If President Donald Trump is not re-elected, the next administration will remain focused on China, export controls and Entity List actions but will likely approach China with a more clear, predictable strategy, two former top Commerce Department officials said. “You would see a more well-defined, carefully thought-through approach to issues like Huawei,” Peter Lichtenbaum, who served as Commerce’s assistant secretary for export administration during the Bush administration, said during a March 6 International Trade Update panel at the Georgetown University law school. “Not because it's a Democratic [administration], but because it's a more regular-order administration and less policy made by tweet.”
The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Commerce Department will hold the first meeting of its Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee May 19, the agency said in a notice in the Federal Register. The committee will focus on identifying emerging technologies with dual uses for potential control by the Bureau of Industry and Security, which is working on restricting exports of both emerging and foundational technologies (see 2002040057). The first meeting is expected to feature remarks from BIS management. The meeting was originally scheduled for December and January before being delayed both times due to issues getting members their security clearances (see 2002240033).
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Mar. 4 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Global Affairs Canada is seeking comment on the “Origin Quota commitment for Vehicles under the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union,” it said in a notice. Comments are due April 22.
Huawei was involved in illegally sending U.S.-origin computer equipment to Iran, according to a March 2 Reuters report. Reuters said it reviewed two Huawei “packing lists” from 2010 that show Huawei sent equipment made by Hewlett-Packard Co. destined for Iran’s largest mobile phone carrier. The documents provide the “strongest documentary evidence to date” of Huawei violating U.S. sanctions despite claims from Huawei that it has not violated sanctions, Reuters said.
In the Feb. 25 - March 3 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The United Kingdom government emphasized that its National Health Service will not pay more for drugs as a result of a U.S.-United Kingdom free trade deal, and that Britain “will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.” The latter seems to be a reference to sanitary standards that frustrate U.S. exporters, such as a ban on anti-bacterial washes of chicken. The government issued its negotiating objectives and an analysis of the economic benefit to the U.K. of a free trade deal in the March 2 document.
Brazil and Paraguay signed an agreement in February that is expected to strengthen trade and customs cooperation, according to a Feb. 28 KPMG post. The deal calls for both countries to grant “free trade” treatment for certain auto products, the post said, and provides rules of origin for auto goods and “preferential access conditions.” The deal must still be ratified in both countries.
The annual trade policy agenda report, put out by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, celebrated victories in export market access in 2019, even as it reported that goods exports fell by $21 billion compared with 2018. Manufacturing exports, which accounted for 83% of total goods exports, were down by $34.7 billion in 2019. Agricultural exports, which accounted for 9% of total goods exports, were down by $3 billion in 2019.