China doesn’t comment on U.S. internal affairs such as its presidential election, a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Oct. 30 when asked about comments by a Joe Biden aide that the Democratic Party nominee would consult with allies on what to do about the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports if he's elected president. “China's policy on the United States remains highly stable and consistent,” the spokesperson said, according to a transcript of a news conference. “We are committed to developing a China-U.S. relationship featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.” Biden would seek “collective leverage” against China by bonding with allies to curb Beijing's allegedly unfair trade practices, foreign policy adviser Jeffrey Prescott told Reuters Oct. 28. “The failure of the Trump administration has been to go it alone.” Biden won’t “lock into any premature position before we see exactly what we’re inheriting,” Prescott said when asked if Biden would lift the tariffs unilaterally if elected. “Consulting with allies is going to be a central part of that.”
The agency responsible for U.S. financial sanctions lost a record number of employees last year, a trend former officials and industry lawyers say has led to longer processing times and an influx of new officials.
The U.S. supports South Korea's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee rather than the Nigerian candidate for director-general, even though the latter has more support, because the World Trade Organization “must be led with someone with real, hands-on experience in the field,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in an Oct. 28 statement, saying “the WTO is badly in need of major reform,” and that Yoo is a “bona fide trade expert.”
The European Council and the European Parliament agreed to a regulation amendment that would allow the European Union to “enforce its trade rights” if a trading partner blocks the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement system. The revision, which must be approved by a “qualified majority” of member states, would allow the EU to impose “countermeasures” if a trade partner “imposes illegal trade measures and subsequently blocks the dispute settlement process,” the EU said Oct. 28.
The European Union issued a proposal for its new EU-wide single customs portal, which it said will make it easier for member states to exchange customs information and speed up clearance times. Under the proposal, traders would be required to submit some customs documents in only one location as opposed to submitting “documents to several authorities through different portals,” the EU said Oct. 28.
The former president of a Maryland transportation company was sentenced to four years in prison for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after bribing an official at Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, the Justice Department said Oct. 28. Mark Lambert, who headed Transportation Logistics International, which provided transportation services for nuclear materials, pleaded guilty to the charges last year (see 1911250025). Lambert was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls released on Oct. 29 its notifications to Congress of recently proposed export licenses. The 46 notifications, from April through June, feature arms sales to numerous countries including the United Kingdom, Israel, India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, the Philippines, Italy and Taiwan.
A Taiwanese chipmaker pleaded guilty and was fined $60 million for conspiring to steal trade secrets from a U.S. semiconductor company, the Justice Department said Oct. 28. Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) allegedly tried to steal intellectual property from U.S.-based Micron Technology to benefit Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit, a Chinese state-owned company. The $60 million fine was the “second largest ever” in a U.S. criminal trade secret prosecution, the Justice Department said.
The U.S sanctioned 11 entities and five people in Iran, China and Singapore for illegally buying and selling Iranian oil, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Oct. 29. The designations target entities for working with Hong Kong-based Triliance Petrochemical, sanctioned in January (see 2001230040), to “move funds generated” by the Iranian oil sales.
The State Department designated two Guatemalan government officials for corruption, the agency said Oct. 28. The designations target Felipe Alejos Lorenzana, the first secretary of the Guatemalan Congress, and Delia Bac, former deputy. The State Department also designated their immediate family members.