The coronavirus is having mixed impacts on one tech company. IRobot anticipates “going back to a world” of 25% U.S. tariffs on Chinese-sourced goods once its exclusion expires Dec. 31, said CEO Colin Angle on a Q3 call Wednesday. The pandemic delayed iRobot’s “original plans” to shift most U.S.-bound production to Malaysia by the end of 2020 to reduce or eliminate its Chinese tariff exposure, instead pushing the move “well into 2021,” he said. The stock closed 13% lower at $83.48, a day after reaching a 52-week high of $98.55. Work and learning from home helped drive 43% Q3 revenue growth, said Angle. “The pandemic has impacted individuals and families in profound ways with the home becoming a primary hub for work, education, exercise, entertainment and more.” IRobot took part in its sixth straight Prime Day event last week, said Angle: “Despite the change in Prime Day from its usual timing in early July, it was a solid event.“ IRobot "is cautiously optimistic for a strong fourth quarter,” said Chief Financial Officer Julie Zeiler. “It remains to be seen how the pandemic, an uncertain economic environment and the shifting of an event like Prime Day from July to mid-October will influence the holiday gift-giving season.” The “incredibly challenging period” forced iRobot to make supply-chain “adjustments” to “keep up with demand,” said Zeiler when asked about a notice on the company’s online store it's experiencing shipping delays. “Given all of the growth, there is occasionally a situation on our website where shipping is delayed,” said Angle. “We have the systems in place to make those types of disruptions very short.”

As part of Swedish limited partnership Polhem Infra's purchase of Swedish telco Telia, Polhem's CSC Global asked for approval of transfer of U.S. fiber network operator Telia Carrier's domestic and international authority under Communications Act Section 214, in an FCC International Bureau application filed Thursday. It said Telia Carrier's customers will continue receiving service under the Telia name at similar terms, rates and conditions in the near term and the purchase won't reduce competition in the U.S. It asked for FCC consent for transfer of Telia's interest in the TAT-14 submarine cable to Polhem.

The Trump administration emphasized a “market-based approach” to ensure U.S. dominance in developing emerging technologies, in a national strategy released Thursday. The National Security Council identified 20 critical technologies, including telecom, semiconductors, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The market-based approach is preferable to “state-directed models” that “produce waste and disincentivize innovation,” the strategy said. It helps “protect ourselves from unfair competition,” including from China and Russia. Those countries and other “strategic competitors … have adopted deliberate whole-of-government” critical and emerging tech “efforts and are making large and strategic investments to take the lead,” the strategy said. “America’s lead in certain C&ET sectors is declining. The [U.S.] will take meaningful action to reverse this trend.” The strategy includes a focus on improving the U.S. workforce for some emerging tech and increasing the pool of investors to ensure improved R&D. It calls for preventing foreign adversaries like China from unfairly benefiting from U.S. innovation, including by beefing up international intellectual property theft norms and expanding restrictions on exports of some tech to those countries.

The pandemic is accelerating global cord cutting, with worldwide pay-TV market subscribership likely to decline slightly this year to 1.07 billion, ABI Research said Wednesday. Cancellation of many live sports events resulted in fans dropping their pay-TV packages, it said. Cord cutting had been largely occurring in mature markets with high broadband penetration, but the economic effects of the pandemic are also driving cord cutting in emerging markets, it said. Those losses are likely temporary, with sports fans returning and pay-TV growth in emerging markets beyond the pandemic, it said: The global subscriber base is expected to hit 1.1 billion by 2025. The Diffusion Group said Wednesday it sees more than half of U.S. broadband homes without an MVPD service by 2025, with pay-TV services losing 36% of their 2020 subscriber base. Between 2015 and 2020, they lost 9.5%, TDG said. Currently, 27% of U.S. broadband households are without an MVPD service.

Wide availability of 5G smartphones will drive fifth-generation adoption to 2.3 billion users by 2024, projected Credit Suisse Monday. The launch of the first 5G iPhone “is set to be a key catalyst for 5G uptake,” especially in the U.S., it said. Apple jumped into the 5G era Tuesday, introducing four 5G iPhones (see 2010130043). “While applications are potentially exciting, there is no 5G ‘killer app’ for mass market consumers as yet, in the way that streaming media was for 4G uptake.” Most 5G launches so far focused on high-volume data bundles and handsets, rather than apps, limiting expected revenue growth through 2024, the analysts said.

Global supply chains are confronting an “evolution” that will completely change how chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) organize and run their organizations, reported Gartner Thursday. A good supply chain in the past was “efficient and powerful,” but it must now be “agile and fast,” it said. Uncertainty is the new “constant” in supply chains, said Gartner. No one knows "where the next competitor will come from and what their impact will be,” it said. Nearly half of CSCOs Gartner canvassed expressed concern “that their business is at risk of being disrupted in the coming years, with the greatest risk coming from nontraditional businesses such as startups,” it said. Uncertainty from the U.S.-China trade war remains a looming threat that won’t go away soon, it said. “More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concern about future pandemics, after shutting down global supply chains and trade routes.” The ongoing uncertainty “calls for a new approach to supply chain management,” it said. “CSCOs must build more flexible and resilient networks that can respond effectively to global shocks and disruptions -- be it caused by nature or a competitor.”

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security extended by two weeks to Nov. 9 comments on its pre-rule on foundational technologies (see 2010050039), says Friday's Federal Register. It clarified the agency will accept “confidential business information” if commenters follow certain guidelines such as that they “clearly identify” that private portion and justify its nondisclosure.

Thailand imposed a “full prohibition” on e-waste imports from the U.S., Australia, Japan and other developed countries, reported the Basel Action Network Tuesday. It's among green groups urging a ban for years and is now calling on the Thai government for “vigorous enforcement of the law.” After China began banning e-waste imports two years ago, “many traders simply moved highly polluting waste operations” to India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand, said BAN. It used GPS trackers to monitor e-waste flows across the world, discovering “numerous” shipments ending up in Thailand from Germany and Australia, it said. It called on all countries to impose import bans. “Once your country and countryside becomes a target of the global waste traders it is too late to prevent the destruction they can cause," said BAN Executive Director Jim Puckett. Thailand's embassy in Washington didn't comment right away.

IQiyi “substantially completed” an internal review and uncovered no "evidence that would substantiate the allegations” from short-seller firm Wolfpack Research that the company committed fraud well before its 2018 initial public offering by inflating revenue and subscriber data (see 2008140003), said iQiyi Monday. Known as the Netflix of China, it will continue cooperating with the SEC investigation, it said. It’s “unable to predict the duration, outcome or impact of the SEC investigation,” it said. “No surprise” that iQiyi again denied guilt, emailed Wolfpack founder Dan David. “We're looking forward to the SEC's investigation, which will prove wrongdoing." The agency didn’t respond to questions.

“Facts are facts,” and "the international community will not be fooled by the lies” of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Friday. Pompeo accused the Chinese government Thursday of subjecting women to “forced abortion, forced sterilization, and involuntary implantation of birth control devices” as part of its campaign “against Uyghurs and members of other minority groups.” He further accused the Chinese Communist Party of continuing to use “censorship and arbitrary detentions to crack down on the freedoms of expression and association of China’s women’s rights advocates.” Pompeo’s allegations are “completely unfounded,” said the ministry spokesperson. “The Chinese government protects the rights and interests of all ethnic minorities in equal measure, with preferential population policies toward minority groups, including Uyghurs.” Women in the U.S., “in direct contrast,” still face “systemic, prevalent and institutional discrimination and threat,” and are “21 times more likely to die” from gun violence than women in other “high-income countries,” he said. The State Department didn’t respond to questions.