The U.S. and China appear poised to reach some sort of "mini-deal" before the end of the year, said Bank of America global economists Ethan Harris and Aditya Bhave in an Oct. 18 report. "In our view, both sides see the other as being in a weakened negotiating position," the analysts said. "The US can point to the bigger economic slowdown in China than in the US. China can point to President [Donald] Trump’s impeachment investigation and his desire to maintain a healthy economy going into the election. This argues for a relatively balanced 'win-win' deal."
Exports to China
Britain's beef exporters will have “full access” to the Chinese market for the first time in more than 20 years as part of a deal between the two countries, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade said Oct. 18. China cleared four “beef sites for export” after “extensive inspections” by authorities, who “confirmed that British beef producers meet the necessary standards to export to their market, the UK said. More sites are under review, the UK said, and UK beef exports are expected to be shipped within months.
China is going to ask the World Trade Organization to authorize retaliatory tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of goods at the WTO's dispute settlement body meeting Oct. 28. If the U.S. disagrees with either the argument that it's not complying with the ruling on countervailing duties, or the amount of retaliation permitted, an arbitrator will decide how much China may retaliate.
Trade experts identified many weaknesses of the World Trade Organization -- the evidentiary standard for countervailing duties: the fact that CVD in one market doesn't help the industry's economics when surplus flows to other countries; the length of time it takes to show adverse effects to domestic firms; the fact that 164 countries can't agree on trade liberalization.
A top U.S. Department of Agriculture official lauded China’s recent purchases of U.S. agricultural products, saying the “phase one” agreement announced last week is a “positive.”
A Chinese national was sentenced to 40 months in prison after trying to export military and space-related technology to China without proper licenses, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 18 press release.
Companies and trade groups warned the Treasury Department that the proposed regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act may repel foreign investors and customers, fails to clearly define “critical technologies” and could place trusted trading partners at disadvantages, according to comments due Oct. 17.
China’s Guangdong province plans to prioritize imports of a “wide range of equipment, components and technological processes” that are “essential” to its key commercial sectors, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in an Oct. 18 report. The priority imports include 575 components, 103 equipment goods and 519 advanced technological processes, the report said. The components include “high-speed high precision robotic arms" and sewage treatment systems. The equipment goods include “precision forging, multistage forging and vehicle part casting systems," "new-energy vehicle components production facilities” and other specialized electronic equipment. The advanced technological processes include agricultural technologies for “improving the sugar content, yield and pest-resistance of sugar cane” and certain pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment technology, the HKTDC said.
China and Mauritius signed a trade deal that will eliminate or reduce tariffs on a range of products and increase “economic cooperation,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in an Oct. 17 press release, according to an unofficial translation. The deal will eliminate certain tariffs, reduce others below 15 percent and will include agreements on rules of origin, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade and "sanitary and phytosanitary issues," China said. The agreement will also expand Chinese exports of steel, tariffs and other “light industrial products” while allowing more sugar imports from Mauritius.
Two stalwart Republican supporters of the president joined with three Democratic senators to say that Congress is united in a push to levy sanctions on Turkey for its invasion of Syria.