There will be more trade uncertainty in 2020 than in 2019 despite a phase one deal with China, trade experts said during a Jan. 22 panel hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. As trade tensions with Europe come to the foreground and as the U.S. potentially negotiates a more comprehensive deal with Japan, one expert said, the administration will not have enough time and resources to start on phase two of the deal with China as it tries to implement the first phase. Another panelist said the U.S. and China will likely come to a “narrow” phase two deal as the election approaches, but that deal will not provide relief for the international trade environment.
Not only are the purchase requirements in the new China trade deal unrealistic, other developments in China's economy and the trading relationship make them even further out of reach, according to an analysis by economist Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Bown notes that the rate of growth needed to meet the targets is higher than when China's economy was growing at 10 percent a year, and China's economy is growing more slowly now. Additionally, the tariffs on Chinese goods that remain in place after phase one are a further drag on the economy.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 13-17 in case you missed them.
China’s General Administration of Customs launched a “Smart Customs” initiative to incorporate “new-generation technologies to achieve smarter customs control,” according to a Jan. 16 press release. The initiative aims to better connect “all parties in the international supply chain,” the press release said.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 6-10 in case you missed them.
The U.S., the European Union and Japan should do more to align their export control regimes and cooperate on new export control measures to defend against Chinese mercantilist trade practices, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation said in a Jan. 13 report. The three parties should schedule “formal meetings” to discuss export controls, saying previous discussions have been too “limited in scope. They should be broader given the changing nature of China’s pursuit of advanced technology.”
China’s latest draft of its export control law (see 1912260029) represents the country’s first “comprehensive and consolidated” export control legislation and includes regulations for end-user statements, increased penalties and more, according to a Jan. 9 post from Baker McKenzie.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order expanding U.S. sanctions authority against Iran and the Treasury Department announced a series of new Iran sanctions, including measures against senior Iranian officials, metal companies and a vessel. The executive order grants the U.S. the authority to impose a series of new primary and secondary sanctions against people and companies involved with Iran’s construction, mining, manufacturing and textiles sectors, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a Jan. 10 press conference. While the executive order only mentioned those four sectors, additional Iranian sectors may be sanctioned, Mnuchin said.
China’s Foreign Ministry criticized a report released this week by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China that called for U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials, saying the commission has no “objectivity or credibility whatsoever.” The report, issued Jan. 8, also called for greater U.S. export controls on surveillance technologies being sent to China and urged the Trump administration to place more Chinese companies and agencies on the Commerce Department’s Entity List due to their involvement in human rights violations (see 2001080039).
The House passed a bill and a resolution Jan. 8 aimed at protecting the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and exporters in the 5G sector. The measures also seek to improve the U.S.’s presence at international bodies that set standards for 5G networks and equipment over fears that China will permanently surpass U.S. 5G technology and control the market. The House passed the Secure 5G and Beyond Act, which requires several federal agencies, including the Commerce Department, to “protect the competitiveness” of U.S. companies by completing an assessment of the competitiveness and vulnerabilities of U.S. manufacturers and suppliers of 5G equipment. The bill also requires the agencies to identify “policy options” to close “security gaps” in the U.S. development of “critical technologies.”