China said it opposes sanctions against Iran days after a German official suggested Europe should consider reimposing sanctions against the country for its breaches of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “It is China's consistent position that wanton use or threat of sanctions is neither constructive nor helpful to solve any problem,” a China Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Nov. 14. “Dialogue and negotiation is the real way out.”
Exports to China
The elimination of tariffs is an important condition for the U.S. and China to reach an agreement, said China Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng during a press conference Nov. 14, according to an unofficial translation of a transcript. If a first phase agreement is reached between the two countries, the extent of the tariff cancellation should fully reflect the magnitude of the deal, Gao said. The two sides are discussing this in depth, and China is willing to work together with the U.S. to resolve each other’s core concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect, he said.
The U.S. should expand export controls against China and study the country’s efforts to dominate emerging technology sectors, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said. In its 2019 annual report, the USCC painted a somewhat grim picture for the prospects of U.S technology competition with China, saying China is committed to maintaining a dominant economic role in trade negotiations and is focused on outpacing the U.S. in the artificial intelligence sector -- a key area of concern for upcoming U.S. export control regimes. To combat this, the commission made several recommendations to Congress to safeguard U.S. technologies, improve foreign market access for U.S. exporters and pre-empt Chinese attempts to undercut U.S. companies and sanctions.
President Donald Trump, in a press conference with the president of Turkey on Nov. 13, said trade with Turkey “could be many times larger" than it is now, and that his administration has the goal of roughly quadrupling the volume of trade between the two countries, which would be $100 billion in two-way trade. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. goods exported to Turkey were valued at $10.2 billion, while goods imported totaled $10.3 billion.
The European Commission will soon introduce the “world’s first comprehensive database” of procurement data and barriers to international trade and procurement, the commission said Nov. 13. The database will provide “detailed data” on government contracts and trade barriers faced by European Union companies, and aims to improve EU companies’ access to public procurement contracts in non-EU countries. The database covers nine “key EU trading partners,” the commission said: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 4-8 in case they were missed.
China and Greece will improve ties in an agreement that includes provisions on increased trade and customs facilitation, China’s State Council said Nov. 12. The statement calls for improved “customs trade security and facilitation cooperation,” according to an unofficial translation, and encourages “air transport companies to open more flights between China and Greece.” The two sides will also coordinate on “agricultural policy,” China said, including increased Chinese imports of agricultural goods.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Nov. 8 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
President Donald Trump said the U.S. did not agree to lift tariffs on China as part of the first phase of the trade deal, contradicting comments from China’s commerce ministry. “They'd like to have a rollback,” Trump told reporters Nov. 8. “I haven't agreed to anything,”
In the Nov. 7-8 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: