China plans to hit a wide range of goods from the U.S. with 20 percent tariffs in response to the Trump administration's increase in tariffs on Chinese goods (see 1905130002) Among the major items by value targeted by the Chinese on its 20 percent tariff list are machines and mechanical appliances in 8479.89.99; parts of diodes, transistors and similar semiconductor devices in 8541.90.00; other optical instruments in 9031.49.90; and North American hardwood in 4403.99.60. The tariffs will take effect June 1.
The U.S. trade war with China and the stalled revision of NAFTA have severely limited their export markets, filling their warehouses with unmovable products and slashing their revenues, farmers said during a House hearing on the state of the farm economy. The farmers called for a quick resolution of trade disputes with China and ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and suggested another market facilitation program similar to the relief package the Trump administration authorized in 2018 to aid farmers suffering from ongoing sparring over tariffs.
The U.S. trade war with China resulted in a 7 percent drop in goods exports -- $9 billion worth -- from 2017 to 2018, according to a new report from the U.S.-China Business Council. Even with the drop, the U.S. exported more to China in 2018 than it did in 2016. The report blamed China's retaliatory tariffs on about 85 percent of U.S. exports for the decline.
Canada and Colombia were removed from the priority watch list for intellectual property violations, and Tajikistan moved off the watch list, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's annual review of countries' policies on patents, trade secrets, counterfeits and piracy. Saudi Arabia was moved up to the priority watch list because of deteriorating conditions there, including "rampant satellite and online piracy," a USTR official said April 25.
Applied Materials ordered staff to suddenly stop doing business with customer Xiamen Sanan Optoelectronics, a day after the Chinese LED chip maker appeared on a U.S. government “unverified list” of foreign entities (see 1904100017), according to a Nikkei Asian Review report. California-based Applied supplies semiconductor production equipment and large-area deposition systems for LCD and OLED display manufacturing. Xiamen Sanan describes itself as China’s “largest LED epitaxial wafer and chip manufacturer, endeavoring to become top 1 in the global LED industry.” Applied didn't comment. Efforts to reach Xiamen Sanan, whose shares are listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, were unsuccessful.
The European Union filed a dispute with the World Trade Organization on April 2 over India’s “excess” duty rates for goods in the information and communications technology sector. The EU said India is levying tariffs on a range of products that should have no tariffs, including semiconductors, electrical transformers, telephone sets, microphones, circuits, wire and measuring instruments. The rates on those products “clearly exceed the bound rate” of 0 percent set in India’s Schedule of Concessions and Commitments implemented after the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the EU said. The tariff rates are “inconsistent with India's obligations” in the WTO, the EU said in its request for consultations.
A task force of sanctions policy experts published a list of trends that could have an impact on the future of U.S. sanctions, providing evidence of a U.S. shift toward unilateral foreign policy decisions and warning of unintended consequences from sanctions that are increasingly complex, according to a report commissioned by the Center for a New American Security.
The European Union is implementing new criteria for screening foreign investment in the EU that includes effects on critical technologies and dual-use items defined in EU export control regulations, it said in a notice issued March 21. The regulation mirrors U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) requirements currently being implemented that relate to “emerging technologies” as defined in Bureau of Industry and Security export control regulations. Specific technologies named in the new EU regulation include artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, cybersecurity, aerospace, defence, energy storage, quantum and nuclear technologies as well as nanotechnologies and biotechnologies.
Valery Kosmachov was extradited from Estonia to face federal charges in the U.S. related to a "scheme to illegally procure sophisticated electronic components" and smuggle them to Russia, the Department of Justice said in a March 20 news release. The indictment was filed in September 2017 but was only unsealed on March 20, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. Kosmachov was arrested in September 2018 and extradited to the U.S. on March 14, the DOJ said.
Indonesia and Australia signed a trade agreement that provides tariff benefits for Australia and eases restrictions on import licenses on certain agricultural products, according to a notice from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The agreement, called the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, provides Australia with lowered tariffs and “import license advantages” on “live cattle, frozen beef, sheep meat, feed grains, citrus products, carrots, and potatoes,” according to a March 8 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.