The Commerce Department will continue its presumption of denial policy for license applications for exports to Huawei, a Commerce spokesperson said, saying the Chinese company remains on Commerce’s entity list. The department will review export license applications for “their national security impacts” and plans to review licenses “under the highest national security scrutiny,” the spokesperson said. At the G-20 Summit in Japan, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will loosen restrictions on exports to Huawei and allow U.S. companies to “sell their equipment” as long as “there’s no great national emergency problem.” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said June 30 the U.S. will grant license applications for products that China can easily get elsewhere. There has been uncertainty about which specific products will get export licenses and when the changes will take effect (see 1907020017). “The Department intends to notify companies of decisions on export license applications once the review is complete,” the Commerce spokesperson emailed Wednesday.

Attendees at FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 used contactless payment technology for 51 percent of purchases, via smartphones, contactless cards, payment-enabled wristbands and wearables, said Visa Wednesday. The match between U.S. and Chile in Parc de Princes, Paris, had the highest amount spent in-stadium in a single match, accounting for about 14 percent of the total spend to date, it said.

With President Donald Trump’s announcement that U.S. companies will be allowed to sell to Huawei (see 1907010070 or 1907010015), it remains unclear how and if the Commerce Department will amend its May notice that added Huawei to the agency’s entity list and banned all exports of items subject to the export administration regulations with a review policy of presumption of denial. “That does not appear to be decided yet,” said William Reinsch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Commerce’s former undersecretary for export administration. Reinsch expects Commerce to keep its “presumption of denial” policy “but manage it by adding and subtracting to the” temporary general license. The temporary general license will likely be extended past the original 90-days and be expanded to cover more items, Reinsch said. “The debate will be about what items will be covered,” Reinsch emailed. “Everything else will be subject to a presumption of denial, which means you can apply but don’t hold your breath waiting for a ‘yes.’” Alternatively, Commerce could change its review policy to a case-by-case basis, Reinsch said, noting it’s more likely the agency simply expands its temporary general license. “I think it’s easier for them administratively,” Reinsch said. “If they change it, it would require another” Federal Register notice. Semiconductor Industry Association President John Neuffer called the announcement “good news for the semiconductor industry, the overall tech sector, and the world’s two largest economies.” Commerce plans to grant export licenses for products that China can easily get from other countries, including “various chips and software,” said National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow Sunday on CBS and Fox News. “Anything to do with national security concerns will not receive a new license from the Commerce Department,” Kudlow said on CBS. A U.S.-China Business Council spokesperson said the specifics of the announcement were unclear but the move likely will provide relief for U.S. exporters. The net effect and next steps in Congress are difficult to predict (see 1907020060).

NSA improperly collected Americans’ call records in October, four months after it reported fixing underlying problems that caused earlier failures, said the American Civil Liberties Union Wednesday, citing documents it got under the Freedom of Information Act. ACLU asked House Judiciary Committee leaders to end such call detail record authority under Patriot Act Section 215. "These documents provide further evidence that the NSA has consistently been unable to operate the call detail record program within the bounds of the law," the group wrote, asking to "end the flawed Section 215 call detail record authority." Lawmakers will consider whether to renew year-end expiring parts of the law (see 1905060048). "Technical irregularities that led NSA to delete data last summer were identified and addressed," a spokesperson emailed us. "Since that time, NSA identified additional data integrity and compliance concerns caused by the unique complexities of using company-generated business records for intelligence purposes. Those data integrity and compliance concerns have also been addressed and reported to NSA’s overseers, including the congressional oversight committees and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court." The status of the program “is a deliberative interagency process that will be decided by the Administration" (see 1904240068), the representative said.

The U.S. should seek agreement with the EU on law enforcement access to data stored overseas, BSA|The Software Alliance and other industry organizations said Friday in a letter to Attorney General William Barr. The 2018 Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (Cloud) Act was a "critical first step" in modernizing the U.S. approach to challenges of law enforcement access to digital evidence, and there's now a "golden opportunity" to realize its potential as the EU Council authorized the European Commission to enter talks with the U.S., they said: "We urge you to explore this opportunity." They said an EU-wide pact with the U.S. could resolve potential conflicts of law that threaten American businesses in key markets and boost cooperation between U.S. law enforcement and their European counterparts. The agreement could also define processes for committing to privacy, civil liberties and human rights protections. Other signers include the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Information Technology Industry Council, Internet Association and Telecommunications Industry Association.

South Korea "is the first country to deploy proper 5G where you can really have it in many places,” unlike the U.S., where it’s still “very spotty,” said Greg Kustudia, Opensignal vice president-sales, Americas. Company research found 5G download speeds in Korea averaging 111.8 Mbps, 48 percent faster than users get with comparable 4G flagship phones and 134 percent faster than other 4G phones, blogged Ian Fogg, vice president-analysis. In the U.S., 5G peak downloads reached 1.2 Gbps, Fogg said Thursday, based on measurements from Verizon's network. The max in South Korea was 988 Mbps, 8.8 times as fast as user’s average real-world speeds of 111.8 Mbps. The U.S. has top speeds now because carriers here are using mmWave spectrum vs. the mid-band spectrum Korea uses, meaning Korea has a broader signal range but lower speeds, Fogg emailed us Friday. As vendors fix 5G “teething issues” and refine solutions, peak and average speeds will improve, he said. Some bands aren’t available in certain markets yet -- 3.5 GHz in the U.S. and mmWave in Europe, for example -- but “they will be over the next couple of years and learnings from other countries will help carriers improve these later 5G rollouts,” he said. The video experience promised for fifth-generation phones will be particularly important to measure for customers, a spokesperson said: “Is it buffering, what kind of video experience are you actually getting?” The company's app tries to turn “speeds and feeds” in the mobile “arms race” into metrics that nontechnical people can easily understand, said James Hayman, assistant vice president sales-North America. Opensignal used Pepcom's Digital Experience technology showcase in New York Thursday to demonstrate its mobile "analytics" app and to set expectations about 5G networks. Also last week, Sprint unveiled its third 5G phone (see 1906210062).

France's digital services tax proposal disproportionately targets U.S. companies for additional taxation, Computer & Communications Industry Association Chief Operating Officer Matt Schruers said Thursday. He commended Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Calif., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., for urging “prompt and targeted action” against France’s tax. The tax “appears to violate current trade commitments and would serve as a tariff on internet exporters,” Schruers said.

Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said trade sanctions imposed by the Trump administration will cut the company’s revenue this year by about $30 billion, on CNBC Wednesday, but downplayed the threat. In one month, smartphone shipments slowed by 40 percent, he said. Huawei is still growing at a 20 percent rate, he said. In the Chinese market, the consumer business hasn’t declined, Ren said. “There might be declines overseas.” Huawei can withstand the hit, he said. “We believe that $30 billion U.S. will be a very small thing,” he said.

The Court of International Trade upheld Customs and Border Protection denial Monday of EchoStar’s drawback claims as untimely. EchoStar filed the claims for duty refunds worth $276,275.12 in 2014 and early 2015, before new drawback procedures under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, including fully electronic filing, took effect. EchoStar transmitted its filing via the automated broker interface within the three-year deadline, but its paper claim, including CBP Form 7551 and supporting documentation, was filed too late, causing CBP to reject the claims. “CBP is ultimately not responsible for EchoStar’s failure to timely file complete drawback claims because of either the Guidance or CBP’s ‘late’ notice to EchoStar to provide additional documents,” said CIT, referring to guidance documents that EchoStar believed meant no paper documentation was necessary. The company had no immediate comment Tuesday.

Many tech and other interests flooded docket USTR-2019-0004 before the Monday-midnight deadline for comments on the fourth tranche of tariffs on Chinese goods. Most opposed the tariffs on grounds they would harm U.S. businesses and consumers and would do little to stop China’s allegedly bad behavior on intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer. The List 4 goods targeted for Section 301 tariffs of up to 25 percent include “many products Bose imports” to the U.S. from China, commented the manufacturer, posted Monday. Bose products earmarked for List 4 tariffs “generally do not incorporate the types of technology targeted” by China’s IP and tech transfer policies, said the manufacturer. Bose forecasts it will import $450 million worth of goods from China this year. Though the administration claims to have tried to avoid placing tariffs on consumer products, “there is simply no way to protect consumers from tariffs” on List 4, said the Information Technology Industry Council. List 4 includes “finished computing devices and accessories that are used widely," ITI said. Lists 1, 2 and 3 “already placed duties on various types of computer monitors, screens, and networking equipment,” it said: “List 4 tariffs will mean that every single office and home computing machine from printers to standalone desktops to landline telephones -- and even the cables that connect them -- will become more expensive for all" in the U.S. LCD modules Sharp imports from China are used in “a wide array of products” manufactured in the U.S., including cars, watches and phones, commented the company: “Punitive” tariffs on LCD modules would imperil many of those jobs “located within the US manufacturing heartland of the Midwest,” in states “that are so crucial to the President’s upcoming re-election campaign.” Also Monday, tech and other interests testified at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative against List 4 duties (see 1906170066).