NXP Semiconductors employs about 100 engineers "based out of Russia," and it “serviced” about $25 million in revenue through its Russian distribution partners last year, Chief Financial Officer Bill Betz told a Morgan Stanley investment conference Monday. “So that's the direct exposure we have” to the crisis, he said. In terms of “indirect” exposure, NXP supplies chips to an automotive OEM in Ukraine that manufactures wire harnesses, said Betz. “They are shut down, paused for a couple of weeks” to find alternative sourcing, he said. NXP’s sourcing of neon used for lithography in semiconductor manufacturing “does not come from Ukraine,” said Betz. “We typically hold six to nine months' worth” of inventory in neon, he said: “So really, in the short term, no impact, but this is something that we are continuing to monitor very carefully, and we will adjust accordingly as we go forward.”
Telecom-focused lawmakers are trying to beat the legislative clock as they seek a way to renew the FCC’s spectrum auction authority, currently set to expire when FY 2022 ends Sept. 30. The House Communications Subcommittee is eyeing a March 16 hearing on auction authority reauthorization and potential ways to spend revenue from additional auctions, Hill aides and lobbyists told us. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently asked Congress to authorize the agency to use proceeds to pay for next-generation 911 tech upgrades (see 2202220057). Congress last extended the FCC’s auction authority via the 2012 spectrum law.
China's lack of worker rights, weak environmental standards "and anticompetitive subsidies are the hallmarks of China’s artificial comparative advantage. It is an advantage that puts others out of business and violates any notion of fair competition," the annual trade policy agenda from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said, and the administration is looking to advance fair competition "through all available avenues," including coordinating with other countries, using existing trade agreements, or new tools, it said.
CBP issued a correction to a recent notice that proposed and outlined new data elements meant to help with vetting members of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (see 2202170041). "The document contained information about the CTPAT Portal that was in the process of being updated to meet current modern computing standards and to allow for updates to the minimum-security criteria," the agency said in a notice released March 3. "Due to unforeseen developmental delays, CBP is pausing proposed updates to these internal systems."
House members are pushing competing kids' privacy bills in an attempt to keep pace with bipartisan efforts in the Senate (see 2202280060). But talks in the lower chamber have been fragmented, House Commerce Committee members told us Tuesday at a House Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing.
China's lack of worker rights, weak environmental standards "and anticompetitive subsidies are the hallmarks of China’s artificial comparative advantage. It is an advantage that puts others out of business and violates any notion of fair competition," the annual trade policy agenda from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said, and the administration is looking to advance fair competition "through all available avenues," including coordinating with other countries, using existing trade agreements, or new tools, it said.
Senate maneuvering on newly named Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya is expected to draw many telecom and tech policy stakeholders’ attention in the coming weeks. President Joe Biden nominated Jackson, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit judge, Friday to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson has little record on communications law matters but has played a larger role on administrative tech-focused legal matters, legal experts said.
Commenters on the Universal Service Fund generally agreed its funding system is unsustainable and in need of changes but disagreed on the solution, in comments posted Friday in docket 21-476 (see 2112220051) as the FCC prepares its report to Congress on the future of USF.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stayed nine antidumping duty and countervailing duty challenges until a full resolution is reached in another proceeding over whether the Commerce Department can make a particular market situation adjustment to the sales-below cost test. In a series of three orders, the appellate court paused the cases pending resolution of the request for an en banc rehearing in the other case, Hyundai Steel Co. v. U.S.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s December decision upholding the FCC’s 6 GHz order firms up the agency’s authority as “the expert agency” on spectrum, said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks during the Fierce Wireless virtual Wi-Fi summit Monday. Other speakers said use of 6 GHz is growing and will be critical to better Wi-Fi.