Brazil modified the administrative structure of the Ministry of Economy’s Foreign Trade Chamber to prioritize trade policy and “de-bureaucratise day-to-day decisions with an impact on trade,” the Hong Kong Trade Development Center said in an Oct. 14 report. Among the changes is the addition of a “consultative council” representing Brazil’s private sector, the report said. The changes could lead to an effort “to pursue trade liberalising measures in Brazil” because of the ministry’s tendency toward market liberalization measures, HKTDC said. But there is also a belief that the creation of additional committees within the chamber “could slow down the overall decision-making process.”
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said Mexico has made "another significant step forward" by promising to fully fund new labor courts that will be integral to major labor reform in that country. Neal said he, fellow working group member Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., and committee member Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., met with the Mexican president for an hour and 45 minutes during the recess, an hour longer than scheduled.
Co-chairs of the Department of Homeland Security Information and Communications Technology Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force urged House Homeland Security Committee members to consider enacting new liability protections and incentives to encourage companies and foreign governments to share information on threats to the supply chain. Committee leaders appeared interested, during an Oct. 16 hearing, in further protections. They invoked perceived supply-chain threats posed by Kaspersky Lab and Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE.
Japan’s Industrial Standards Committee revoked a certification for a manufacturing company, which may affect its ability to sell certain products, according to an unofficial translation of an Oct. 11 press release. Japan said the company’s factory, belonging to Takako Co., did not meet standards because it “has not properly conducted some tests specified in the Japanese Industrial Standards” that were “deemed critical.”
In an opinion piece published on CNN.com, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and the panel's top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the U.S. needs allies in addressing "the problems that are eroding the [World Trade Organization]'s credibility and effectiveness. These are problems that, if left unresolved, will endanger the WTO's future relevance." They said the fact that China still gets special treatment as a developing country is a big problem, and should be changed. Countries ignore transparency requirements. And, they said, the appellate body has strayed from its mission. But, they said, there are reasons to hope. "Negotiations are underway to curtail the fish subsidies that have long promoted overfishing," as well as e-commerce negotiations. "If concluded, these agreements would demonstrate that the WTO can still serve as the institution it was intended to be."
President Donald Trump announced a "very substantial phase 1" deal in the Oval Office Oct. 11, saying the Chinese and American negotiators came to a deal on intellectual property, financial services and agricultural sales. The president said China will buy as much as $40 billion to $50 billion worth of American commodities. He also said good progress had been made on issues around technology transfer from American companies to Chinese partners.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., at the end of a short trip to Mexico aimed at assessing that country's “ability to follow through on promised reforms” issued a statement that contained a not-too-veiled warning to the Mexican government that is eager for U.S. Congress to ratify the new NAFTA. “Our meeting with President López Obrador shed further light on the Mexican government’s desire and intentions to carry out its labor justice reform, but the United States needs to see those assurances put into action,” the statement said.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., is leading a delegation on a two-day trip to Mexico that began Oct. 7 to talk to Mexican government officials and local workers. The Democrat working group is struggling with the Mexican Labor Department budget for the coming fiscal year (see 1909270050 and 1909260038). Neal is accompanied by Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who has said the new NAFTA is "not near" to being acceptable (see 1909180036). He's also accompanied by Reps. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif. The sole other member of the working group in the delegation is Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif.
The Congressional Research Service issued an Oct. 3 report detailing how the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act regulations will reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. The report explains the new powers FIRRMA grants CFIUS, what changes are proposed, potential issues the regulations may pose for Congress, and how FIRRMA impacts reporting procedures and export controls. The Treasury Department released the proposed FIRRMA regulations in September, and comments are due Oct. 17 (see 1909180018).
US Approach to Technology Controls Marred by 'Little Understanding,' No Leading Voice, Panelist Says
The U.S. government lacks technical knowledge and a single, leading voice in its approach to technology competition with China, said Adam Segal, the emerging technologies chair at the Council on Foreign Relations. Segal, speaking during an Oct. 4 Brookings Institution panel about the U.S.-China technology relationship, said U.S. industries are concerned that technology policies, such as certain export controls, are being made without a full understanding of their impacts.