China criticized a bill passed by the U.S. Senate that urges the Trump administration to sanction Chinese officials responsible for the oppression of the country’s Uyghur population.
Exports to China
The trade staff of the House Ways and Means Committee told Democrats who are anxious for a ratification vote on the new NAFTA that the rewrite "will be ready for a vote as soon as it is ready; no sooner, and also no later," in a memo that was structured as an imagined dialogue between a member who wants a vote and the committee chairman, who has a big say on when that vote happens.
China released its first batch of tariff exemptions for U.S. goods, which include exemptions for 16 items, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Finance press release. The goods will be excluded from China’s first round of retaliatory tariffs in response to U.S. Section 301 tariffs. The exemptions will take effect Sept. 17 and last until Sept. 16, 2020, China said, adding that it plans to publish more exemptions in “due course.”
Phil Hogan, the next EU trade commissioner (see 1909100058), should examine potential regulatory changes "to allow us to use sanctions when others adopt illegal measures and simultaneously block the WTO dispute settlement process," Ursula von der Leyen, president-elect of the European Commission, said in a "mission letter." The U.S. has blocked new appointments to the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement appellate body in recent years, which has hindered the process. Hogan should also look at ways for the EU to better "protect itself from unfair trade practices" and "look at how we can strengthen our trade toolbox," she said in the letter. In addition to working with the U.S., China an Africa on improved trade relationships, Hogan "will lead the work on concluding ongoing negotiations, notably with Australia and New Zealand."
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Sept. 11 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
A bipartisan group of senators is concerned that U.S. export controls are not strict enough to stop sensitive technologies from being sent to China and asked the administration to review the controls. In a Sept. 10 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, four senators suggested that China may be using Hong Kong to “steal or otherwise acquire” critical technologies such as artificial intelligence, mass surveillance tools and advanced robotics.
China denies President Donald Trump's allegations their regime is dragging its feet in the U.S. trade talks in hopes of winning a more favorable deal with a new Democratic administration in 2021. “China's position, attitude and practice on the trade issue with the U.S. is consistent,” a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Sept. 11, according to a transcript in English of a press conference in China, released by the department. “We never wanted a trade war. We always hope to reach a mutually acceptable win-win solution through equal-footed and respectful consultation.” There’s “a lot of rational" voices within the U.S. “hoping for the early conclusion of an agreement to prevent further escalation of the trade friction,” and the Trump administration “should heed the call,” she said. Trump is sure the Chinese “would love to be dealing with a new administration so they could continue their practice of ‘ripoff USA’” to the tune of $600 billion a year, he tweeted Sept. 3.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 3-6 in case they were missed.
China released the first batch of tariff exemptions for U.S. goods, which include exemptions for shrimp, fish meal, lubricants and more, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Finance press release. The exemptions will take effect Sept. 17 and last until Sept. 16, 2020, China said. China said it will publish more exemptions in “due course.”
China’s six new pilot free-trade zones will increase trade and market access for foreign countries and companies, minimizing strain caused by its trade war with the U.S., according to a Sept. 10 post from Dezan Shira & Associates.