Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Exports to China
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week threatened sanctions against Chinese banks if they facilitate payments that aid Russia’s military and urged Beijing against placing unclear restrictions on sales from certain U.S. chip companies, saying American firms want more transparency in China.
China’s commerce minister on April 7 met with a group of Chinese electric vehicle companies operating in Europe to discuss the EU’s ongoing countervailing duty investigation on EV batteries from China (see 2403150047). Minister Wang Wentao told battery makers Geely, BYD, CATL and others that EU and U.S. accusations of EV "overcapacity" in China are “groundless,” and that Beijing will “actively support enterprises in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests.” The companies “expressed their gratitude to the Ministry of Commerce for its strong support,” according to an unofficial translation of a readout of the meeting, and said they will “practice fair competition, actively respond to trade frictions, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results through pragmatic cooperation with European partners.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said April 8 that Congress should require China’s ByteDance to divest TikTok because the popular social media application is "beholden to our foremost strategic competitor."
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reaffirmed to Chinese officials last week that the U.S. is not looking to decouple the two economies but wants to see changes to Chinese market conditions that she said are hurting American firms.
American and Chinese officials discussed tariffs, export controls and market access issues during the April 2-5 first meetings of the U.S.-China Commercial Issues Working Group, both countries said in readouts after the talks.
The U.S. and the EU continued to discuss export controls, investment screening and other economic statecraft tools during the sixth meeting of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council last week, saying they have made progress harmonizing export licensing decisions and plan to soon launch a new investment screening initiative. The two sides also renewed a mechanism to pinpoint and prevent global semiconductor supply chains issues and announced a new forum to coordinate on critical minerals trade.
When the Senate returns from its two-week recess on April 8, it will have an opportunity to “work on a path forward on TikTok legislation” in addition to addressing a host of other matters, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said April 5 in a “Dear Colleague” letter.
The U.K. on April 4 extended for five years, until Jan. 31, 2028, its antidumping duties on cast iron articles from China, the U.K. Department for International Trade announced. The duties range from 15.5% to 38.1%, with the latter rate applicable to the non-individually examined exporters. The duties cover articles "of lamellar graphite cast iron (grey iron) or spheroidal graphite cast iron (also known as ductile cast iron) and parts thereof."
The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 2 renewed the temporary denial order for Russian air cargo carrier Aviastar for one year after finding it continues to violate U.S. export controls. The agency said the airline has continued to illegally operate aircraft subject to the Export Administration Regulations, including for flights within Russia and between Russia and China.