China’s New Supply Chain Security Rules Raise the Risks for Foreign Companies On April 7, 2026, China turned supply chain decisions into national security decisions. The regulations took effect the same day. No transition period. These regulations, issued as State Council Order No. 834, give Chinese authorities a formal mechanism to investigate and punish foreign
China NNN Agreements work when they deterChinese companies from misusing your IP. Here is when they help, when they do not, and how to draft one that will actually work.
Moving production to Mexico is more than just a sourcing decision. It is a legal and operational rebuild. Companies that treat China/Mexico contracts, labor, IP, customs, and transition sequencing as afterthoughts often end up paying to fix avoidable mistakes.
Your leverage is usually strongest before your China factory knows you are leaving and before your plans in the new country become obvious to everyone else. That window does not stay open for long. Once it closes, fixing trademark gaps, tooling problems, and bad contracts becomes slower, more expensive, and much more difficult. Sometimes it does not just make the exit harder. Sometimes it makes the exit fail.
If you are manufacturing in China, you almost certainly need a China Trademark.
How to Negotiate with Your Chinese Manufacturers Most American companies hear the line “That’s not how we do it in China” and immediately start retreating. They soften their tone, over-explain, and offer compromises before they have identified what matters. They treat the phrase like a cultural law that cannot be questioned, instead of what it
Foreign companies often lose U.S. distribution opportunities for a simple reason: their factory can’t deliver what their distributor contract promised. The fix isn’t complicated, but it’s often ignored--your U.S. distribution agreement and your China manufacturing contract have to be drafted as one integrated system.
Cambodia vs. Guatemala for Manufacturing For U.S. companies making labor-intensive products and looking to exit China, Cambodia and Guatemala come up repeatedly as lower-cost alternatives. I am bullish on Guatemala, but cautious on Cambodia. This is not because Cambodia cannot manufacture. It can. The issue is control. Cambodia’s risk profile is harder to manage and
China NNN Agreements fail when they only block disclosure, ignore WeChat/CAD files, name the wrong company, or require enforcement you cannot afford. This blog post explains when you need an NDA vs an NNN agreement, common China traps (language, company chop, Hong Kong clauses), and what to send for a fast review.
High End Manufacturing Integrators: The Pros and Cons for Companies That Cannot Afford Mistakes Why Companies Are Turning to Manufacturing Integrators Companies that build sophisticated products tend to face the same pattern of problems. Overseas factories offer attractive pricing, but their incentives rarely match yours. Their priority is volume and machine utilization. Your priorities are
