Simon Lester
Australian Trade Minister Responds to Citizen Petition To Withdraw from ChAFTA
In the Australian House of Representatives, Australia's trade minister has responded to a citizen petition to "cancel" the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, rejecting that request but saying Australia would be taking action against forced labor.
Congressional Taiwan Caucus Pushes to Include Taiwan in Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
A bipartisan group of members of Congress is pushing the Biden administration to include Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that it has been developing.
U.S. Trade Rep. Tai Testifies to House Committee on Biden Administration's Trade Agenda
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testified today before the House Ways and Means Committee, discussing various aspects of the Biden administration's trade policy agenda with members of the committee. We highlight here a number of comments made by Tai and the committee members on issues related to
WTO Members Review China-Mauritius FTA
At a meeting of the WTO's Committee on Regional Trade Agreements on March 28, WTO members considered the free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Mauritius, which those two countries had notified on January 7, 2021 and which entered into force on January 1, 2021. This is the
Senator Rubio Calls for Departments of Commerce and Justice To "Take All Appropriate Measures against ZTE to Ensure it Cannot Pose a Threat to Americans"
Last week, a U.S. district court judge in Texas ruled that Chinese telecommunications company ZTE committed visa fraud, but he decided not to revoke ZTE's probation for violating sanctions on Iran or to resentence ZTE. Senator Marco Rubio has now weighed in on the issue by calling
A More Detailed Look at the Steel Company Audit Required under the U.S.-UK Section 232 Agreement
Last week, we reported on the audit of Chinese-owned UK steel companies that is required as part of the U.S.-UK Section 232 tariff agreement. In this piece we take a closer look at the details of this audit as set out in the parties' Joint Statement, including
Commerce Department To Undertake Anti-Circumvention Investigation Related to AD/CVD Orders on Photovoltaic Cells and Modules from China
The U.S. Commerce Department has decided to initiate an inquiry into whether solar products from China are circumventing existing anti-dumping/countervailing duties.