Is it EU "institutional rigidity," as a former assistant U.S. trade representative for Europe, Dan Mullaney, says, or unrealistic asks from the U.S. government delaying a deal on trade in steel and aluminum that could end tariff rate quotas on European exports?
Exports to China
South Korea will look to Tanzania, in addition to ramping up domestic production, to secure graphite as a result of China's impending export controls on the critical mineral (see 2310200030), South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said this month, according to an unofficial translation. The agency said it will need to continue to monitor the situation and will look to "secure additional response capabilities" by supporting domestic artificial graphite production and securing long-term supply contracts with "private companies with mines in third countries such as Tanzania."
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked the export privileges of a Georgia resident after she admitted to trying to illegally export about $25,000 worth of optical sighting devices from the U.S. to China. As part of a settlement agreement, Dina Zhu of Lawrenceville, Georgia, will be barred from participating in any transaction subject to the Export Administration Regulations for one year from Oct. 20, but she won’t face a fine.
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The U.S. government has informed American chip designer Nvidia that several of its products are subject to the new export controls unveiled by the Bureau of Industry and Security last week despite BIS saying the rules wouldn’t take effect until next month.
Multinational companies with operations in China are becoming increasingly concerned about facing retaliatory measures from Beijing for complying with Western sanctions, said Erika Trujillo, co-founder of SEIA, a compliance risk management firm. She noted that some businesses have begun to split their trade compliance efforts between a Western-focused team and a Chinese team to protect their Chinese employees and operations from potential penalties.
Australia and China officially agreed to resolve World Trade Organization disputes over Chinese duties on Australian wine and Australian duties on Chinese wind towers, China’s Commerce Ministry said Oct. 22. The two sides “conducted friendly consultations under the WTO framework on WTO dispute” and “have reached consensus on properly resolving them,” a ministry spokesperson said, according to an unofficial translation. “We are willing to work with Australia to continue to meet each other halfway through dialogue and consultation, and jointly promote the stable and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations.”
Japan is assessing whether China’s recent export restrictions on certain graphite products (see 2310200030), a key material used to produce batteries for electric vehicles, violated World Trade Organization rules, the country’s chief cabinet secretary told reporters last week, according to an audio translation released by Japan. Japan is “scrutinizing the impact” of the restrictions and is seeking more information from Beijing about the “intention and purpose” of the controls, the secretary said. “Based on WTO international rules, if an unfair measure is taken against Japan, then we have to take appropriate measures based on rules.”
For all the talk of a climate club, where trade among countries inside the club is privileged, panelists at the Niskanen Center said the failure of the U.S. and the EU to reach an agreement on green steel in two years of talking shows how far off that possibility is.
The European Commission last week said it plans to propose new foreign direct investment screening regulations by January, adding that it wants to “make better use of existing tools” to screen investments that may pose national security risks.