Huawei is urging suppliers to move operations offshore to avoid U.S. sanctions and export controls, which would violate U.S. law, according to a Dec. 3 Reuters report. The Chinese technology giant has been “openly advocating” for companies to escape the jurisdiction of U.S. controls so sales can continue, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Reuters. “Anybody who does move the product out specifically to avoid the sanction ... that’s a violation of U.S. law,” Ross said. “So here you have Huawei encouraging American suppliers to violate the law.”

China’s Ministry of Commerce recently published a list of antidumping measures that will expire in 2020, according to a Dec. 2 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Antidumping duties on certain polyamide chips from the U.S., Italy, France and Taiwan will expire Oct. 13; duties on adipic acid from South Korea, the European Union and U.S. will expire Nov. 2; and duties on methyl methacrylate from Singapore, Thailand and Japan will expire Dec. 1. Companies may ask China to review the expiration to potentially continue the antidumping duties by submitting an application at least 60 days before they expire, the report said. Companies who ask for the duties to continue must “believe” the expiration of the duties will lead to “injury to the domestic industry.”

A U.S. foundation representing organizations in the semiconductor technology sector will move to Switzerland due to concerns over U.S. trade restrictions, according to a Nov. 25 Reuters report. RISC-V Foundation, a non-profit, said it has not yet faced restrictions but is “concerned about possible geopolitical disruption,” according to Reuters. The move comes as the Commerce Department restricts sales to certain Chinese technology companies (see 1911180036 and 1910070076) and prepares to release proposed restrictions on emerging and foundational technologies (see 1911200045).

The Department of Commerce published its fall 2019 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security. The agenda includes a new mention of its intent to potentially control certain additive manufacturing equipment, or 3D printing, used in “energetic materials” as part of BIS’s effort to restrict sales of emerging technologies (see 1911210051). The notice of proposed rulemaking aims to gather feedback from industries while “discussions are ongoing” at the Wassenaar Arrangement. BIS said it aims to issue the proposed rule in November.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security finalized some interagency reviews of Huawei license applications and will begin issuing approvals and denials on a “rolling basis,” according to Matt Borman, Commerce deputy assistant secretary for export administration. The announcement was first made by Secretary Wilbur Ross, who told Fox Business on Nov. 19 that Commerce has started “to send out the 20-day intent-to-deny letters and some approvals.” Ross also said Commerce has received about 290 “requests for specific licenses.”

The U.S. should expand export controls against China and study the country’s efforts to dominate emerging technology sectors, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said. In its 2019 annual report, the USCC painted a somewhat grim picture for the prospects of U.S technology competition with China, saying China is committed to maintaining a dominant economic role in trade negotiations and is focused on outpacing the U.S. in the artificial intelligence sector -- a key area of concern for upcoming U.S. export control regimes. To combat this, the commission made several recommendations to Congress to safeguard U.S. technologies, improve foreign market access for U.S. exporters and pre-empt Chinese attempts to undercut U.S. companies and sanctions.

Japan and South Korea will hold a second round of World Trade Organization consultations on Nov. 19, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Nov. 8. The two countries will meet in Geneva to discuss their ongoing trade dispute, which stems from Japan’s July decision to restrict exports of three chemicals used to make high-tech goods such as smartphones and semiconductors (see 1907010020). South Korea followed with its own set of export restrictions in August (see 1908120036). The first WTO meeting took place Oct. 11 (see 1910100043).

Commerce Department Huawei export restrictions forced semiconductor maker Xilinx to remove all remaining Huawei-related “revenue expectations” from its financial outlook for fiscal 2020 ending in March, CEO Victor Peng said on a fiscal Q2 call Oct. 23. “Considering the continued trade restrictions with Huawei and the uncertainty presented to our business, we believe it is prudent” to “de-risk” the Chinese company from the forecast, Peng said.

A California resident was indicted for illegally exporting 11 packages of turtles to Hong Kong, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 23 press release. Keri Zhang Wang allegedly placed the box turtles and map turtles inside socks, which she placed inside shoe boxes “with packing materials.” She placed the shoebox “under bags of snacks and chips for shipping” and did not label the packages as containing turtles, the Justice Department said. The turtles are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and Zhang Wang did not have the required permits to export them, the press release said. Zhang Wang was charged with four counts of smuggling goods and four counts of Lacey Act false labeling. She faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.

South Korea and Japan are still far apart in consultations over their trade dispute and don’t expect the U.S. to meditate negotiations, South Korea said.