Simon Lester
At WTO Committee, China Asks USMCA Parties about Non-Market Country FTA Provision
As part of the consideration by the WTO's Committee on Regional Trade Agreements
of the United States - Mexico - Canada Agreement (USMCA), China asked
[https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/WT/REG/407-2.pdf&Open=True]
the USMCA parties about the
China Announces Application to Join DEPA
Last weekend, President Xi Jinping announced
[https://twitter.com/henrysgao/status/1454460018120544258] China's decision to
apply to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). The Chinese
announcement comes a couple weeks after South Korea said
[https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2110/S00056/new-zealand-welcomes-the-republic-of-koreas-formal-request-to-join-the-digital-economy-partnership-agreement-depa.htm]
it would join.
New U.S. Law Further Restricts Use of Equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Others
After the U.S. House of Representatives passed
[https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3919/actions] similar
legislation on October 20, yesterday the Senate passed its own version
[https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1790/text] of a law
designed to tighten existing restrictions on products from companies
U.S. Senators Challenge China's Procurement Practices for Medical Devices
Earlier this week, U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Todd Young (R-IN) wrote
to
[https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2021/10/carper-young-letter-seeks-to-protect-medical-device-jobs-and-hold-china-accountable]
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai "express[ing] concern with recent action
by China related to the procurement of medical devices." The
China Notifies Results of Steel Safeguards Consultations with EU
In late June, the European Commission provided notice
[https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=2280] that it would be
extending for three additional years the safeguard measure in place on imports
of certain steel products. In response to this extension, China requested
consultations under Article 12.
GOP Members of Congress Call On Biden Administration To Crack Down On Sharing Critical U.S. Technology With China
The Republican-led China Task Force in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo calling for a crack down on sharing critical U.S. technology with China, and in particular for enforcement of U.S. export control laws to be tightened. The China Task
Nomination Hearing for Two USTR Positions Discusses China Trade Issues
The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing today on the Nominations of Maria Pagan to be a Deputy United States Trade Representative (Geneva Office) and Christopher Wilson to be USTR's Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator (as well as Brent Neiman to be Deputy Under Secretary of the