Research & Analysis

With carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and methane emerging as the two main areas of consensus on climate cooperation between the United States and China, both areas present opportunities for companies operating in these fields. Climate envoys John Podesta and Liu Zhenmin focused on these two areas during a meeting in Washington, DC, in early May.

In an interview with TIME magazine published on Tuesday, President Joe Biden defended recently announced Section 301 tariff hikes, saying they are a necessary and proportionate response to unfair Chinese economic practices.

Nearly half a year after the introduction of State Council Document 11 (“24 Measures”), the State Council issued Document 9 (“New 24 Measures”), which vows to expand market openings for foreign producers of gene diagnostic and treatment technologies as well as advanced medical equipment.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it would only extend existing Section 301 tariff exclusions for 352 products and 77 COVID-related medical care items until June 14. They were previously set to expire today.

On the heels of announcing tariff hikes last week, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) yesterday issued a federal register notice (FRN) on its new tariff exclusions process. USTR is expected to issue another FRN soon that will decide the fate of existing exclusions, which are set to expire at the end of the month.

The last few months have seen multiple developments affecting US companies that operate in the transportation industry. For starters, President Joe Biden directed USTR to increase Section 301 tariffs on Chinese EVs and EV batteries, the US Department of Commerce launched an inquiry into China’s involvement with the connected vehicle supply chain, MOFCOM and PBOC released policies to boost automobile consumption, and the United States and China increased the number of passenger flights permitted to operate between the two countries.

US-China bilateral trade in goods decreased by 2.9 percent year-on-year in Q1, despite US-worldwide trade increasing by 0.5 percent, the first such increase in US-worldwide trade since Q1 of last year. Bilateral trade has underperformed US-worldwide trade for the last three years due to shifts in trading patterns driven by economic and geopolitical factors.

On May 17, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) introduced several new incentives for people to buy homes, including scrapping minimum interest rates on mortgages for new and pre-owned homes, and reducing the minimum down payment ratio for first-home buyers from 20 percent to 15 percent and for second homes from 30 percent to 25 percent. These are the lowest ratios since mortgages were introduced in 1992.

China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) and State Council have both released their legislative plans for the rest of 2024, reflecting China’s regulatory priorities in a wide array of economic and civil society matters.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday announced the conclusion of the Section 301 four-year review, which proposes the United States maintain all existing tariffs on Chinese goods and raise tariffs in “strategic sectors.”