A Japanese and a Korean economist said that trade tensions between their two countries are no longer really disrupting Korea's semiconductor industry, though they are still increasing costs for some of the Japanese exporters.

Self-drilling anchor bolt system (SDABS) couplers imported by Midwest Diversified Technologies (MDT) are likely not subject to antidumping and countervailing duties on forged steel fittings from China (A-570-067/C-570-068), the Commerce Department said in a preliminary scope ruling issued May 17. While the scope of the order says it covers all fittings, it also indicates that low-pressure fittings are exempt, and MDT’s fittings, intended to connect hollow bars, are not able to convey liquids and gases at high pressure, Commerce said.

A former U.S. trade representative and a former deputy national security adviser agree that companies that do business in China are stuck between a rock and a hard place, as they will anger China if they disavow abuses in Xinjiang or Hong Kong, but could break U.S. law if they make clothes with Xinjiang cotton.

The European Union, Japan, South Korea and U.S. all recognize they will be at the mercy of China during the energy transition unless they change the supply chains for batteries, experts said. The U.S. has nickel mines and a lithium mine (with another in process of opening), but China's dominance in processing minerals and making cathodes and anodes means China still could interfere with America's ability to produce economical electric vehicle batteries.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said further decoupling from China is certain if China doesn't do more to step up on industrial subsidies, intellectual property rights protection, trade secret theft and other U.S. companies' priorities. Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs for the Chamber, told reporters on a Jan. 13 call that there's not much political space for incoming President Joe Biden to roll back tariffs, even as his campaign was critical of the economic consequences of the trade war.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released a list of witnesses slated to testify during the Dec. 29 Section 301 hearing on Vietnam currency manipulation. The agency hasn't addressed a request from trade associations that USTR delay the hearing in order to consider a Dec. 16 Treasury Department report blasting the Vietnam government for tampering with the foreign exchange market “in a sustained, asymmetric manner,” to the detriment of U.S. interests. Treasury released the report nearly a week after the deadline passed for submitting requests to appear at the USTR hearing.

The National Council of Textile Organizations is asking the incoming Joe Biden administration to create a stable market for domestic production of medical gloves, gowns, masks and face shields, both by requirements and supporting demand. The Berry Amendment, which covers military uniforms, should apply to federal purchases of medical protective gear purchases, CEO Kim Glas said Dec. 3 in a news release. She also said the federal government should sign long-term federal contracts for personal protective equipment, or PPE.

China's attempts at using economic tools, such as export controls on rare earth minerals or punishing imports from Australia, have only been somewhat successful, according to Maximilian Ernst, the speaker on the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies webinar Dec. 7, called “How to Respond to China’s Carrots and Sticks? Prospects of a Transatlantic Response to Chinese Economic Coercion.” Ernst is researching Chinese coercion for a Ph.D.

​​​​​Supply chain scholars disagreed on how likely companies are to move production out of China, either due to tariffs or to a desire to diversify sourcing, but agreed that companies aren't likely to be ready for demand shocks without government support. They spoke Dec. 4 during a webinar hosted by the Center for Global Development.

The majority of comments from U.S. interests submitted on whether the U.S. should do anything to pressure Vietnam to stop manipulating its currency favor not putting tariffs on Vietnamese imports. Many comments filed in the docket express disagreement with the very premise of the investigation. HanesBrands, which manufacturers apparel in Vietnam that is exported to the U.S., Australia, Canada, the European Union and China, requested a public hearing on the investigation, and quoted the statute that requires such a hearing if requested by any interested person.