Tesla's Chinese subsidiary, Tesla (Shanghai), and BMW both filed suit against the European Commission in the European Court of Justice after being hit with countervailing duties by the EU in October on their electric vehicle exports (see 2410290031). The bloc imposed a 7.8% duty rate on Tesla, while BMW received the 20.7% CVD rate assigned to other cooperating respondents. Other Chinese electric vehicle exporters, including BYD, Geely and SAIC, also were hit with the duties. Neither Tesla nor BMW has made any further filings or pleadings in their cases after filing their actions in the top European court. Neither company responded to requests for comment.
A business group representing American interests in China cites rising trade protectionism, policy uncertainties and escalating geopolitical tensions as headwinds faced by pro-American companies operating in China, according to a recent annual survey of the group's members.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke this week with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy to discuss the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) arrangement, China’s “malign influence,” Russia’s war against Ukraine and a “range of pressing global issues,” a State Department spokesperson said Jan. 27. The spokesperson said they both “heralded joint initiatives, including the AUKUS partnership, which promotes a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable.” AUKUS, a deal stood up by the Biden administration, allows the three countries to benefit from reduced export licensing restrictions for certain defense and dual-use exports (see 2412040044, 2408160019 and 2410010030).
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said late Jan. 27 that he plans to introduce legislation in the “coming weeks” to sanction Belarus over its “sham” presidential election.
A bill to sanction International Criminal Court (ICC) officials failed to gain enough votes to limit Senate debate on the measure Jan. 28, leaving its fate in doubt.
The Senate voted 68-29 late Jan. 27 to confirm hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as treasury secretary.
The European Union on Jan. 27 sanctioned three Russian individuals for their "malicious cyber activities against Estonia" carried out in 2020. The individuals are all officers of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Unit 29155. The officers gained unauthorized access to classified and sensitive information stored within Estonian government ministries, "leading to the theft of thousands of confidential documents," the Council of the EU said. Unit 29155 also conducts cyberattacks against other European nations, including Ukraine, the council said.
The auction process for ships to pass through the Panama Canal when the water is low, and the fact that a Hong Kong company owns ports by the entrance and exit of the Panama Canal were the focuses of a Senate hearing on the canal -- but the way Iranian ships used Panama to evade sanctions also came up.
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The Trump administration may be beginning to favor the use of trade policy tools like tariffs to replace sanctions to compel foreign policy, researchers said on a podcast hosted by the Center for a New American Security last week.