President Donald Trump plans “an extended meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, tweeted Trump Tuesday. “Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting.” The impasse in the negotiations prompted the Trump administration to hike the List 3 tariffs to 25 percent May 10 (see 1905090018) and threaten List 4 duties of up to 25 percent on all remaining Chinese imports (see 1905140025). Observers hope a successful Trump-Xi meeting in Osaka could forestall the fourth round of tariffs. The List 4 hearings that started Monday will have heard from 325 witnesses by the time they wrap up June 25, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday. His office received more than 2,000 written comments, he said. “We’re in the process of going through that. I certainly don’t want to prejudge all of that, but we have our professional staff going in and ultimately the political staff will look at that. In this last tranche, there are products like cellphones and laptops, which have been avoided until now.” There has been "no decision made as to whether to put tariffs in place" from List 4, said Lighthizer. "The president will make that decision at some point in the next few weeks." There are many things the administration "is trying to do to make this as painless" as possible, said Lighthizer. He answered "yes" when Sen. Margaret Wood Hassan, D-N.H., asked him if he would commit to a List 4 exclusion process if the tariffs were put into effect. "It is, in the final analysis, painful, and you have to start with the proposition that what we are facing with China is worth having some discomfort." The U.S. is involved in "a very difficult trade struggle" with China, "which I think is extremely important to the U.S. economy, and that is whether or not we're going to protect our intellectual property and the jobs of the future, and even our current jobs," said Lighthizer. "It's impossible to predict when that will be resolved, but I think it's such an important issue, it's one that not only do we have to engage in, but should have been engaged in for decades." The administration needs to "quickly implement a broader and more effective exclusion process for List 4,” than it did for Lists 1 and 2, said CTA Monday (see 1906180038).

The Court of International Trade upheld Customs and Border Protection denial Monday of EchoStar’s drawback claims as untimely. EchoStar filed the claims for duty refunds worth $276,275.12 in 2014 and early 2015, before new drawback procedures under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, including fully electronic filing, took effect. EchoStar transmitted its filing via the automated broker interface within the three-year deadline, but its paper claim, including CBP Form 7551 and supporting documentation, was filed too late, causing CBP to reject the claims. “CBP is ultimately not responsible for EchoStar’s failure to timely file complete drawback claims because of either the Guidance or CBP’s ‘late’ notice to EchoStar to provide additional documents,” said CIT, referring to guidance documents that EchoStar believed meant no paper documentation was necessary. The company had no immediate comment Tuesday.

Hearings that begin Monday on the proposed List 4 Section 301 tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports not previously dutied will span seven full days through June 25 and include roughly 320 witnesses organized into 54 panels, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Friday. Unless there comes a change in the terms of USTR’s May 17 notice announcing the List 4 tariffs, post-hearing rebuttal comments would be due July 2, seven days after the hearings end, marking the last deadline in the List 4 proceeding before President Donald Trump decides whether to put the duties into effect. USTR ordered List 3 into effect Sept. 24, less than three weeks after post-hearing rebuttals in that proceeding came due Sept. 6. CTA is scheduled to testify the afternoon of June 24 on the same panel as Christie Digital Systems, Jasco Products and JLab Audio. CTA had asked for that arrangement in its June 10 request to appear. Other notables on the witness list: (1) Element Electronics, Best Buy, Roku, iRobot and TCL North America all testifying together Monday on Panel 4; (2) HP testifying Tuesday on Panel 11; (3) the Retail Industry Leaders Association, National Retail Federation and Information Technology Industry Council appearing together Friday on Panel 38; (4) Fitbit appearing June 25 on Panel 50; (5) Sony Interactive Entertainment and Vizio testifying together June 25 on Panel 53.

Broadcom expects its semiconductor business to take a $2 billion revenue hit from the U.S.-China trade war, including the Trump administration's "Huawei export ban,” said CEO Hock Tan on a fiscal Q2 call. The stock closed 5.6 percent lower Friday at $265.93. The trade frictions are “creating economic and political uncertainty and reducing visibility for our global OEM customers,” he said. “Demand volatility has increased and our customers are actively reducing inventory levels to manage risks.” The $17.5 billion in semiconductor revenue Broadcom now expects in the fiscal year ending in November will mean a year-over-year decline in the high-single digits, said Tan. On Broadcom’s previous earnings call in March, Tan had said he was “confident” the semiconductor business would “resume very meaningful growth” in the fiscal second half and record $19.5 billion in sales. Huawei generated about $900 million of revenue for Broadcom last year, but the market softness that prompted the company to shave $2 billion off its semiconductor revenue forecast “obviously extends beyond just one particular customer,” said Tan Thursday, in Q&A. “We're talking about uncertainty in our marketplace,” and that’s causing “compression” in the supply chain that’s reducing orders, he said. “It's broad-based.” With the revised forecast, “we tried to capture everything” in the business “environment,” including the impact of the proposed List 4 tariffs on Chinese goods, said Tan. The environment “is very, very nervous, and that's why we see a very, very sharp and rapid contraction of the supply chain and orders out there from our customers,” he said.

Short-term risks from U.S. restrictions on gear from China-based Huawei would be felt more by tech companies than telecoms, due to more direct and near-term revenue impact, reported S&P Global Ratings Wednesday. Expecting further developments in the trade war between the U.S. and China, the researcher said the impacts of bans “are not yet certain.” The ban on China-based ZTE last year lasted four weeks but “may not be indicative of the outcome on Huawei,” said S&P, which believes the ban will be a “catalyst” for the Chinese company and the government to “accelerate their technology to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers for critical components.” That could ratchet up competition in the technology sector and lower long-term growth prospects for U.S. tech firms, it said. Tuesday, Silicon Labs Chief Financial Officer John Hollister said (see 1906110068 or 1906110058) the May Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security notice banning shipments to Huawei will have “half a quarter impact” on Q2 revenue. Consequences for telecom companies will vary by country, relating largely to long-term 5G investment decisions, giving operators “more time and options for managing the fallout,” said S&P's Mark Habib. With China aiming for leadership in 5G, “stakes are high” because deployment will be key to “a vibrant economic environment” for countries and regions, the analyst said. Using history as a guide, Habib said leaders will have an edge in the development of the next wave of technology innovations such as cloud computing, IoT and autonomous vehicles. “It's too early to tell if restrictions will slow China's 5G ambitions, or backfire and leave countries like the U.S. behind,” he said. Much will depend on “how badly Huawei is constrained and how ready competing equipment makers are to take the lead.”

China wouldn’t confirm accounts from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over the weekend that Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will meet during the G20 summit this month in Osaka, Japan. “We note the US public statements that it looks forward to a meeting between the two heads of state,” said a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Monday. “We will release information on this when we have it. We also noticed US remarks that it will decide its next steps on trade based on how the summit in Osaka turns out. I'd like to reiterate that China's position on trade frictions and consultations is clear and firm. We do not want a trade war, but we are not afraid of fighting one. If the US is ready to have equal consultations, our door is wide open. But if it insists on escalating trade frictions, we will respond to it with resolution and perseverance.”

Advanced Micro Devices is “working through” the U.S.-China “trade situation” as “an industry,” Ruth Cotter, senior vice president-marketing, human resources and investor relations, told a Bank of America Merrill Lynch investor conference Thursday. The chipmaker is “partnering” with the Semiconductor Industry Association “and others” to mitigate the impact of the List 3 Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, which increased to 25 percent May 10 (see 1905090018), she said. “We're watching it carefully and ensuring that we are somewhat risk-mitigated as it pertains to tariffs and managing that for our customers.” AMD sources products from two “foundry partners” based outside China, she said. It also has “some backend manufacturing assets” and “test and assembly” operations in Malaysia, “so some of that is outside of China as well,” she said. “So kind of well-positioned from that perspective. I would say we're watching and monitoring the situation carefully.”

The National Retail Federation expects imports this summer and fall at major U.S. retail container ports to keep increasing “as retailers stock up inventory to get ahead” of higher Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, said the group Friday. “With a major tariff increase already announced” on List 3 and the “possibility that tariffs could be imposed on nearly all goods and inputs from China, retailers are continuing to stock up while they can to protect their customers as much as possible against the price increases that will follow,” said NRF. “Tariffs are taxes paid by American businesses and consumers, not foreign governments. Retailers will continue to do everything they possibly can to mitigate the impact of tariffs on consumers, but if we see further escalation in the trade war, it will be much more difficult to avoid higher price tags on a wide range of products. It’s time to stop using American families as pawns in negotiations for better trade deals.” The Trump administration’s threat to impose tariffs on all imports from Mexico would have no effect on “cargo numbers at U.S. seaports” because those goods “travel by truck or train,” it said. NRF estimates U.S. ports handled 1.75 million 20-foot-long cargo containers or their equivalents in April, an 8.4 percent increase sequentially from March and a 6.9 percent increase year over year, it said. It forecasts volume will peak in August and October, making for highest monthly totals since record shipments last October “as retailers rushed to bring merchandise into the country ahead of expected tariff increases,” it said.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association wants 14 Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings removed from the proposed List 4 Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports (see 1905140025), commented the trade group in docket USTR-2019-0004 in its request to testify at hearings that begin June 17. More exclusion requests could be forthcoming when it testifies at the hearing, it said. The requests so far cover a broad swath of products and components, such as “longitudinally welded” steel (HTS 7305.31.20), lithium-ion batteries (8507.60.00), flashlights (8513.10.20), loudspeakers (8518.29.80) and LED lamps (8539.50.00). NEMA represents about 325 manufacturers whose “combined industries account for 360,000 American jobs in more than 7,000 facilities covering every state,” it said. “These industries produce $106 billion in shipments and $36 billion in exports of electrical equipment and medical imaging technologies per year.” Monday at midnight EDT is the deadline for requests to give oral testimony at the hearings. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is expected to release a schedule of witnesses for the hearings by June 14. Post-hearing rebuttal comments will be due seven days after the hearings end.

Best Buy is “actively addressing the risks" of increases to tariffs on Chinese imports, it said in an SEC 10-Q Friday for fiscal Q1 ended May 4. “We have been able to minimize the impact on our business” from the List 3 tariffs “by accelerating purchases and working with our vendors,” it said. The company expects the Trump administration “to continue to seek input into potential further tariff developments,” including the proposed List 4 tariffs on all Chinese imports not previously dutied: “We intend to remain fully engaged in this process. We are also looking into a range of mitigation actions. While our outlook for fiscal 2020 includes the impact of List 3 tariffs increasing from 10% to 25%, we cannot predict, at this stage, the likelihood or impact of further expansion of tariffs to other products we sell or potential new tariffs.” Best Buy paid $125 million for health services company Critical Signal Technologies, completing it May 9, said the retailer. Best Buy disclosed the purchase as part of its connected-health strategy on its May 23 earnings call, but didn't discuss the terms (see 1905230038 or 1905230019).