USCBC’s Congressional Legislative Tracker monitoring China proposals is now online!
US sanctions senior Chinese officials over human rights
Yesterday, the departments of Treasury and State announced new sanctions and visa restrictions on senior Chinese government officials and entities involved in human rights violations in Xinjiang. This is the first time the United States has used Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act sanctions against Chinese officials. The...
United States moves forward with altering Hong Kong preferential treatment
On Monday, the departments of Commerce and State announced that Hong Kong would no longer be treated as separate from China under US export control regulations, citing the risk that sensitive US defense and dual-use technology could be diverted to China following the imposition of new security measures. The announcements came a day before China passed and immediately implemented a new national security law for...
Trump under pressure to sanction Chinese officials over Hong Kong, human rights
On Thursday, the Senate unanimously passed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (S. 3798) which would impose mandatory sanctions on foreign individuals, entities, and financial institutions that enable the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy by the Chinese government. This comes after the White House had reportedly asked cosponsor Kevin Cramer (R-ND) to block a vote on the act last week in order to propose “technical...
Domestic politics continue to weigh on US-China relationship and Phase One trade deal
Developments this week underscore the central role China will likely play in the November general election, and point to further deterioration in the bilateral relationship in the near term. Allegations about President Trump’s China policy in a yet-to-be-published book by former National Security Adviser John Bolton overshadowed and what may have been constructive engagement on China, like US Trade...
Lighthizer endorses worker-focused trade policy for 2020
Next Wednesday, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will likely recommend a trade policy that prioritizes job creation and domestic manufacturing in annual testimony before the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees on the Trump administration’s 2020 trade agenda. In an essay published in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs, Lighthizer argues that a worker-focused trade policy would enable the...
Amid uncertainty around Hong Kong’s status, administration moves on visa and travel announcements
There has been little movement to implement President Trump’s announcement last Friday that the United States would begin the process of revoking Hong Kong’s special treatment under US law, and there is little clarity on what specific privileges will be eliminated. Short of an executive order, Trump’s announcement essentially kicked-off what will likely be a longer-term, interagency...
Administration revokes Hong Kong special trade status in response to erosion of autonomy by China
Amid rising political pressure to hold China accountable, President Trump today announced the administration would begin the process of revoking Hong Kong’s special trade and economic status under US law in response to the National People’s Congress (NPC) decision to move forward with national security legislation for Hong Kong. This comes after Secretary of State Michael Pompeo...
Tensions over Hong Kong autonomy resurface during China’s NPC
US policymakers are preparing a strong response after China announced plans at the start of the National People’s Congress (NPC) this week to deliberate new national security legislation for Hong Kong to address subversive activity in the wake of last year’s pro-democracy protests. While President Trump hedged that we do not yet know what action China will take, he affirmed the US would address a move to undermine Hong Kong...
Phase One moving forward despite Trump tough talk, but other tensions escalate
The US-China commercial relationship remains in the cross hairs of top US officials, while working level government staff continue to press for full implementation of the Phase One trade deal. In comments made throughout the week, President Trump increased rhetorical pressure on China, including returning to the use of inflammatory language about the pandemic, voicing impatience with China’s lack of...
Phase One trade deal under increasing scrutiny and political pressure
The top US and Chinese trade negotiators spoke on Thursday evening in a move to shield the agreement from increasing scrutiny and mounting anti-China sentiment due to the coronavirus. In addition to discussing the economic impact of the coronavirus, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He agreed that good progress is being made and that both sides fully expect...
