Micron Technology expects its gross margins to take a “near-term” hit “to the tune of 50 to 100 basis points” from the 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that take effect Monday and are due to rise to 25 percent Jan. 1 (see 1809180035 and 1809180020), said Chief Financial Officer Dave Zinsner on a Thursday earnings call. Shares fell nearly 8 percent after hours and closed 2.9 percent lower Friday at $44.74. “We are working to gradually mitigate most of the impact from these tariffs over the next three to four quarters,” said Zinsner. “Clearly, tariffs are impacting us,” and reducing Micron’s exposure to the damage “obviously takes some time,” he said. “We have to do some things operationally to get ourselves in a place where it isn’t as impactful, and so, it’ll be a quarter or two probably before we start to see some benefit from the improvement there.” Micron argued unsuccessfully for removing from the Trump administration’s “retaliation list” the tariffs on 8473.30.11 printed circuit assemblies imported to the U.S., which include the “memory modules” it makes at the fab it owns in Xi’an, China.

President Donald Trump signed a national cyber strategy to coordinate defensive and offensive activities, National Security Adviser John Bolton said Thursday. The strategy was finalized in connection with rescinding an Obama-era directive requiring interagency coordination on offensive U.S. cyberattacks. Bolton called the reversal a warning sign for adversaries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. It's the first “fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years,” Bolton said. Presidential policy directive 20, in 2012 by President Barack Obama, established an interagency framework for approving U.S. cyberattacks. The administration eliminated that directive several weeks ago, Bolton told reporters. The U.S. no longer has its hands tied, he said: “We’re going to do a lot of things offensively, and I think our adversaries need to know that. ... We’re not just on defense as we have been primarily.” U.S. Cyber Commander Paul Nakasone, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and FBI Director Christopher Wray agreed on the change Bolton said. The new plan recognizes public and private sectors have struggled to secure systems, said Bolton. Overcoming those challenges will require technical advances and a thriving tech sector, Bolton added. He cited the WannaCry cyberattack and a recent attack against Atlanta as evidence threats aren't going away. The 2015 Office of Personnel Management data breach is one type of attack the U.S. is looking to deter, Bolton said. Asked about the administration eliminating the top cyber policy adviser position (see 1805160046), Bolton said he inherited a duplicative staffing structure. Numerous senior directors -- for defense and intelligence, for example -- don't have coordinators, he said. The strategy emphasizes “promoting American prosperity,” “preserving peace through strength,” “advancing American influence” and securing a “cyber future.” It's an extension of Trump’s May 2017 cybersecurity executive order, the White House said. DOD said Tuesday the U.S. needs to collect intelligence in cyberspace to combat malicious efforts by China and Russia, which pose an unacceptable risk to the U.S. North Korea and Iran pose similar threats, officials said.

The Havfrue transatlantic subsea cable system will land at NJFX's New Jersey collocation campus, said a news release Tuesday. The system will link New Jersey and Denmark, with branch connections to Ireland and Norway, and is being built by a consortium including Aqua Comms, Google and Facebook, it said.

Joining tech, telecom and other heavyweights, Logitech opposed Part III of tariffs (see 1809130056) on Chinese goods imported to the U.S. over intellectual property disagreements between the superpowers. The manufacturer also was in the company of hundreds of others opposing tariffs on connected devices under two subheadings, commenting in docket USTR-2018-0026. If the Trump administration doesn't spare those goods, Logitech wants the U.S. Trade Representative to exempt tariffs on what's from “wholly foreign-owned enterprises” (WFOEs) in China. The company imported more than $250 million worth of such goods from China last year. Logitech’s IP and proprietary technology “is better protected at its WFOE in China” than it would be if entrusted to “a third-party manufacturer in any other country,” said the company. “Logitech’s intellectual property and proprietary technology actually would arguably be less protected if it were to source computer mice, video conference cams and webcams from unrelated third parties outside of China.” Attention now turns to how long the administration will take to publish its determination on which items on the proposed list will stay and which will go, when they will take effect and whether they will be assessed at 10 percent or 25 percent.

It's odd to be talking about blockchain in terms of regulatory policy, said Aaron Arnold, a fellow at Harvard University who studies trade controls to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The technology is designed to remove the intermediary and decentralize authority, said panelists on blockchain and trade security at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank on security. A government blockchain verification system is inherently centralized, said Jonathan Tame, manager in Deloitte's technology practice. Arnold gave an example of an instance in which a Massachusetts supplier sent pressure transducers to its Chinese subsidiary, and then an employee there falsified documents about the package's contents and sent the equipment -- used to enrich uranium -- to Iran. If these transactions were on a distributed ledger, “would this have stopped the transshipment to Iran? No," he said. That’s not “to imply that blockchain or distributed ledger technologies have zero applications" here, he said. For a system with items subject to export controls tagged in an unalterable way that goes to a country where it's not allowed, the seller wouldn't be paid.

Comcast again pushed out the deadline for Sky shareholders to weigh in on its bid for takeover, now to Oct. 6, it said Wednesday. The company last month extended the August deadline to Wednesday (see 1808220054). Comcast said it's received acceptances representing 0.29 percent of ordinary share capital.

IBM seeks “plurilateral agreement among the world’s largest economies” to curb China’s allegedly unfair trade practices, commented the company in docket USTR-2018-0026 in opposition to the proposed third tranche of duties. Such global agreement with China’s “largest trade and investment partners” could help “establish broad new norms,” it said. The EU and Japan “would be logical, willing partners,” it said. Though Nvidia doesn't make graphics processing units in China, some of its “platforms and cards” are assembled there, and “third-party resellers and partners” import them to the U.S., it commented. Those goods are targeted for tariffs of up to 25 percent, “even though the vast majority of their value derives from [U.S.] engineering work," Nvidia said. It’s “working diligently” with those partners “to mitigate possible negative impacts,” it said. “That work will not be completed before the anticipated time” the third tranche takes effect, so it’s asking that those products be exempted. Other tech interests also are concerned about levies over intellectual property disagreements between the countries (see 1809100056).

Netflix may see India as a big potential growth opportunity, but to sizably expand its customer base there it must move to an ad-supported business model or line up a significant wholesale partnership, Barclays' Kannan Venkateshwar wrote investors Friday. India is one of the fastest growing online video markets, with 2017 consumption up four to five times year over year and there's a big push toward fiber-based broadband connectivity across major population centers, the analyst said. But India's media market carries challenges, like cultural heterogeneity, demographics, competitive intensity and the structure of broadband and TV markets, Venkateshwar said, adding that India could represent 6 million to 11 million subscribers to Netflix over five years.

Canada won't sign a free trade deal that would allow U.S. firms to buy Canadian newspapers or TV stations, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Monday. Meanwhile, “There’s good will on all sides,” said Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland regarding negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement. But she noted negotiators will stand up for “national identity,” and there are cultural exemptions for Canadian radio, TV, newspaper and film.

Telecom infrastructure provider GlobeNet and Facebook are partnering to build a new submarine cable system connecting parts of South America, they said Wednesday. They said GlobeNet and Facebook will co-own the 2,500-kilometer cable system -- tying Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a branch going to Porto Alegre, Brazil -- and GlobeNet will operate it. They said the cable network should be ready for service in 2020.