Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for May 10-14 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Mexico and Canada emphasized how the COVID-19 pandemic has proven the need for interlinked supply chains, but U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai emphasized supply chains' downside as she, Mexico's economy minister and Canada's trade minister sat down to the first Free Trade Commission meeting of the USMCA. Tai said, "Not only have we discovered the fragility of our supply chains, but we have just begun to appreciate the degree to which they run counter to our collective goals of ensuring that workers within North America, and outside it, are paid a fair wage, in a safe workplace."

China spent 213.6 billion yuan ($33 billion) to bolster key industries such as semiconductors and defense in 2020 to ensure a tight technology race with the U.S., according to Nikkei Asia in a May 17 report. The spending is up 14% from 2019. Using listed companies' earnings data gleaned from information company Wind, Nikkei broke down where the subsidies are going, including to top Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co., which received just shy of 2.5 billion yuan along with $2.25 billion in financing from two state-backed funds. China will continue to focus on producing general-purpose chips, as IC Insights predicts that the nation's semiconductors will account for only 19.4% of global demand in 2025.

China's Ministry of Finance extended until Dec. 25 tariff exemptions for 79 U.S. and Canadian products that were to expire May 18, it said in a news release on May 16, according to an unofficial translation. The list of exemptions includes communication equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, radar equipment and digital cameras (see 2005120031). The list also includes certain metals, acids, chemicals, “medical disinfectants” and oils. Companies that wish to use the exemptions must apply to China’s customs authority within six months of the publication of the list, China said.

Executives from semiconductor and auto industries met last week to discuss the global chip shortage and again urged lawmakers to fund semiconductor legislation that could aid U.S. innovation. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation and the Semiconductor Industry Association held a joint “workshop” May 14 to discuss ways to end the chip shortage as “quickly and efficiently as possible,” the groups said in a statement. They said it will be “critical” to fund the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (see 2102180062) and plan to continue the “constructive dialogue” between industry and lawmakers to boost U.S. chip production.

The Senate likely will vote on the Endless Frontier Act next week and should pass the bill before the end of the moth, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said May 13. The bill, which would provide more federal funding and incentives for semiconductor research, has “strong” bipartisan support, Schumer said, and will help maintain U.S. technological leadership over trade competitors, including China. “The Endless Frontier Act would right the ship by making one of the largest investments in American innovation in generations,” Schumer told the Senate.

U.S. goods exports to China rose nearly 20% last year due to large volume shipments of U.S. agriculture products, semiconductors and energy goods, the U.S.-China Business Council said in a May 12 report. The USCBC said the increase -- from $105 billion worth of goods exports in 2019 to $123 billion in 2020 -- was partly driven by Chinese tariff exclusions and purchase commitments under the phase one trade deal with the U.S.

Semiconductor and technology companies are calling for increased federal semiconductor funding amid a congressional push to boost supply chain competitiveness and domestic innovation. The Semiconductors in America Coalition, which includes Semiconductor Industry Association members Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services and others, said its “primary focus” is to convince Congress to fund the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (see 2102180062), a bill passed earlier this year.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for May 3-7 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, when asked by a top government relations official at General Motors about the semiconductor shortage, said, "I can assure you that I begin and end each day thinking about this issue." Raimondo said she's spoken with the CEO of every major auto company in recent weeks as she seeks to find a way to ease the supply crunch, which could last into 2022. "We’re working hard to see if we can get the Taiwanese to prioritize the needs of our auto companies because there’s so many jobs on the line," said Raimondo, who was speaking at a virtual conference hosted by the Council of the Americas on May 4.