Simon Lester
WTO Trade In Goods Council April Meeting Deals with EV Subsidies, Semiconductor Measures, Other China Trade Issues
At the April 3 and 4, 2023 meeting of the WTO Council for Trade in Goods, for which the minutes have now been circulated, a number of issues were raised by China in relation to other Members (including the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and semiconductor subsidies/export controls), and
Canadian Office Investigates Companies' Uyghur Ties
The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) is taking action to investigate Nike Canada Corp. and Dynasty Gold Corp. for allegedly using forced Uyghur labor in their supply chains and operations, after the companies declined to enter into mediation over the complaints.
U.S., EU Press China at WTO State Trading Enterprises Working Party Meeting
At the meeting of the WTO Working Party on State Trading Enterprises on April 28, 2023, for which the minutes were recently circulated, the U.S. and EU complained that China had provided insufficient information in its notification.
U.S. Government Commission Holds Hearing on China Trade/Rights Issues
At a hearing today entitled Corporate Complicity: Subsidizing the PRC's Human Rights Violations, the Congressional Executive Commission on China discussed a number of trade/labor/human rights issues with Robert Silvers of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including the de minimis loophole, trans-shipment, and the forced
Rundown of Treasury Secretary Yellen's China Trip
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen just completed a trip to China, in which she tried to stabilize China-U.S. economic relations through meetings with Chinese government officials such as Premier Li, Vice Premier He, Finance Minister Liu, and People’s Bank of China Head Pan, as well as various
China, EU Agree To Use Arbitration for Appeals in IP, Economic Coercion WTO Disputes
With the WTO's Appellate Body still not functioning due to U.S. blocking of appointments, the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) has emerged as an alternative mechanism for hearing appeals of WTO panel reports. In two ongoing WTO disputes involving complaints by the EU against China, China
WTO Meeting Addresses Semiconductor Export Restrictions and Other China Trade Issues
At a WTO meeting that was held on Thursday and Friday, governments raised concerns with Chinese export restrictions on semiconductor input materials, and China raised issues of its own with U.S./Japanese/Dutch semiconductor export restrictions and the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM).