The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative received some 380 comments on the possibility of punishing Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. if they start collecting digital service taxes as proposed. USTR is also considering punishing the EU, which is considering a unionwide DST. Trade groups that are concerned about the proposed DSTs -- including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- asked the U.S. to continue working toward a global solution through the Organization of Community and Economic Development. Tech groups are less worried about such penalties over other countries' DSTs. "Contrary to some press accounts, the Chamber understands real progress has been achieved in some aspects of the negotiations under way," it wrote. Associations whose tech members would be most affected by DST didn't discourage the use of tariffs. The Information Technology Industry Council said Belgium and Kenya should also be in the crosshairs, because they are also considering such taxes. The Computer & Communications Industry Association praised the use of tariff threats on France's DST, suggesting it could be effective again. "CCIA takes seriously the impact that tariffs can have and, as a general policy view, believes that they only be used in limited circumstances, in a targeted manner, and where there is a clear strategy in place designed to change the behavior of a trading partner. In the French case, it was encouraging that this strong action led to the temporary pause of collection on behalf of the French government in January 2020." The docket is USTR-2020-0022 and here. USTR announced this month it's delaying duties on French goods for now (see 2007100057).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative received some 380 comments on the possibility of punishing Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. if they start collecting digital service taxes as proposed. USTR is also considering punishing the EU, which is considering a unionwide DST. Trade groups that are concerned about the proposed DSTs -- including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- asked the U.S. to continue working toward a global solution through the Organization of Community and Economic Development. Tech groups are less worried about such penalties over other countries' DSTs. "Contrary to some press accounts, the Chamber understands real progress has been achieved in some aspects of the negotiations under way," it wrote. Associations whose tech members would be most affected by DST didn't discourage the use of tariffs. The Information Technology Industry Council said Belgium and Kenya should also be in the crosshairs, because they are also considering such taxes. The Computer & Communications Industry Association praised the use of tariff threats on France's DST, suggesting it could be effective again. "CCIA takes seriously the impact that tariffs can have and, as a general policy view, believes that they only be used in limited circumstances, in a targeted manner, and where there is a clear strategy in place designed to change the behavior of a trading partner. In the French case, it was encouraging that this strong action led to the temporary pause of collection on behalf of the French government in January 2020." The docket is USTR-2020-0022 and here. USTR announced this month it's delaying duties on French goods for now (see 2007100057).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative received close to 400 comments on the possibility of punishing Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom if they start collecting digital service taxes, as the countries have proposed. The USTR is also considering punishing the European Union, which is considering a unionwide DST.
House Republicans are offering dueling amendments to that chamber’s FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395) that respectively try to advance and stop efforts to hinder Ligado’s L-band plan. HR-6395 and Senate NDAA version S-4049 have anti-Ligado language (see 2007010070). The three new amendments are among several proposals to tack on 5G security and other tech and telecom-related language to HR-6395 once it reaches the House floor next week. The House Rules Committee will consider proposed amendments Friday. The videoconference meeting begins at 11 a.m. EDT.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 30-22 Tuesday to advance the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee's FY 2021 funding bill with report language encouraging NTIA to coordinate with the FCC and other agencies “to preserve spectrum access for scientific purposes as commercial use of radio spectrum increases.” The underlying measure allocates $45.5 million for NTIA, just under $3.7 billion for the Patent Office, $1.04 billion for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and almost $180.3 million for DOJ’s Antitrust Division.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 30-22 Tuesday to advance the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee's FY 2021 funding bill with report language encouraging NTIA to coordinate with the FCC and other agencies “to preserve spectrum access for scientific purposes as commercial use of radio spectrum increases.” The underlying measure allocates $45.5 million for NTIA, just under $3.7 billion for the Patent Office, $1.04 billion for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and almost $180.3 million for DOJ’s Antitrust Division.
After “extensive consideration and mindful planning,” CEDIA is resuming in-person training beginning next month at its Fishers, Indiana, headquarters, it said Monday. The organization will host courses with “safety-focused measures,” it said. Before arriving on-site for the program, learners will need to complete a questionnaire detailing any COVID-19 exposure or symptoms. While on-site, COVID-19 safety measures will include: required mask-wearing by learners and instructors at all times in the building, daily temperature checks before entering the building and reduced class sizes allowing for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended social distancing. The first training, covering cabling and infrastructure, is a hybrid course being offered for the first time with a self-paced online learning course that will complement hands-on learning at the CEDIA training facility Aug. 17-19. Other courses will include Home Theater Boot Camp and Advanced Networking Boot Camp, CEDIA said.
After “extensive consideration and mindful planning,” CEDIA is resuming in-person training beginning next month at its Fishers, Indiana, headquarters, it said Monday. The organization will host courses with “safety-focused measures,” it said. Before arriving on-site for the program, learners will need to complete a questionnaire detailing any COVID-19 exposure or symptoms. While on-site, COVID-19 safety measures will include: required mask-wearing by learners and instructors at all times in the building, daily temperature checks before entering the building and reduced class sizes allowing for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended social distancing. The first training, covering cabling and infrastructure, is a hybrid course being offered for the first time with a self-paced online learning course that will complement hands-on learning at the CEDIA training facility Aug. 17-19. Other courses will include Home Theater Boot Camp and Advanced Networking Boot Camp, CEDIA said.
After “extensive consideration and mindful planning,” CEDIA is resuming in-person training beginning next month at its Fishers, Indiana, headquarters, it said Monday. The organization will host courses with “safety-focused measures,” it said. Before arriving on-site for the program, learners will need to complete a questionnaire detailing any COVID-19 exposure or symptoms. While on-site, COVID-19 safety measures will include: required mask-wearing by learners and instructors at all times in the building, daily temperature checks before entering the building and reduced class sizes allowing for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended social distancing. The first training, covering cabling and infrastructure, is a hybrid course being offered for the first time with a self-paced online learning course that will complement hands-on learning at the CEDIA training facility Aug. 17-19. Other courses will include Home Theater Boot Camp and Advanced Networking Boot Camp, CEDIA said.
COVID-19 caused communication service providers to “pause” large-scale fiber installations, including fiber to the home, said Exfo CEO Philippe Morin on a Wednesday investor call. The Quebec City company supplies test equipment and services to wireless carriers. Sales declined 10.1% in fiscal Q3 ended May 31. “As economies are gradually reopening around the world, we are witnessing an increase in our funnel in our opportunities for optical and high-speed test solutions,” said Morin. Exfo’s “advanced optical test solutions” for its manufacturing and lab clients is delivering “healthy growth, mainly in China, where we've seen an acceleration of 5G investment,” he said. It “remains difficult” to forecast the pandemic’s impact on the global economy, he said. “long-term drivers,” including fiber and 5G deployments, “remain intact,” he said. Customers AT&T and Verizon “think it's so critical” to speed their 5G deployments in North America, he said. “In certain countries in Europe, you've seen a bit of delays.” Exfo’s factories are “up and running” and “fully operational,” said Morin. There remain bottlenecks in “the whole logistics side of things,” he said. “There's still some challenges in terms of flights and trucks.”