The Justice Department and Federal Maritime Commission signed the first-ever memorandum of understanding between the two agencies to foster better cooperation on enforcement and oversight of competition issues in the ocean shipping industry, the agencies said July 12. The MOU creates a “framework” for the two agencies to discuss “enforcement and regulatory matters” involving unreasonable carrier practices, an increase in large carrier alliances and other practices that are hurting U.S. importers and exporters (see 2102170060). Under the MOU, which was encouraged by President Joe Biden’s executive order last week (see 2107090056), officials from the FMC and the Justice Department’s antitrust division will “confer” at least once annually, according to the MOU.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order July 9 that calls for the Federal Maritime Commission to "consider further rulemaking to improve detention and demurrage practices and enforcement of related Shipping Act prohibitions." The FMC should also "vigorously enforce the prohibition of unjust and unreasonable practices in the context of detention and demurrage" and request recommendations on the subject from the National Shipper Advisory Committee. The EO also suggests that the U.S. Department of Agriculture "consider initiating a rulemaking to define the conditions under which the labeling of meat products can bear voluntary statements indicating that the product is of United States origin, such as 'Product of USA.'” The EO addresses a wide range of issues meant to improve and promote competition in the U.S. economy, the White House said in a fact sheet.

President Joe Biden plans to issue a wide-ranging executive order this week that will address anti-competitive practices, including those affecting traders in the ocean and rail shipping industries, The Wall Street Journal reported July 8. Although White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the order will address broad wage and labor issues, it will also call on the Federal Maritime Commission to help traders overcome challenges that have impeded the flow of goods for months, the report said.

A leading semiconductor industry group and a technology foundation are seeking feedback on challenges facing the semiconductor industry as the U.S. government prepares to provide funding and innovation incentives to help chip companies better compete with China (see 2106100028). SEMI and Mitre Engenuity said they want to make sure the government funding is “spent wisely” and “put to optimal use.” Information shared through their survey will be reported publicly in “non-identifiable form.” The survey closes July 20.

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is accepting applications for voluntary members to serve on several advisory committees and subcommittees, the bank said July 6. Open positions are available on the Ex-Im 2021-2022 Advisory Committee and the 2021-2022 Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee, and on the Advisory Committee's subcommittees Chair’s Council on Climate and Chair’s Council on China Competition. Members will advise Ex-Im on providing competitive export financing to U.S. industries. Applications are due July 30.

The Washington lobbying firm that represents a Chinese surveillance company recently hired a former U.S. sanctions officer to advise it on U.S. sanctions weeks after the Chinese company was added to a U.S. blacklist, Axios reported July 7. The firm, Mercury Public Affairs, which lobbies on behalf of Hikvision, last month hired Peter Kucik as managing director of its D.C. office, it said in a press release. Kucik was formerly a senior sanctions policy adviser at the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Hikvision was designated a Chinese military company and added to an investment ban list last year (see 2011130026). Hikvision declined to comment, and Mercury didn’t comment.

The U.S. government needs better data collection on trade, industries and technologies if it wants to develop more effective policies to spur competitiveness and a national technology strategy, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a July 1 report. ITIF said the government has “never felt the need” to gather “strategic economic intelligence” to evaluate its trade competitiveness, which should be a key aspect of any technology strategy. The foundation specifically said the U.S. needs more accurate trade data, especially on exports, which are “too often” listed “by the port of exit rather than the location of the firm doing the exporting.” That data should include information on more than just “final goods exports,” such as the inputs that are “feeding into the exports” and where those goods are produced. This would allow the U.S. to better map supply chains that “feed into exports.”

U.S. exporters of feed additives, premixes and compound feed to China should contact FDA by July 16 to register their facilities with China’s customs agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a June 29 report. The FDA will submit an updated list of U.S. facilities to China’s General Administration of Customs on a quarterly basis, which is required under the U.S.-China phase one trade deal. Exporters must email FDA at CVMChinaAnnex@fda.hhs.gov with company information, including a permission statement and individual facility data.

U.S. soybean exports reached record levels during the first quarter of 2021, grossing the second-highest value ever at $7.7 billion, which was nearly double the value of 2020’s first quarter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said June 29. USDA attributed the increase to record export volumes and high prices that have been “climbing steadily” over the last year. Volumes also rose because of the “rebound of trade” with China after the removal of certain retaliatory tariffs and the rebuilding of swine herds in the aftermath of the African swine fever. USDA said U.S. soybean exporters should be poised for an “excellent year.”

Total volumes of medium and long-term (MLT) export credit support fell across the world last year, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. said in its 2020 competitiveness report released June 30. Ex-Im said it authorized $1.8 billion in MLT credit financing for U.S. exports in 2020, far behind China’s $18 billion in financing, which led all countries. James Cruse, Ex-Im’s acting vice president, said the bank “showed resilience” during the pandemic. “EXIM is on the pathway back to being a leader in export credit,” he said, “and providing the nature and scale of official MLT export credit needed to give U.S. exporters and U.S. interests a fair shot at trade opportunities in the years ahead.”