Taiwan plans to lift import restrictions on U.S. pork and beef, President Tsai Ing-wen said Aug. 28, adding that some Taiwanese restrictions, including in the agricultural sector, are blocking Taiwan from forming a “closer bond” with the U.S.
Moldova's Tudor Ulianovschi told the Washington International Trade Association that the fact that he's coming from a neutral country is an advantage in his candidacy for director-general of the World Trade Organization. Ulianovschi, who was speaking Aug. 26 on a WITA webinar, served as foreign minister of Moldova in 2018 and 2019, and during that time Moldova became a member of the WTO government procurement agreement.
The Trump administration will likely continue to impose restrictions on transactions with large Chinese technology companies, particularly as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. places more scrutiny on Chinese investments involving personal data, trade lawyers said. Industry should prepare for more announcements similar to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on TikTok and WeChat (see 2008070024), one lawyer said.
TikTok, the video-sharing application owned by China-based ByteDance, sued the Trump administration for banning U.S. transactions with the company (see 2008070024), saying the administration’s decision was heavily politicized and lacked due process. TikTok also said it was the subject of a non-transparent review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., and called the administration’s ban a “misuse” of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The Commerce Department’s lengthy rollout of export controls over emerging and foundational technologies may be impeding congressionally mandated export control reform measures and the work of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., the Congressional Research Service said in a report Aug. 21. Commerce’s effort, mandated by the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, has resulted in several export control notices, including on geospatial imagery software (see 2001030024) and items agreed to by multilateral control bodies (see 2006160034). But Commerce has yet to release its advance notice of proposed rulemaking for foundational technologies (see 2008040008), and the pace of the controls has frustrated some in industry (see 2002040057 and 1911070014).
The United Nations Security Council Committee revised entries for two people and three entities on its Democratic Republic of the Congo Sanctions List, it said Aug. 19. The changes add identifying information, including addresses and personal details.
A bipartisan group of senators urged the Trump administration to expand sanctions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, saying current restrictions have not done enough to curb corruption and human rights abuses there. The sanctions should include additional designations of DRC government officials and increased restrictions on officials who are creating “new companies” to avoid U.S. sanctions, nine senators said in an Aug. 17 letter to Treasure Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The United Nations Security Council Committee granted a sanctions exemption to allow a nongovernmental organization in South Korea to deliver humanitarian goods to North Korea, an Aug. 13 letter said. Medical Aid for Children is authorized to ship certain medical items, including dental equipment, for the next six months. The UNSC added that South Korea may conduct “necessary business and financial transactions only for the purchase of goods and services exempted” by the committee.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting comments on China's compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments, the agency said in a notice. Comments are due by Sept. 16. There will be no hearing this year, instead the Trade Policy Staff Committee will send written questions to commenters.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Taiwan's an attractive free trading partner but not as important to exporters as China is. “I'm for a free trade agreement with Taiwan, but I wouldn't want that to stand in the way of a phase two deal with China,” he told reporters on a conference call Aug. 17. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, and considers it part of China, not an independent country. Taiwan's president recently said he'd like negotiations to begin on an FTA (see 2008130010), and 161 House members have argued for opening negotiations with Taiwan (see 1912200014).