A new Steptoe and Johnson team will focus on supply chain issues, the law firm said in a recent news release. The team is led by Jeff Weiss, co-leader of the firm's International Trade Policy practice.
Cree views 5G as a “multiyear expansion, with major traction coming,” CEO Gregg Lowe said on an Aug. 18 investor call. The company supplies silicon-carbide radio frequency (RF) and power chips for 5G infrastructure applications. “There have been a number of recent announcements coming out of Asia pointing towards growing 5G momentum in that region. While the global pandemic has further delayed some rollouts in other regions, we continue to be well positioned to support this global expansion.” Cree stopped shipping to Huawei “for the better part of a year” after the Commerce Department’s export ban took effect, Lowe said: “We have no Huawei revenue plans in any of our future projections or forecasts.” Any “large impact” from Huawei, “we've basically taken it out of the picture,” he said. “We have developed good relationships with other players around the world and are repurposing the technology that we had developed for Huawei for those customers.” Lowe conceded the “Huawei situation was a pretty significant setback for us. ... But we've adjusted our plans, we've adjusted our focus to go after non-Huawei customers.”
Rock Trade Law absorbed consulting firm Kennard & Associates “to offer expanded duty drawback capabilities,” the law firm said in a news release. The firm will also “expand its portfolio of services to include vessel repair entry filings,” it said.
Combining trade software companies International Trade Systems and GMS International will result in “one of the most powerful cloud-based logistics software platforms on the market,” ITS said in a July 21 news release. “Representing second-generation companies that have been leaders in logistics technology for 30+ years, ITS and GMS are combining their assets, wisdom, and experience to form one powerhouse entity,” ITS said. The companies will jointly launch “ITS NextGen 2.0, a new and innovative system which will provide an integrated online customs brokerage and freight forwarding cloud-based platform,” it said.
Visible Supply Chain Management acquired logistics and fulfillment company TriCon, Visible said in a news release last week. The acquisition will bring Visible “new expertise in customs brokerage services and international transportation,” it said.
The U.S. government has been slow to incentivize research and development in the semiconductor industry, ceding ground to foreign governments that have been heavily investing in advanced technologies for “decades,” Semiconductor Industry Association CEO John Neuffer, said. He praised a recent push by Congress and the administration to provide more federal funding for semiconductor innovation (see 2006260013 and 2006110038) but said much more is needed.
Amazon set up a new Counterfeit Crimes Unit meant to reduce the number of fake products sold on the platform, the company said in a June 24 news release. “The Counterfeit Crimes Unit enables Amazon to more effectively pursue civil litigation against suspected criminals, work with brands in joint or independent investigations, and aid law enforcement officials worldwide in criminal actions against counterfeiters. Amazon welcomes the partnership of brands and law enforcement in the shared objective of stopping counterfeiters and holding them accountable,” it said. Amazon said the “global team” is “made up of former federal prosecutors, experienced investigators, and data analysts.” The availability of counterfeits on e-commerce platforms is facing scrutiny from the Trump administration (see 2004290052) and lawmakers (see 2003040040).
Reimposing Section 232 tariffs on Canadian aluminum “would be a major mistake,” National Foreign Trade Council President Rufus Yerxa said June 24. “It would completely undermine the spirit of our newly-negotiated” U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and “reignite trade tensions with our biggest trading partner. It will also hurt the most dynamic U.S. manufacturers in sectors like autos, food products and construction, all in a vain effort to prop up inefficient domestic aluminum producers by branding Canada a national security threat.” He said the administration should recognize that levying taxes on aluminum from Canada “would undermine our credibility as a reliable trading partner, not just with Canada, but with other potential free trade partners like the U.K. and Japan.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Aluminum Association reacted with dismay June 23 to a Bloomberg report that the U.S. could re-impose 10% tariffs on Canadian aluminum on July 1, because of an alleged surge in imports since tariffs were lifted. The U.S. trade representative told senators last week that he is in consultations with Canada on the issue.
Germany is benefiting from both its use of partial unemployment and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and manufacturers in electronics, machinery and equipment and the auto sector are back to pre-crisis levels, according to Ludovic Subran, chief economist of Allianz. Subran, who was speaking on a June 9 webinar on globalization hosted by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University, said German firms will have an edge over those in other countries that didn't keep workers employed during the shutdown measures taken to control the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.