European lawmakers are concerned more aggressive China-related policies put in place by the incoming Trump administration, including around investment screening, could lead more Chinese companies to shift their investments to Europe, possibly raising national and economic security risks for EU member states, they said this week.
President-elect Donald Trump will nominate billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick to be Commerce Department secretary, Trump announced Nov. 19. "He will lead our tariff and trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative," Trump said in a statement.
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The transfer of certain customs issues from the EU Court of Justice to the EU General Court "could lead to faster and more specialized decisions," lawyers at Baker McKenzie said in a client alert earlier this month. Partner Arnoud Willems and associate Line Hammoud said the change potentially could make it easier for companies to "bring cases and achieve favorable outcomes."
The Trump administration would be unwise to expand its export controls to cover older-generation semiconductors destined to China, but it could pursue new restrictions over less advanced versions of the tools used to make certain chips, technology policy analysts said in interviews, particularly if it’s willing to be more aggressive than the Biden administration in talks with the Dutch and Japanese.
Recent meetings with American lawmakers during a visit to the U.S. gave the impression there is strong bipartisan support for maintaining the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council, a European Parliament member said Nov. 13.
Foreign investment lawyers aren’t expecting a big change in how the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. operates under a second Trump administration, although a new round of tariffs against China and the continued easing of export restrictions among close U.S. allies could change the investment landscape and the number of filings submitted to CFIUS.
American exporters, especially in the agricultural industry, should expect to face retaliatory duties when selling to a range of U.S. trading partners if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his promise to sharply increase tariffs when he takes office next year (see 2408140058), lawyers and advisers said this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security and its technical advisory committees should do more public outreach to make sure companies are aware of important export control updates sometimes buried in Federal Register notices, a BIS committee heard last week. That outreach is especially critical for companies working with industrial chemical processing equipment, a committee member and industry lawyer said, which has commercial uses but is increasingly drawing BIS scrutiny for its military capabilities, including in chemical weapons.
U.S. mobile phone parts producer Lumentum is under investigation by the Bureau of Industry and Security and DOJ for potentially violating U.S. export controls against Huawei, according to corporate filings.