U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai heard many bipartisan complaints about the pain of both Section 301 tariffs and Europe's retaliatory tariffs in response to steel tariffs, but stood her ground on both during a hearing in front of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

SES/O3b asked the FCC to treat SpaceX's pending license modification as newly filed in the 2020 non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) processing round, impose an aggregate collision risk limit and limit the Starlink constellation's orbital tolerance, said an International Bureau filing Wednesday. SES/O3b joined others in suggesting conditions for license mod approval (see 2104190002). Viasat, speaking with aides to Commissioners Nathan Simington and Brendan Carr about its proposed conditions, said NGSO replacement satellites must be technically identical, but SpaceX hasn't made clear if its replacements will be, and the agency should expressly exclude giving replacement authority from any action on the modification application. Giving SpaceX permission "could open the international floodgates," said University of Edinburgh astronomy professor Andy Lawrence. Pause it and similar proposals until a worldwide group of stakeholders "debate a new and improved co-ordinated regulatory framework," said Lawrence. He said the light pollution mitigation steps SpaceX took with Starlink "make only a modest difference, and we cannot guarantee that other companies and countries will be as co-operative." SpaceX didn't comment Thursday.

The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank that advances right of center tax policy, issued a lengthy report how Congress might consider changing the tax code for faster growth, for income distribution, or for reducing the deficit, noting that each change requires balancing trade-offs. For instance, the Foundation says that getting rid of safeguard tariffs on washing machines and solar panels, the Section 232 tariffs on metals, making permanent the pause in Airbus tariffs, and removing and the Section 301 tariffs on $475 billion worth of Chinese imports will mean a reduction in $79.5 billion in revenue next year, though the economists at the think tank estimated that the savings would spur enough economic growth that about $7 billion of that loss would be recovered with other taxes.

The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee said the delay in extending the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and passing a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill “has real consequences for our businesses and families, especially right now.”

Global semiconductor revenue grew 10.4% in 2020 to $466.2 billion, reported Gartner Monday. “Memory, GPUs and 5G chipsets led semiconductor growth, driven by hyperscale, PC, ultramobile and 5G handset end-market demand,” said analyst Andrew Norwood. “Automotive and industrial electronics suffered due to lower spending or a pause in spending owing to COVID-19.” Intel remained the world’s top semiconductor vendor by revenue with a 15.6% share; Samsung had 12.4% and SK hynix was a distant third at 5.5%, said Gartner.

Global semiconductor revenue grew 10.4% in 2020 to $466.2 billion, reported Gartner Monday. “Memory, GPUs and 5G chipsets led semiconductor growth, driven by hyperscale, PC, ultramobile and 5G handset end-market demand,” said analyst Andrew Norwood. “Automotive and industrial electronics suffered due to lower spending or a pause in spending owing to COVID-19.” Intel remained the world’s top semiconductor vendor by revenue with a 15.6% share; Samsung had 12.4% and SK hynix was a distant third at 5.5%, said Gartner.

Global semiconductor revenue grew 10.4% in 2020 to $466.2 billion, reported Gartner Monday. “Memory, GPUs and 5G chipsets led semiconductor growth, driven by hyperscale, PC, ultramobile and 5G handset end-market demand,” said analyst Andrew Norwood. “Automotive and industrial electronics suffered due to lower spending or a pause in spending owing to COVID-19.” Intel remained the world’s top semiconductor vendor by revenue with a 15.6% share; Samsung had 12.4% and SK hynix was a distant third at 5.5%, said Gartner.

European Union Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, in a Der Spiegel interview published April 10, said that the EU has offered to lift its retaliatory tariffs in response to 25% tariffs on EU steel and 10% tariffs on EU aluminum, while they try to resolve the overcapacity problem. “We have proposed suspending all mutual tariffs for six months in order to reach a negotiated solution,” Dombrovskis said, according to the EU press office in Washington. “This would create a necessary breathing space for industries and workers on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

European Union Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, in a Der Spiegel interview published April 10, said that the EU has offered to lift its retaliatory tariffs in response to 25% tariffs on EU steel and 10% tariffs on EU aluminum, while they try to resolve the overcapacity problem. “We have proposed suspending all mutual tariffs for six months in order to reach a negotiated solution,” Dombrovskis said, according to the EU press office in Washington. “This would create a necessary breathing space for industries and workers on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

The Vermont Public Utility Commission granted Comcast's motion to reconsider its 2018 ruling that interconnected VoIP is a telecom service under federal law and won't proceed to phase two of the proceeding, the PUC said in a modified order Monday in docket 7316 (see 1803070060). "Although we are not persuaded that the analysis of FCC precedent in our previous order was in error, we conclude that a determination that VoIP services are telecommunications services under federal law would conflict with the FCC policy of targeted VoIP regulation," the order said. An attorney for Comcast didn't respond to a request for comment. “We are extremely pleased that the Vermont PUC has paused its decision to consider new regulations for VoIP providers, recognizing that a national regulatory framework is consistent with FCC policy,” said Glenn Richards, counsel to the Voice on the Net Coalition, which participated as an amicus in the proceeding.