International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 17-21 in case they were missed.
China’s foreign ministry said the U.S. must withdraw allegations against two state-linked Chinese hackers charged Thursday with intellectual-property cybercrimes (see 1812200059) or risk endangering U.S.-China trade negotiations aimed at averting a March 2 increase in Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports (see 1812140045). China urges the U.S. “to immediately correct its wrongdoings, stop defaming and discrediting China on the cybersecurity issue, and withdraw its so-called charges against the Chinese nationals so as to avoid seriously damaging bilateral relations and bilateral cooperation in relevant fields,” said a spokesperson Friday. In charging the two Chinese nationals with cybertheft, the U.S. “fabricated stories out of nothing and made unwarranted accusations against China on the cybersecurity issue,” she said. China “has been firmly opposing and cracking down on all forms of cyber espionage. The Chinese government has never participated in or supported others in stealing commercial secrets in any form.”
Christmas lights producers outside China appear to have doubled their volume of exports to the U.S. after the Section 301 tariffs more than doubled the tariffs on Chinese lights, according to the Coalition for GSP. The group decided to look at Christmas lights because nearly all of the imports happen from August through October, so the impact of the tariff jump on Chinese lights from 8 percent to 18 percent on Sept. 24 would show up immediately.
China’s foreign ministry said the U.S. must withdraw allegations against two state-linked Chinese hackers charged Dec. 20 with intellectual-property cybercrimes or risk endangering U.S.-China trade negotiations aimed at averting a March 2 increase in Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. China urges the U.S. “to immediately correct its wrongdoings, stop defaming and discrediting China on the cybersecurity issue, and withdraw its so-called charges against the Chinese nationals so as to avoid seriously damaging bilateral relations and bilateral cooperation in relevant fields,” said a spokesperson Dec. 21. In charging the two Chinese nationals with cybertheft, the U.S. “fabricated stories out of nothing and made unwarranted accusations against China on the cybersecurity issue,” she said. China “has been firmly opposing and cracking down on all forms of cyber espionage. The Chinese government has never participated in or supported others in stealing commercial secrets in any form.”
China’s foreign ministry said the U.S. must withdraw allegations against two state-linked Chinese hackers charged Thursday with intellectual-property cybercrimes (see 1812200059) or risk endangering U.S.-China trade negotiations aimed at averting a March 2 increase in Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports (see 1812140045). China urges the U.S. “to immediately correct its wrongdoings, stop defaming and discrediting China on the cybersecurity issue, and withdraw its so-called charges against the Chinese nationals so as to avoid seriously damaging bilateral relations and bilateral cooperation in relevant fields,” said a spokesperson Friday. In charging the two Chinese nationals with cybertheft, the U.S. “fabricated stories out of nothing and made unwarranted accusations against China on the cybersecurity issue,” she said. China “has been firmly opposing and cracking down on all forms of cyber espionage. The Chinese government has never participated in or supported others in stealing commercial secrets in any form.”
China’s foreign ministry said the U.S. must withdraw allegations against two state-linked Chinese hackers charged Thursday with intellectual-property cybercrimes (see 1812200059) or risk endangering U.S.-China trade negotiations aimed at averting a March 2 increase in Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports (see 1812140045). China urges the U.S. “to immediately correct its wrongdoings, stop defaming and discrediting China on the cybersecurity issue, and withdraw its so-called charges against the Chinese nationals so as to avoid seriously damaging bilateral relations and bilateral cooperation in relevant fields,” said a spokesperson Friday. In charging the two Chinese nationals with cybertheft, the U.S. “fabricated stories out of nothing and made unwarranted accusations against China on the cybersecurity issue,” she said. China “has been firmly opposing and cracking down on all forms of cyber espionage. The Chinese government has never participated in or supported others in stealing commercial secrets in any form.”
The U.S Trade Representative issued its first list of product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on products from China, granting full or partial exemptions for 22 10-digit tariff subheadings, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website Dec. 21. The product exclusions apply retroactively as of July 6, the date the first set of tariffs took effect, and will remain in effect until one year after USTR publishes the notice in the Federal Register.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Although PricewaterhouseCoopers expects trade will not return to normal with China for more than three years, experts on a Dec. 20 webcast said clients are mitigating increased tariffs through a variety of strategies, including lowering customs value, bonded warehouse use, modifying tariff codes and negotiating with suppliers or customers. "Probably 20 percent can be mitigated without making any changes to the supply chain," said Scott McCandless, a trade policy specialist for the firm.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: