Officials from the State and Commerce departments underscored the importance of open communication and urged industry leaders to submit public comments as the two begin a review of space-related export controls under a Trump administration directive. At the April 17 public meeting at the Department of Commerce, several officials, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, said they were seeking public comments on an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for both State and Commerce, specifically surrounding items listed on the U.S. Munitions List regarding categories IV and XV: launch vehicles and spacecraft, respectively. The notices were issued March 8; comments are due April 22.
Exports to China
China’s recent decision to reduce certain customs fees will have a substantial impact on making procedures easier at the country's various ports, according to Alexander Chipman Koty, a China-based associate managing editor for business intelligence reports at Dezan Shira & Associates. The changes -- part of a larger decision made by China’s State Council on April 9 to lower taxes on certain imported goods (see 1904100013) -- underpin an “ambitious program to improve its business environment,” Koty said in an email. Most of the changes involve “eliminating or consolidating different fees and forms,” he said, adding that “together … these small reforms have had the cumulative effect of making day-to-day business easier and more straight forward.” But Koty said they also may help China reach its larger goal: expanding its ports, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and the Hainan Free Trade Zone. “[The changes] mark another small step in making China’s business environment easier to deal with -- including its ports and customs procedures -- which is significant for importers and exporters,” Koty said.
Even with an already high volume of U.S.-imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and economic sectors within the first few months of 2019, the sanctions are only likely to increase, said Johann Strauss, an international trade lawyer at Akin Gump.
The U.S. and China are aiming to reach a trade agreement by early May and sign it later that month, according to an April 17 report by Bloomberg. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are expected to travel to Beijing in late April, according to the report, followed by a Washington visit from Chinese Vice Premier Liu He the next week. During that visit, officials hope to announce a trade agreement, Bloomberg reported.
The World Trade Organization said China is not living up to its promises in how it uses tariff rate quotas for wheat, corn and rice, giving the U.S. a second victory in agriculture disputes with China. China may appeal the panel finding. The WTO said that the fact that state-trading enterprises are given specific shares of the lower-duty import quotas, but that those enterprises don't always use all of the quota, and it is not reallocated to other buyers, means that China restrains the filling of its tariff rate quotas.
Leaders from Japan and China said during a meeting in Beijing on April 15 that they want to finish negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in 2019, according to a press release from China’s Ministry of Commerce. China said it wants to ratify RCEP, a free trade agreement proposed in 2012 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, “within the year as early as possible.” The trade agreement is poised to be the “most ambitious ever negotiated by developing countries,” according to a report from The Brookings Institution, and is expected to increase global trade by 1.9 percent and reduce certain tariff lines.
The Canadian government should increase its role in getting China to resume imports of canola, the Canola Council of Canada said in an April 17 news release. "As days have turned into weeks and a Canadian delegation has not yet been accepted by China, the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) is calling on the Government of Canada to consider all available options to resume seed trade," the group said. "While technical discussions are still required, continued delay shows that more options need to be considered."
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of April 17 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Applied Materials ordered staff to suddenly stop doing business with customer Xiamen Sanan Optoelectronics, a day after the Chinese LED chip maker appeared on a U.S. government “unverified list” of foreign entities (see 1904100017), according to a Nikkei Asian Review report. California-based Applied supplies semiconductor production equipment and large-area deposition systems for LCD and OLED display manufacturing. Xiamen Sanan describes itself as China’s “largest LED epitaxial wafer and chip manufacturer, endeavoring to become top 1 in the global LED industry.” Applied didn't comment. Efforts to reach Xiamen Sanan, whose shares are listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, were unsuccessful.
Recent editions of Mexico's Diario Oficial list trade-related notices as follows: