to the new sanctions currently in place against Russia and Belarus. The design makes it very easy for you to find yourself in a certain situation, but then it is difficult for you to get out of it. Relevant WCAG Standard: 2.1.2 No keyboard trap If keyboard focus can be moved to a component of the page using a keyboard interface, focus can only be moved away from that component through a keyboard interface, and if multiple unchanged arrow keys or tabs or other standard output methods are required, The user is informed of the method of moving the focus. Keyboard traps are definitely models of cockroaches. However, this will not help you with the multi-level cockroach motel cancel a service (or unsubscribe from something) after you sign up. Recent statements by the Chair on non-reporting and late reporting, coupled with actions taken by the Agency, indicate that the CSPC will pay increased attention to lax reporting.32 For example, in January 2022, the CSPC settled a non-reporting complaint with a civil fine of $6.5 million.33 The CSPC generally imposes at least one civil penalty per year. But it imposes criminal sanctions much less frequently. In fact, prior to the agency`s historic prosecution in 2021, the last criminal sanction was imposed in 2013.34 Given the CSPC`s reinstatement of sentencing in 2021 and the early push toward civil penalties this year, the industry should be prepared for increased punitive activity in 2022 and beyond, particularly in terms of reporting obligations. These are just a few examples of changing NLRB precedents that are likely to affect both unionized and non-unionized employers. The changes are all favourable to unions and should help increase union activity in the coming years. As with the rapidly changing legal environment surrounding COVID-related issues, manufacturing employers should keep abreast of new NLRB decisions (and be aware of the General Counsel`s enforcement priorities) in order to avoid labour liability in 2022 and beyond.

As a final note, OFAC emphasizes not only the compliance commitment of senior management, including executives and the board of directors, but also the commitment of “adequate resources” for compliance. Conducting supplier audits should not be superficial, but should be the type of verification that can detect the problems even of suppliers taking steps to hide their violations.