The U.S. should use the upcoming inaugural meeting of the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council (see 2109090004) to convince the European Union to adopt more measures to “constrain China,” including stricter export controls and investment screening, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said Sept. 13. If used correctly, the council could become a significant and useful U.S. tool to increase multilateral trade restrictions on China, the group said. “U.S. negotiators need to define success not as becoming more like the EU or increasing cooperation for cooperation’s sake,” ITIF said, “but rather in increasing cooperation while also advancing key U.S. national interests and maintaining core elements of the U.S. technology policy ecosystem.”
The Federal Maritime Commission announced the 24 members of its newly formed Shipper Advisory Committee, which will advise FMC on issues in the ocean freight delivery system (see 2106080005). The group -- which includes representatives from Walmart, Target, Ikea, Tyson Foods and Brenntag -- is composed evenly of importers and exporters, the commission said Sept. 9. Members will serve until Dec. 31, 2024. FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said the shipper committee will give the FMC “rapid access to the perspectives of importers and exporters on the ground dealing with the realities of ocean shipping every day,” adding that their perspective will be “invaluable.”
The U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council (see 2107140022) will hold its first meeting Sept. 29 in Pittsburgh, and will feature 10 working groups on technology issues, the White House said Sept. 9. Among the topics that will be discussed are export controls, investment screening, “global trade challenges” and technology standards cooperation.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on the potential market impact of the proposed 2023 fiscal year National Defense Stockpile Annual Materials Plan, BIS said in a Sept. 9 notice. Comments will help inform the government of the “projected domestic and foreign economic effects of all acquisitions, conversions, and disposals involving the National Defense Stockpile and related material research and development projects,” BIS said. Comments are due by Oct. 12.
Two members of an open radio access network alliance have halted activities over concerns about possible ramifications of the U.S. decision to place three Chinese alliance members on the Commerce Department's Entity List. Ericsson and Nokia responded that they remain committed to the project. Resolving the issue could require the O-RAN Alliance to throw out its Chinese members or receive a U.S exception.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will update its website Sept. 7, 6-6:30 a.m. EDT, potentially causing disruptions, DDTC said. The agency said users should refresh their browser if they experience technical issues during that time. The update won’t affect users working in Defense Export Control and Compliance System applications.
The Commerce Department signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine this week to boost trade, help Ukraine fight corruption and strengthen intellectual property rights protections. Commerce said the MOU, signed by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Oleksiy Lyubchenko, Ukraine's economic minister, will lead to more commercial cooperation. “With the right policy conditions in place, there is significantly greater potential and opportunity for increased commercial engagement between the U.S. and Ukraine,” Raimondo said. “Signing this Memorandum of Understanding helps to set the directions for growing our relationship.”
The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. hasn’t approved a new transaction involving dual-use goods since 2012 but said that could change next year, the Government Accountability Office reported Sept. 1. Ex-Im officials told GAO “there may be a higher potential for viable applications related to dual-use support in fiscal year 2022," partly because the bank has already received some questions about dual-use financing. The bank said it has seen “an increase in the frequency and nature of preliminary inquiries” involving those goods.
The Commerce Department is seeking comments on the export competitiveness of U.S. “clean technologies,” the agency said Aug. 30. The comments will inform Commerce’s effort to develop a “U.S. Clean Technologies Export Competitiveness Strategy,” which will identify “key issues influencing the deployment” of clean technology goods, highlight opportunities and challenges, and identify “possible actions” for Commerce to take to “foster U.S. export competitiveness.” The agency defines clean technologies as both established and emerging technologies that can “contribute to a transition to net-zero emissions by significantly removing or reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a specific application compared to existing, carbon-intensive technology in the same application.” The notice also includes a list of various clean technologies. Comments will be considered on a rolling basis and are due 5 p.m. EDT Oct. 1.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. plans to refer a heavily scrutinized transaction to President Joe Biden after it couldn’t identify measures to mitigate the deal’s national security risks. The proposed acquisition of South Korea-based Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. by Beijing-based Wise Road Capital (see 2106150039) could damage U.S. national security, CFIUS told both companies Aug. 27, according to Magnachip’s Aug. 30 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Although Magnachip and Wise Road had proposed mitigation measures to CFIUS, the committee said it couldn’t agree to any measures that “would adequately mitigate the identified risks.”