China will buy nearly $80 billion worth of additional manufactured goods from the U.S. over the next two years as part of the U.S.-China phase one trade deal (see 1912310010), according to a Jan. 14 report from Reuters. As part of the deal, China will also buy more than $50 billion worth of U.S. energy supplies and increase purchases of U.S. services by $35 billion over the same period, the report said. The agreement will also require China to increase its purchases of U.S. agricultural goods by $2 billion over two years at about $16 billion per year. The numbers, which represent a “staggering increase” over recent Chinese imports of U.S. manufactured goods, are expected to be announced Jan. 15 during a White House signing ceremony between President Donald Trump and China's Vice Premier Liu He, Reuters said. A China Foreign Ministry spokesman referred questions to the country's Commerce Ministry. “Please remain patient for a little while,” the spokesman said during a Jan. 14 press conference. “More information will come out in a couple of days.”
Exports to China
China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S.’s decision to impose more Iran sanctions last week, saying the measures, which affected some Chinese entities, should be reversed. Along with Iranian officials and metal companies, the U.S. sanctions targeted a Beijing-based company for buying Iranian steel and a China-based company for managing a vessel that transported the steel (see 2001100050). “We urge the U.S. to cease immediately the wrongful sanctions on Chinese businesses,” a ministry spokesman said during a Jan. 13 press conference. “We will continue to staunchly defend Chinese enterprises' legitimate rights and interests.” China said it has been dealing with Iran for a “long time” and “such cooperation, which is justified and lawful and doesn't harm any third party's interests, should be respected and protected.”
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Jan. 13 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
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 recently amended its declaration requirements for goods entering and exiting special customs supervision areas under free trade agreements, according to a Jan. 10 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The changes, which took effect Jan. 1, aim to simplify the filing procedures for “conventional or preferential rates” by allowing the imported goods’ consignee or agent to no longer have to fill out China’s Customs Declaration Form or the Record-Filing List for Inbound Goods, the report said. The measures are expected to make it easier for goods to benefit from preferential duty treatment.
Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius told reporters that Mercedes-Benz's transition plan for auto rules of origin under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will take three or four years. Kallenius, who was responding to a question from International Trade Today after a Q&A at the Washington Economic Club Jan. 10, did not say explicitly that the carmaker would be applying for the extension, which would require the company to show how Alabama production -- not just Mexican production at its joint venture with Nissan -- will meet the tougher standards. If it will take Mercedes four years to meet the standard, they would need an extension.
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 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.
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).
China’s Department of Foreign Trade recently introduced policies to “increase support and guidance” for border trade and the tax environment, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a Jan. 8 report. The policies include “improving the functions of border trade zones,” a value-added tax exemption and a simplification of the declaration process “for small-scale border trade exports on a trial basis,” the report said. The policies will also support the development of “new models of e-commerce suited to border trade,” HKTDC said.