The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has postponed its vote on the Taiwan Policy Act. The bill would step up defense financing for Taiwan, provide a higher status to Taiwan in official US foreign policy, and encourage the United States to sign a trade and investment agreement with Taiwan. Several lawmakers and the White House have voiced concern with the bill in its current form. Read more
While in Southeast Asia over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken...
The US-China relationship is very tense in the aftermath of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. China responded with import restrictions on certain goods from Taiwan and is currently conducting military shows of force around Taiwan. The situation does not appear to be significantly impacting supply chains at the moment, but this is a developing situation. Read more
The Department of Commerce is tightening export controls on certain semiconductors to...
President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping spoke for more than two hours yesterday morning. The White House readout of the call, which was meant to prevent recent tensions from boiling over, is markedly brief, mentioning that the two presidents discussed “a range of issues.” Read more
Skinny CHIPS has passed both the Senate and House and will now head to the president, who will surely sign it into law. The bill, which was trimmed significantly in recent weeks,...
Support for the pared-back version of BIA appears filibuster-proof. The bill, informally known as “Skinny CHIPS,” no longer contains the trade title. It is expected to pass the Senate next week before moving to the House. Read more
Under Secretary of Commerce Alan Estevez testified on outbound investment and export controls last Thursday. Despite rumors that the White House may be working on a comprehensive outbound investment executive order, Estevez agreed...
Congress may be shifting its BIA strategy in order to pass CHIPS funding before August recess. Negotiations on the more contentious provisions in the BIA have stalled in recent weeks, and Senator Mitch McConnell has threatened to hold up the package altogether if Democrats continue pursuing a separate budget reconciliation package. Read more
The version of the NDAA currently making its way through the House includes several China-related provisions that could further...
Despite reports, the Biden administration has yet to signal if or when it will lift a small subset of Section 301 tariffs on consumer goods. The decision could be accompanied by a new exclusion process and/or the announcement of a new Section 301 investigation. The decision reportedly lies with President Joe Biden himself. Read more
Negotiations on the Bipartisan Innovation Act have stalled and support for the bill is fracturing. USCBC understands that conferees are not close to...
Statements following the G7 and NATO meetings contained harsh words for China. This week’s statements suggest the Biden administration’s goal of approaching China through a united front is coming to fruition. In both statements, members vowed to work together to address the China challenge, with the G7 announcing a $600 billion infrastructure program to provide alternatives to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Read more
Meanwhile, Commerce blacklisted 25 Chinese...
On Tuesday, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act officially went into effect. While the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force’s implementation strategy sheds light on how Customs and Border Protection might implement the rebuttable presumption at ports of entry, USCBC expects the road ahead to be rocky. Read more
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai testified on Capitol Hill this week about the president’s USTR budget request for fiscal year 2023. During her...
On Monday, Customs and Border Protection released further guidance for industry on how to comply with the Xinjiang import ban, but they are not expected to release all of the details until June 21, the same day that the ban goes into effect. Given the lack of comprehensive guidance or a grace period, USCBC expects initial enforcement to be disruptive. Read more
A bipartisan group of lawmakers released a revised outbound investment review proposal that they hope to include in the China...
Calls for tariff relief from within the administration are growing louder. And so are the voices of labor groups who want them to stay in place. As internal debates are brought further into the spotlight, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has continued to stay quiet on the issue. Read more
Treasury drew criticism late last week over its implementation of the ban on investing in Chinese companies with ties to China’s military. On the eve of the ban, the Treasury...
