The Commerce Department has been “slow” to complete a series of export control reviews mandated by the Export Control Reform Act, including the agency’s upcoming controls on emerging and foundational technologies, Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said.
Exports to China
The Commerce Department’s decision to renew the temporary general license for Huawei “won't have a substantial impact on Huawei's business either way,” the company said in a Nov. 19 statement. Huawei said the 90-day reprieve (see 1911180036), which authorizes a narrow set of transactions with the U.S. despite Huawei’s placement on the Entity List, “does not change the fact that Huawei continues to be treated unfairly.”
The European Commission will allocate the equivalent of about $250 million to fund 2020 promotion activities for European agricultural goods, with more than half of the funding going toward campaigns promoting exports, the commission said in a Nov. 19 press release. The funding will raise the competitiveness of the European agricultural sector and help during “market disturbances,” the commission said. The commission will target several export markets with “high-growth potential,” including Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and the U.S. The Commission said “eligible sectors” include dairy and cheese, olive oil and wine.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Nov. 18 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
China criticized a Nov. 14 U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report that called for more export controls against China and more support for Taiwan, saying the commission’s report is inaccurate. “The committee you mentioned is deeply entrenched in prejudice against China. Its reports are rarely based on facts,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Nov. 15. “I have no interest in commenting.” The report also provided details on “harassment” tactics employed by China against U.S. companies, including unannounced site investigations and unwarranted tax investigations (see 1911140050).
China announced tariff-rate quotas for fertilizer imports for 2020, according to a Nov. 15 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. China will set its quotas at 3.3 million tons of urea, 6.9 million tons of diamond phosphate and 3.45 million tons of compound fertilizers. The TRQ will be 1 percent for all three items, HKTDC said. Chinese authorities will accept applications and issue certificates for the quotas starting Dec. 15.
Two Chinese citizens were charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after bribing Chinese officials, the Justice Department said Nov. 14. Yanliang Li and Hongwei Yang, who held leadership positions at a Chinese subsidiary of an “international multi-level marketing company,” paid bribes to retain operating licenses in China and to suppress government investigations and negative media reports about their company, the agency said.
Days before the Commerce Department's temporary general license for Huawei is set to expire, the agency and Secretary Wilbur Ross declined to say whether they will extend the license, but said it has been beneficial for U.S. rural communities. Ross suggested that Commerce would like to keep it going.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Nov. 15 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
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.