China this week renewed antidumping duties on imports of hydroiodic acid from the U.S. and Japan for five years after finding that lifting the tariffs could “damage” China's domestic industry, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Commerce notice. The renewed AD measures, effective Oct. 16, include a 41.1% rate for Japanese companies and a 123.4% rate for American companies. China said the acid has various manufacturing uses, including for integrated circuits.

China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a set of broad frequently asked questions Oct. 16 on its Unreliable Entity List, including how Beijing decides to add entities to the list, how companies may be removed and the penalties for listed companies. The ministry said it may impose fines “of a corresponding amount according to the severity of the circumstances” against companies added to the list, according to an unofficial translation.

Australia and China agreed to a timetable for Beijing to lift import restrictions on Australian live rock lobster by the end of the year, Australia’s foreign affairs ministry announced last week. Australia said the lobsters have been “effectively prevented” from entering China’s market since 2020, but the two sides agreed to remove the trade barrier in a “step towards stabilising the bilateral relationship.”

China announced sanctions this week on three U.S. companies that supply the defense industry -- Edge Autonomy, Huntington Ingalls Industries and Skydio -- along with 10 defense industry executives for their ties to arms sales to Taiwan, according to an unofficial translation of a notice from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The designations target employees from those three firms along with Sierra Nevada, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and other defense companies. The ministry said the sanctions freeze their assets in China, and people and entities in China are blocked from “conducting relevant transactions” with them.

China will impose temporary antidumping duties on imports of brandy from the EU after preliminary findings showed the imports are threatening its domestic industry, according to an unofficial translation of an Oct. 8 Ministry of Commerce notice. Beginning Oct. 11, Importers of EU brandy must pay security deposits ranging from 30.6% to 39%, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. The announcement came less than a week after EU member states voted to approve new countervailing duties on Chinese electric vehicles (see 2410040013).

China is launching an “anti-discrimination investigation” on Canada's upcoming tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, and steel and aluminum products (see 2409040007), according to an unofficial translation of a Sept. 26 notice from the country’s Ministry of Commerce. The ministry said the investigation could result in “corresponding measures” against Canada, though it didn’t give details. Beijing is accepting public comments for 30 days and is expecting to complete the investigation within three months.

China is investigating American clothing company PVH Group, which owns Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and other major fashion retailers, for possible inclusion on its so-called unreliable entity list, China's Ministry of Commerce announced Sept. 24, according to an unofficial translation. China said PVH is suspected of violating “normal market trading principles” for products related to the country’s Xinjiang region, along with the “interruption of normal transactions with Chinese companies, other organizations or individuals, and adoption of discriminatory measures.”

China this month launched an antidumping duty investigation on imports of halogenated butyl rubber from Canada, Japan and India, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Commerce notice. The ministry said it plans to complete the probe by Sept. 14, 2025, but it may be extended by six months. It’s accepting comments within 20 days of Sept. 14. The announcement came after China in August renewed its AD order on imports of halogenated butyl rubber from the U.S., the EU, the U.K. and Singapore (see 2408210022).

The Biden administration on Sept. 6 released an updated version (see 2107160030) of a business advisory that highlights the sanctions and export controls risks for companies doing business in Hong Kong, including the “reputational, regulatory, financial, and, in certain instances, legal” consequences they could face. The 16-page advisory covers risks associated with trade secrets theft, the punishments they could face for violating Hong Kong’s national security law and the challenges posed by “conflicting jurisdictional requirements and liability in connection with sanctions compliance efforts,” the State Department said. “Failure to adhere to U.S. sanctions can result in civil and criminal penalties under U.S. law.”

China is beginning a review of its antidumping duties on imports of phenol from the U.S., the EU, South Korea, Japan and Thailand, but it will not review AD on phenol from the U.K., China’s Ministry of Commerce said Sept. 5, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry is accepting public comments within 20 days of Sept. 5 and said it plans to make a decision before Sept. 6, 2025. The current duties, in place since 2019, range from 244.3% to 287.2% for American companies, 30.4% for EU companies, 12.5% to 23.7% for South Korean companies, 19.3% to 27% for Japanese companies, and 10.6% to 28.6% for Thai companies. The ministry said no Chinese company requested that the AD be renewed for the U.K. China said phenol is an “important organic chemical raw material” used in synthetic fibers and for other industrial purposes.