The FCC warned China Telecom Americas it will share with DOJ, and its Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, confidential data submitted by the company. The FCC is examining revoking China Telecom’s domestic and international authorizations allowing operation in the U.S. (see 2004240046). “The agencies constituting the Committee are all Federal government agencies,” the FCC said Monday: “No specific assurances have been made to China Telecom Americas against disclosing its confidential information to other Federal government agencies. ... DOJ has stated, on behalf of the Committee, that the agencies will protect the confidentiality of the requested information.” The company didn’t comment.

IQiyi said it’s cooperating with the SEC Enforcement Division as it seeks financial records dating to January 2018, after short-seller firm Wolfpack Research alleged April 7 the company, known as the Netflix of China, was “committing fraud well before” its initial public offering two years ago. IQiyi hired “professional advisers to conduct an internal review” into the allegations, it said Thursday. IQiyi parent Baidu has “zero tolerance for fraud,” said CEO Robin Li on a quarterly call. “When there is a short-seller for an issue against our subsidiary, especially one that's quite autonomous, it is important to get an independent opinion.” This “is part of good corporate governance, and we think this validation process is important to earn investors' trust,” he said. Li isn't involved in the review, he said: “With COVID-19 in the backdrop, one should expect this process to be longer than normal. In past cases without a pandemic, we have seen investigations lasting months and sometimes beyond a year.” IQiyi shares closed 11.2% lower Friday at $19.26. Baidu was down 6.3% at $116.74.

Tencent Holdings is “in the process of seeking further clarification from relevant parties in the U.S.” about President Donald Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order banning U.S. transactions with the WeChat parent company after Sept. 20 on national security grounds (see 2008070032), said Chief Financial Officer John Lo Wednesday on a quarterly investor call. “Based on our initial reading and subsequent press reports, the executive order is focused on WeChat in the United States and not our other businesses in the U.S.,” said Lo. The White House didn’t comment Thursday.

Delisting Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) shares from the New York Stock Exchange is “not the only option” if President Donald Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order takes effect barring WeChat parent Tencent Holdings from doing business in the U.S. after Sept. 20 (see 2008070032 or 2008070061), said TME Chief Strategy Officer Tony Yip on a quarterly investor call Monday. It's "premature" to comment because the July 24 report from the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets on alleged Chinese threats to U.S. national security lists “alternative" remedies to an outright ban, he said. “We are evaluating all options” to be sure that when “further policy” directives come out, “we will be acting in the best interest of our shareholders to protect long-term value,” he said. The White House didn’t comment Tuesday. The stock closed 1.2% lower Tuesday at $15.50.

Some tech merchandise of Chinese origin sent to Mexico for minimal handling and then exported to the U.S. is eligible for tariff treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, said Customs and Border Protection in a ruling Friday. Jose Fierro, an El Paso customs broker, requested the ruling less than a week after USMCA took effect July 1. The broker said a client contracted with a Mexican maquiladora final assembly facility for logistical services, and inquired if USMCA treatment would apply. Workers at the maquiladora facility will provide sorting, picking and packing services on the goods, which will be exported to the U.S. "in the same condition as they were imported into Mexico," Fierro told CBP. The goods include computing products of various sorts and a broad variety of goods, including smart speakers, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches and fitness trackers.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comment by Aug. 20 whether to extend for another year new List 4A Section 301 tariff exclusions on Chinese imports that are set to expire Sept. 1. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently, said the agency Monday. The focus will be whether, despite the first imposition of the additional duties, the particular product remains available only from China.

Australia's new digital trade agreement with Singapore is the “most ambitious digital trade rules” Australia has ever negotiated, that government said. The deal includes provisions on e-commerce and is expected to make it “easier for [Australian] exporters to do business,” Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said: It will help Australian companies “reach more customers and further tap into the Singaporean market.” The pact will cut costs for Singapore companies exporting to Australia, Singapore said.

U.S. export controls on Chinese technology will increasingly affect post-secondary schools, the Hinrich Foundation reported. It said higher education, which struggles with insufficient government export control guidance, should prepare for increased controls on software and networks. “New measures will fundamentally change how universities enter into collaborative research partnerships, hire faculty and admit foreign students,” the foundation said Wednesday. Recommendations included “risk-management measures” to address the U.S.-China technology race. U.S. post-secondary institutions want clarity and education from their government on following existing intellectual property, export control, licensing and related technology rules and laws, said Association of American Colleges and Universities President Lynn Pasquerella in an interview Thursday. She said schools don't want more regulations, since they follow best practices and the export control regime affecting IP has been around for many years. Her stakeholders need to collaborate with counterparts from elsewhere, including China, so U.S. curbs on such activities are harmful, the association head said: "The impact of the current policies on higher education will have a negative effect in terms of research, in terms of equity and diversity. And I would hope this would be different with a different administration." Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidance under the Trump administration, though partly rolled back, would still prevent some collaboration online with international students, Pasquerella noted. She estimated some 1.1 million post-secondary students in the U.S. are from other countries, or 5.5% of the entire student population, generating $47 billion in tuition revenue. China's embassy in Washington and the White House didn't comment Thursday.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs began an interagency review of a Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security pre-rule to pinpoint potential controls for foundational technologies. OIRA received the rule Monday. The rule faced months of delays (see 2007230044).

The Trump administration, without evidence, “stretched the concept of national security and abused its state power to bring down certain non-U.S. enterprises,” said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Tuesday. It was in reaction to President Donald Trump’s threats Monday to put TikTok out of business in the U.S. if it’s not sold to an American company by Sept. 15. The threats are “a blatant act of bullying,” which China “firmly opposes,” said the spokesperson. If Trump follows through, “then any country can take similar measures against any U.S. company on the grounds of national security,” he said: “The U.S. must not open Pandora's box, or it will suffer the consequences.” Trump told reporters Tuesday he had a “great conversation” with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (see 2008030027), in which he told Nadella that China can’t control such a large company for “security reasons.” He suggested Microsoft buy the entire company, not just 30%, because the brand is “hot.” U.S. Treasury deserves a “substantial" cut of the money exchanged in any deal because the federal government is allowing the negotiations to continue, said Trump. Banning TikTok would be unfair to users, the Open Markets Institute said in a statement Tuesday, but it supports the sale to a U.S.-owned company.