The board of directors of the Semiconductor Industry Association elected Qorvo CEO Bob Bruggeworth and Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf as the group’s chair and vice chair, respectively, for 2021, SIA said in a Nov. 19 press release. SIA President John Neuffer said both are “dedicated industry leaders and accomplished champions for chip technology,” adding that they will “greatly benefit” SIA as it pursues “industry priorities in Washington and capitals around the world.”
Kelley Drye hired John Foote, previously with Baker McKenzie, as a partner in the International Trade practice group, the law firm said in a Nov. 19 news release. Foote's “practice includes customs and international trade policy, compliance and enforcement, with a particular focus on developing internal compliance programs targeting forced labor in supply chains,” Kelley Drye said.
Egypt recently imposed a value-added tax on freights for agricultural commodities, which could disrupt certain U.S. exports, the Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Nov. 16. The VAT, which took effect without prior notice on Aug. 1, could hurt U.S. exports of soybeans, corn and corn byproducts to Egypt and will put U.S. exports at a “competitive disadvantage” in the Egyptian market. The VAT could also “potentially jeopardize the reliable, affordable supply of food, feed and agricultural products for producers and consumers” in Egypt. The VAT applies a 14% tax on “advanced freight services” for certain agricultural commodities.
The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade issued a guidance Nov. 19 on how its retained blocking regulation will be applied after Brexit. The guidance includes information on U.K. enforcement, reporting and license applications related to the regulation, which aims to offset how U.K. companies and people are impacted by U.S. extraterritorial sanctions on Iran and Cuba.
The Netherlands Parliament urged the European Union to restrict weapons exports to Turkey and impose sanctions on people in Turkey and Azerbaijan responsible for violence in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, according to a Nov. 18 post on the EU Sanctions blog. The parliament specifically asked the EU for a moratorium on weapons exports that could be used in the conflict, to impose sanctions on people responsible for the violence and to designate senior officials in Azerbaijan, including President Ilham Aliyev, his family members and “other key figures in the Azerbaijani offensive.” Sanctions should also be imposed on Syrian fighters in the conflict deployed by Turkey, the post said.
China will reduce to zero the tariffs on 97% of tariff products from Laos starting Dec. 1, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said Nov. 19. Tariffs will be eliminated from more than 8,000 items.
A new State Department paper warning of China and its global trade ambitions “only serves to lay bare the entrenched Cold War mindset and ideological prejudice of some people on the U.S. side and their fear, anxiety and unhealthy mentality towards a growing China,” a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said, according to a press conference transcript. “Their vile attempts to bring back the Cold War will be mercilessly rejected by the Chinese people and all peace-lovers around the world,” he said. The Chinese Communist Party “aims not merely at preeminence within the established world order,” but to “fundamentally revise world order,” with China at the center and serving “Beijing’s authoritarian goals and hegemonic ambitions,” according to the Policy Planning staff paper, “The Elements of the China Challenge.” It proposes a “tasks” list to “refashion” U.S. policy by educating Americans “about the scope and implications” of the alleged threat and training a “new generation of public servants” fluent in Chinese. The U.S. also “must promote American interests by looking for opportunities to cooperate with Beijing subject to norms of fairness and reciprocity,” it says. The State Department didn’t respond to questions Nov. 19.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said he plans to introduce a resolution in the Senate to open trade negotiations for a free trade agreement with Taiwan. Toomey said during a Heritage Foundation webinar on Taiwan Nov. 18, “We’ve got a particularly attractive opportunity to expand trade with Taiwan. Strengthening those trade ties with Taiwan would benefit us both in security terms and in economic growth.” He said Taiwan is the 10th-largest trading partner in goods for the U.S. Toomey, a consistent free-trader, said he hopes that talks will aim to liberalize trade, not manage it. China would be angered if the U.S. did seek an FTA with Taiwan, as it does not recognize the island as an independent country.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Nov. 19 that U.S. and Ecuadoran officials talked trade and investment on Nov. 10, covering intellectual property, the environment, labor and agricultural trade. The two sides are working on a Protocol on Trade Rules and Transparency, and plan to conclude before the end of the year. The protocol would include provisions on trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, anti-corruption, and cooperation on small and medium-sized enterprises. A fourth meeting of the group of negotiators is planned to be in Ecuador next year.
In a Joe Biden administration, some tariffs can be unilaterally withdrawn, but others would require complex negotiations to sort out, said Peterson Institute for International Economics nonresident senior fellow Anabel Gonzalez. She asked PIIE Senior Fellow Chad Bown and former U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman where they think the new administration's energies should be directed, during a Nov. 18 webinar.