A pro-free trade think tank in Canada published an analysis of the new NAFTA, known as CUSMA in Canada, and finds it lacking. “CUSMA has little traditional tariff liberalization, introducing only minor changes to market access compared to the NAFTA, and limited improvements in trade facilitation, while at the same time introducing a number of features that promise to be more restrictive of trade,” wrote the authors of the C.D. Howe Institute paper.
United Kingdom companies are facing challenges navigating sanctions conflicts between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, which is leading to confusion over which items they can legally export, according to Roger Arthey, chair of the Institute of Export & International Trade’s Export Control Profession and the former head of export control compliance for Rolls-Royce. Those challenges were complicated by the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018 and the introduction of the European Union Blocking Regulation, which blocks EU businesses from complying with certain U.S. sanctions (see 1906240014).
President Donald Trump said he does not want to make it more difficult to export U.S. goods, adding that he has “instructed” his administration to make it easier for countries to do business with the U.S. “The United States cannot, & will not, become such a difficult place to deal with in terms of foreign countries buying our product, including for the always used National Security excuse, that our companies will be forced to leave in order to remain competitive,” Trump said in a series of Feb. 18 tweets. He added that the U.S. wants to sell to “China and other countries” and “We don’t want to make it impossible to do business with us. That will only mean that orders will go to someplace else.”
Discussions within the Commerce Department to expand U.S. export control jurisdiction over foreign exports to Huawei and beyond would have a chilling effect on the U.S. semiconductor industry, said John Neuffer, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association. Neuffer said current U.S. export restrictions on Huawei are already hurting the industry’s ability to sell to China -- which represents about 35% of U.S. semiconductor sales -- and more restrictions would further alienate Chinese customers who are weary of being added to Commerce’s Entity List. “Some of them are afraid they’re next,” Neuffer said during a Feb. 18 panel hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced a bill that would achieve a result similar to that of a rule Commerce is reportedly considering on Huawei export controls (see 2002130014), he said in a news release. Currently, goods made outside the U.S. with less than 25 percent U.S. content can be sold to Huawei -- or any other company on the entity list -- without a special license (see 1905220027). The Commerce Department has discussed lowering that de minimis threshold to 10 percent, though it has not yet issued a proposed rule.
Trump administration officials will meet this month in an attempt to resolve differences in the matter of restricting technology exports to China and Huawei, according to a Feb. 4 Reuters report. But Commerce is also discussing expanding its export control jurisdiction to a broader array of foreign sales containing U.S. goods that go beyond exports to just Huawei, according to a person familiar with the situation. “That is the one that would be a nuclear bomb for business,” the person said, adding that Commerce is discussing expanding its export control jurisdiction to “the maximum possible point.”
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 27-31 in case you missed them.
The Commerce Department withdrew a proposed rule that would have further restricted foreign sales to Huawei that contain U.S.-origin goods, according to a Jan. 24 report in The Wall Street Journal. Commerce officials withdrew the rule from the Office of Management and Budget after objections from both the Defense and Treasury departments over concerns that the rule could hurt U.S. companies and U.S. national security interests, the report said. The Pentagon specifically voiced concerns that the rule could deprive U.S. companies of an important source of revenue they need for research and development to maintain a technological edge over China, the report said. The rule would have lowered the U.S.-origin threshold on exports to Huawei to 10 percent, but required the State, Commerce, Defense and Energy departments to approve with input from the Treasury, the report said.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the new NAFTA, though it wasn't by quite as wide a margin as in the House, where more than 95 percent of votes were for the trade pact. The vote, which happened just before the reading of the impeachment articles against President Donald Trump on Jan. 16, was 89-10, with only one Republican voting no. Most of the Democrats who voted no did so because the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement doesn't address climate change.
The Commerce Department is close to publishing a rule that will expand its authority to block shipments of foreign made goods to Huawei, according to a Jan. 14 Reuters report. The rule would lower the U.S.-origin threshold on exports to Huawei to 10 percent, Reuters said, and expand the purview to include “non-technical goods like consumer electronics” and “non-sensitive chips.” Commerce sent the rule to the Office of Management and Budget after an interagency meeting last week, the report said. A top Commerce official recently confirmed the agency was considering a range of expanded restrictions of foreign exports to Huawei, including changes to the Direct Product Rule and a broadened de minimis level (see 1912100033).