Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for May 17-21 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The Semiconductor Industry Association hired Meghan Biery, previously the senior national security policy adviser at the Bureau of Industry and Security, as director of global technology and security policy, the SIA said in a May 24 news release. “A seasoned policy practitioner with high-level experience in technology security, export control, and related issues, Meghan Biery will be a strong and capable advocate for our industry’s interests in Washington and around the world," SIA CEO John Neuffer said.

The U.S. and South Korea hosted a roundtable with business leaders from both countries to stress the importance of “significant cross-border investments” and supply chain resilience, the Commerce Department said in a May 23 news release. During the May 21 roundtable -- which included Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and South Korea's President Moon Jae-In and Trade Minister Moon Sung Wook -- South Korean companies announced plans to invest $17 billion in semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., the release said. The two sides also committed to collaborate on “international standards development,” an area where China has sought to lead in several advanced technology sectors (see 2103160047). Companies at the roundtable included Samsung, Hyundai, Qualcomm and General Motors.

GOWIN Semiconductor Corporation, a Chinese technology startup, is challenging its designation as a "Communist Chinese military company" (CCMC) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, according to a May 21 complaint. In the complaint, GOWIN attempts to prove it is not operated by the Chinese military by showing that its governing board of directors is "comprised of nine private-sector executives, two of whom are U.S. citizens (the CEO and the President)." GOWIN goes on to argue that DOD's lack of notice to the tech startup of the designation and lack of evidence in coming to a conclusion on the label violates its due process rights. The firm also says it will suffer irreparable harm from the CCMC label, and in fact, already has. "By losing U.S. and global support as a result of the CCMC designation, GOWIN has lost and will continue to lose market share to similarly situated [semiconductor] companies, many of which are more mature and firmly established than GOWIN," the complaint said.

Israel and South Korea earlier this month signed a free trade agreement, marking the first trade deal between South Korea and a Middle Eastern country, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported May 21. The agreement will reduce tariffs and eliminate duties on certain manufactured goods and electronics, including cars, phones, machinery, chemicals and plastics. The report said that more than 95% of each country’s exports won’t be subject to tariffs, including shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment from Israel to South Korea.

Semiconductor company ASML hired Maryam Cope, previously government affairs director at the Semiconductor Industry Association, as its head of U.S. government affairs, she said in a LinkedIn post.

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.