China and Canada announced new retaliatory trade restrictions against the U.S. -- and Mexico announced plans to soon release its own set of countermeasures -- after President Donald Trump's administration on March 4 increased tariffs on goods from all three countries. Industry associations said the counter-duties could damage a range of American export industries, including shippers of agricultural products, spirits and other commercial goods.
Companies in the Czech Republic plan to ask the Bureau of Industry and Security to loosen restrictions on U.S. exports of advanced artificial intelligence chips that were put in place as part of a BIS rule in January that tightened controls for nations around the world.
President Donald Trump's recent executive order halting prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act likely won't change the behavior of many companies, given the risk of prosecution globally or in the U.S. after Trump leaves office, lawyers said.
A business group representing American interests in China cites rising trade protectionism, policy uncertainties and escalating geopolitical tensions as headwinds faced by pro-American companies operating in China, according to a recent annual survey of the group's members.
The newly released FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) calls for the executive branch to take several actions related to export controls, including a review of China’s efforts to evade U.S. restrictions, and an assessment of Japan’s possible participation in the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership.
New export controls over U.S. persons’ support for certain foreign military, intelligence and security services activities would place too much strain on both the government and industry compliance departments, disadvantage American exporters compared with their foreign competitors, and may provide no clear benefit to U.S. national security, companies and trade groups told the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Sean Stein, former U.S. consul general in Shanghai and chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, will replace retiring U.S.-China Business Council President Craig Allen, the council announced Sept. 10. Stein, who also is a senior adviser with Covington, will take over as president in November. He brings “the policy and business expertise, experience, and gravitas needed to lead the council forward at a time of great complexity in the US-China relationship,” said Raj Subramaniam, USCBC board chair and FedEx CEO.
The House approved several export control-related bills late Sept. 9, including the Remote Access Security Act, which is designed to close a loophole that has allowed China to use cloud service providers to access advanced U.S. computing chips remotely (see 2409040046).
China’s commerce ministry met with industry officials last week to discuss possibly raising import duties on large-engine cars, according to an unofficial translation of an Aug. 23 ministry notice. China said the meeting featured “representatives from relevant industry organizations, research institutions and automobile companies," where China listened to their "opinions and suggestions on increasing tariffs on large-displacement fuel vehicles." The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said in May that Beijing was considering the tariffs, which could be imposed on exporters from the U.S. and the EU in response to increased duties recently announced by both governments on imports of Chinese electric vehicles (see 2405140008 and 2408200020).
The U.K. this week updated its Russia guidance to add another type of evidence companies can use to prove their imported diamonds don’t violate sanctions against Russia.