The Commerce Department renewed the temporary general license for Huawei and 114 of its non-U.S. affiliates until April 1, Commerce said in a notice. The 45-day extension is the third extension granted to Commerce since it was placed on the Entity List in May (see 1905160072). The previous extension was set to expire on Feb. 16. License applications will continue to be reviewed under a presumption of denial. The notice is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Feb. 18.
The coronavirus outbreak could impact China’s purchase commitments involving U.S. agricultural products under the phase one trade deal, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said. The virus could have its biggest impact on the first year of the deal, O’Brien said, which was expected to include $40 billion in U.S. agricultural exports to China (see 2001150073). The virus may also impact what the U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary said would be a “record year” for U.S. agricultural exports (see 2001210031).
As the final regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act take effect this week, FIRRMA’s definition for critical technologies remains unclear due to a lack of proposed rules by the Commerce Department on emerging and foundational technologies, trade lawyers said.
USCBC Members in 'Crisis Mode', China Pushing for Normalized Trade as Coronavirus Outbreak Continues
U.S.-China Business Council members are in “crisis mode” as China continues to battle the coronavirus outbreak, which has caused disruptions in supply chains and hurt earnings, a USCBC spokesman said. While it is too early to predict how much of a sustained impact the virus will have on global trade, the USCBC is confident trade and business with China will normalize. “Everyone I’ve spoken with fully expects life to return to normal,” USCBC spokesman Doug Barry said in an email, “but for now are taking one day at a time.”
The Treasury released its 2020 National Illicit Finance Strategy on Feb. 6, detailing a “roadmap to modernize” its regimes for anti-money laundering regimes countering terrorism financing, the agency said. In the report, Treasury said money launderers and terrorist financers often try to evade U.S. sanctions and export controls on dual-use items, frequently trying to procure controlled U.S.-origin goods and technology.
U.S. and global companies should not be concerned about other European Union member states withdrawing from the EU in the near future, trade experts said. A lengthy and complicated Brexit became a source of division within the United Kingdom, the experts said, which should serve as a deterrent for other EU member states that may have considered leaving the EU.
China’s Ministry of Finance said it will halve retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. imports beginning Feb. 14, according to an unofficial translation of a Feb. 5 news release. Tariffs on some U.S. goods will fall from 10 percent to 5 percent, China said, while others will drop from 5 percent to 2.5 percent. The tariffs stem from China’s Sept. 1 tranche of retaliatory tariffs (see 1909030055).
The U.S and Kenya will begin negotiating a comprehensive trade deal that both sides believe will act as a model for more agreements between the U.S. and other African countries, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Feb. 6. Kenya hopes to conclude negotiations quickly, its President Uhuru Kenyatta said at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, adding that the country prefers a long-term agreement that will provide U.S. and Kenyan companies with “predictable terms of engagement” in the fields of agriculture, manufacturing, energy and more. Discussions on a framework for the negotiations will begin in the “next few days,” Kenyatta said.
Trump administration officials will meet this month in an attempt to resolve differences in the matter of restricting technology exports to China and Huawei, according to a Feb. 4 Reuters report. But Commerce is also discussing expanding its export control jurisdiction to a broader array of foreign sales containing U.S. goods that go beyond exports to just Huawei, according to a person familiar with the situation. “That is the one that would be a nuclear bomb for business,” the person said, adding that Commerce is discussing expanding its export control jurisdiction to “the maximum possible point.”
China took a “few positive steps” to revise the draft of its export control law (see 2001100047) but should address several key areas of concern for U.S. and Chinese companies, the U.S. China Business Council said in comments released this week. The USCBC asked China to clarify the scope of its export controls and the term “national security,” provide a clearer definition for activities that are “deemed exports,” and consider more relaxed requirements for end-user statements and certificates.