Washington Update

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are expected to meet Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend for a final round of negotiations in New York before the Trump-Xi meeting next week. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call on Thursday to discuss “high-level interactions in the spirit of equality, respect and reciprocity,” according to the Chinese readout. President Donald Trump plans to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, before the September 24-25 summit.

Three US security agencies on Tuesday issued an advisory alleging that Chinese AI firms trained their models on the outputs of US models, calling for a coordinated response from the US government, private sector, and allies. The advisory also recommends that US AI companies strengthen detection of anomalous accounts and usage patterns, use downgraded models to respond to suspected distillation requests, and share intelligence across model providers, cloud platforms, and API aggregators.

Last week, the White House announced a 100% Section 232 tariff on large drones and critical components, citing their dual-use applications. The duties are set to take effect on September 3.

The Federal Communications Commission last Tuesday added foreign-produced robots and power inverters to its Covered List, citing concerns over the security of technology and energy infrastructure. Placement on the list bars products from sale in the United States. The restrictions do not explicitly identify any country but primarily affect Chinese industry, including Unitree Robotics and over 150 other Chinese humanoid robotics companies, as well as leading power inverter manufacturers Huawei and Sungrow.

The Office of the US Trade Representative announced tariffs on more than 80 countries following its Section 301 investigation into forced labor enforcement — just in time to replace the Section 122 global tariffs that expired today. All Chinese imports are now subject to a 12.5% duty, up from the 10% they faced under Section 122.

At the Aspen Security Forum and in an accompanying Bloomberg interview this week, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer reiterated that the new managed trade framework with China will focus on purchase commitments and tariffs.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) will soon formally review extending the first batch of Section 301 tariffs covering $34 billion worth of imports from China from Trump’s first term, including medical devices, robotics, and aerospace products.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2027 is coming into focus after the House and Senate armed services committees advanced their versions of the bill earlier this month.

The Department of Defense (DOD) on Monday released an updated 1260H list, which designates Chinese military-linked companies. Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Baidu, automaker BYD, biotech firm WuXi AppTec, robotics company RoboSense Technology, and router maker TP-Link are among those newly added.

The Office of the US Trade Representative on Tuesday issued a Federal Register notice requesting public comment on the planned US-China Board of Trade. The mechanism, a key deliverable of the recent presidential summit in Beijing, aims to identify $30 billion of non-sensitive goods to reduce or eliminate tariffs on.