REUTERS
"US urges allies to bar firms from servicing key chipmaking tools for China"
By Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld
March 27, 2024
WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The United States is asking allies to stop domestic companies from servicing certain chipmaking tools for Chinese customers, a U.S. commerce department official said on Wednesday, as it ramps up efforts to hobble China's chipmaking capabilities.
"We are working with our allies to determine what is important to service and what is not important to service," said export controls chief Alan Estevez, speaking to reporters at an annual conference.
"We're pushing for not servicing of those key components and these are discussions we are having with our allies."
Washington has been locked in a years-long technology war with Beijing, seeking to stop China from making more advanced chips that could be used to strengthen its military.
The Biden administration announced new restrictions on shipments of American-made chipmaking tools to advanced Chinese chip factories in 2022, and convinced key chipmaking tool producers Japan and the Netherlands to follow suit with their own controls.
The U.S. rules made it difficult for U.S. companies to continue servicing tools that Chinese firms bought prior to the new regulations, but the Dutch and Japanese rules did not include similar restrictions.
That has spurred U.S. officials to convince allies to mirror U.S. curbs.
Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld; editing by Costas Pitas
https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-i ... 024-03-27/
CHINA
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"U.S. Commerce updates export curbs on AI chips to China"
By Reuters
March 29, 2024
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday revised five-month-old rules aimed at making it harder for China to access U.S. artificial intelligence chips.
Those rules, released last October, seek to halt shipments to China of more advanced artificial intelligence chips designed by Nvidia and others, part of a raft of measures aimed at stopping Beijing from receiving cutting-edge U.S. technologies to strengthen its military.
The Commerce Department said on Friday it was making clarifications and corrections effective April 4.
Reporting by Alexandra Alper and David Shepardson; Editing by Bill Berkrot
https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-c ... 024-03-29/
"U.S. Commerce updates export curbs on AI chips to China"
By Reuters
March 29, 2024
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday revised five-month-old rules aimed at making it harder for China to access U.S. artificial intelligence chips.
Those rules, released last October, seek to halt shipments to China of more advanced artificial intelligence chips designed by Nvidia and others, part of a raft of measures aimed at stopping Beijing from receiving cutting-edge U.S. technologies to strengthen its military.
The Commerce Department said on Friday it was making clarifications and corrections effective April 4.
Reporting by Alexandra Alper and David Shepardson; Editing by Bill Berkrot
https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-c ... 024-03-29/
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"Yellen won't rule out more protections for US clean energy sector amid Chinese excess capacity"
By David Lawder
April 3, 2024
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday would not rule out additional steps to protect American clean energy industries from China's excess investment and production capacity, but declined to say whether she would raise the possibility of new tariffs in talks with Chinese officials.
During a fuel stop in Alaska on her second trip to China for economic talks, Yellen told reporters the Biden administration was serious about nurturing U.S. supply chains for electric vehicles, EV batteries, solar panels and other key products.
"We're providing tax subsidies to some of these sectors, and I wouldn't want to rule out other possible ways in which we would protect them," she said, when asked whether she would raise a threat of new trade barriers in talks with her Chinese counterparts, without specifying whether those steps included tariffs.
"But I think it's not just the United States, but quite a few countries, including Mexico, Europe and Japan, that are feeling massive pressure from massive investment in these industries in China," Yellen added.
The Treasury secretary intends to raise U.S. concerns about China's large and growing excess manufacturing capacity, particularly in new energy goods, during her nearly weeklong trip to China's southern factory and export hub, Guangzhou, and the capital, Beijing.
"We are trying to nurture an industry in solar cells, electric batteries and electric vehicles."
"And these are actually all areas where massive investment in China is creating overcapacities," Yellen said.
She will meet with her main counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Guangdong Province Governor Wang Weizhong and executives of U.S. companies in China, the Treasury Department said.
She will hear firsthand about business climate challenges that are prompting U.S. companies to limit their investment in China.
The trip is Yellen's second in-person visit to China as Treasury secretary.
She visited Beijing in July 2023 to re-establish economic ties after years of frosty relations - fueled in part by U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by then-President Donald Trump and maintained by President Joe Biden, along with increasing national security curbs on American exports of semiconductors and other high-technology goods to China.
Her trip comes a day after Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first direct talks since November, in which Taiwan tensions and U.S. national security technology curbs on China took center stage.
Yellen last met with Vice Premier He in November, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco, where Biden also met with Xi.
Her outreach has led to a series of meetings between U.S. Treasury officials and counterparts in China's finance ministry and central bank, exchanging views on a range of economic topics, including difficulties in China's property sector.
But because the discussions are not set up as negotiations, they have not led to policy shifts.
The European Union is investigating whether China's EV industry is benefiting from unfair subsidies, which could lead to tariffs to protect European carmakers.
The U.S. Commerce Department has opened a probe into whether Chinese vehicles pose national security threats due to the data they transmit, and U.S. lawmakers have urged Biden to hike tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Katharine Jackson and Jonathan Oatis
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 024-04-03/
"Yellen won't rule out more protections for US clean energy sector amid Chinese excess capacity"
By David Lawder
April 3, 2024
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday would not rule out additional steps to protect American clean energy industries from China's excess investment and production capacity, but declined to say whether she would raise the possibility of new tariffs in talks with Chinese officials.
During a fuel stop in Alaska on her second trip to China for economic talks, Yellen told reporters the Biden administration was serious about nurturing U.S. supply chains for electric vehicles, EV batteries, solar panels and other key products.
"We're providing tax subsidies to some of these sectors, and I wouldn't want to rule out other possible ways in which we would protect them," she said, when asked whether she would raise a threat of new trade barriers in talks with her Chinese counterparts, without specifying whether those steps included tariffs.
"But I think it's not just the United States, but quite a few countries, including Mexico, Europe and Japan, that are feeling massive pressure from massive investment in these industries in China," Yellen added.
The Treasury secretary intends to raise U.S. concerns about China's large and growing excess manufacturing capacity, particularly in new energy goods, during her nearly weeklong trip to China's southern factory and export hub, Guangzhou, and the capital, Beijing.
"We are trying to nurture an industry in solar cells, electric batteries and electric vehicles."
"And these are actually all areas where massive investment in China is creating overcapacities," Yellen said.
She will meet with her main counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Guangdong Province Governor Wang Weizhong and executives of U.S. companies in China, the Treasury Department said.
She will hear firsthand about business climate challenges that are prompting U.S. companies to limit their investment in China.
The trip is Yellen's second in-person visit to China as Treasury secretary.
She visited Beijing in July 2023 to re-establish economic ties after years of frosty relations - fueled in part by U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by then-President Donald Trump and maintained by President Joe Biden, along with increasing national security curbs on American exports of semiconductors and other high-technology goods to China.
Her trip comes a day after Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first direct talks since November, in which Taiwan tensions and U.S. national security technology curbs on China took center stage.
Yellen last met with Vice Premier He in November, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco, where Biden also met with Xi.
Her outreach has led to a series of meetings between U.S. Treasury officials and counterparts in China's finance ministry and central bank, exchanging views on a range of economic topics, including difficulties in China's property sector.
But because the discussions are not set up as negotiations, they have not led to policy shifts.
The European Union is investigating whether China's EV industry is benefiting from unfair subsidies, which could lead to tariffs to protect European carmakers.
The U.S. Commerce Department has opened a probe into whether Chinese vehicles pose national security threats due to the data they transmit, and U.S. lawmakers have urged Biden to hike tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Katharine Jackson and Jonathan Oatis
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 024-04-03/
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"Exclusive: Targeting Chinese chips, US to push Dutch on ASML service contracts"
By Karen Freifeld, Alexandra Alper and Toby Sterling
April 4, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration plans to press the Netherlands next week to stop its top chipmaking equipment maker ASML from servicing some tools in China, two people familiar with the matter said, as the U.S. leans on allies in its bid to hobble Beijing's tech sector.
Alan Estevez, the U.S. export policy chief, is scheduled to meet in the Netherlands next Monday with officials from the Dutch government and ASML Holding NV to discuss the servicing contracts, the people said.
Washington may also be seeking to add to a list of Chinese chipmaking factories restricted from receiving Dutch equipment as part of the discussions, one of the people said.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry confirmed the upcoming meeting but did not elaborate on which topics would be on the agenda.
"The Netherlands always has good discussions with our partners."
"The meeting of officials on Monday is one example of that," the Ministry told Reuters.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said Beijing opposes the U.S.'s "overstretching" of the concept of national security and use of "pretexts to coerce other countries into joining its technological blockade against China."
The Commerce Department and ASML, whose shares briefly fell after the news, declined to comment.
The meeting is Washington's latest move to convince allies to join U.S. efforts to further crack down on Beijing’s ability to produce cutting-edge chips.
Last year, sanctioned Chinese telecoms giant Huawei shocked the world with a new phone powered by a sophisticated chip.
The Huawei Mate 60 Pro was seen as a symbol of the China's technological resurgence despite Washington's ongoing efforts to cripple its capacity to produce advanced semiconductors.
Chip-related exports to China are vital for its economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping complained to Biden this week about U.S. efforts to block certain U.S. technologies, including advanced semiconductors, saying it hindered China's development.
Restrictions on servicing ASML machines could be particularly painful given the large and expensive tools require constant maintenance.
China was ASML's second-largest market by sales last year (29%), after Taiwan.
Last year, Japan and the Netherlands joined a U.S. effort to keep certain chipmaking technology from China for national security reasons.
The Dutch government began restricting certain deep ultraviolet (DUV) equipment for Chinese customers and partially revoked one license, impacting a small number of customers in China, according to ASML.
But the Dutch restrictions did not go as far as U.S. rules, which barred American firms from servicing equipment at advanced Chinese factories.
Estevez has said publicly that the U.S. is asking allies to stop local companies from servicing certain chipmaking tools for Chinese customers.
"We are working with our allies to determine what is important to service and what is not important to service," Estevez said at an export control conference last week.
In October, the U.S. issued a regulation to keep more ASML DUV machines from certain Chinese chip factories because American parts in those tools gave Washington the power to regulate their export from overseas.
Officials may broach expanding the list of Chinese factories at the Monday meeting, one of the sources said.
Last week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Beijing.
Xi warned against setting up trade barriers.
Rutte said Dutch restrictions aim to disrupt business as little as possible.
However, Rutte said China's support for Russia, which the Netherlands views as its top national security threat, is a major impediment to relations – a signal that exports of goods with potential military uses to China will be scrutinized.
Rutte is a top candidate to become NATO's next secretary general.
Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York, Alexandra Alper in Washington, D.C., and Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Lisa Shumaker and David Gregorio
https://www.reuters.com/business/us-urg ... 024-04-04/
"Exclusive: Targeting Chinese chips, US to push Dutch on ASML service contracts"
By Karen Freifeld, Alexandra Alper and Toby Sterling
April 4, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration plans to press the Netherlands next week to stop its top chipmaking equipment maker ASML from servicing some tools in China, two people familiar with the matter said, as the U.S. leans on allies in its bid to hobble Beijing's tech sector.
Alan Estevez, the U.S. export policy chief, is scheduled to meet in the Netherlands next Monday with officials from the Dutch government and ASML Holding NV to discuss the servicing contracts, the people said.
Washington may also be seeking to add to a list of Chinese chipmaking factories restricted from receiving Dutch equipment as part of the discussions, one of the people said.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry confirmed the upcoming meeting but did not elaborate on which topics would be on the agenda.
"The Netherlands always has good discussions with our partners."
"The meeting of officials on Monday is one example of that," the Ministry told Reuters.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said Beijing opposes the U.S.'s "overstretching" of the concept of national security and use of "pretexts to coerce other countries into joining its technological blockade against China."
The Commerce Department and ASML, whose shares briefly fell after the news, declined to comment.
The meeting is Washington's latest move to convince allies to join U.S. efforts to further crack down on Beijing’s ability to produce cutting-edge chips.
Last year, sanctioned Chinese telecoms giant Huawei shocked the world with a new phone powered by a sophisticated chip.
The Huawei Mate 60 Pro was seen as a symbol of the China's technological resurgence despite Washington's ongoing efforts to cripple its capacity to produce advanced semiconductors.
Chip-related exports to China are vital for its economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping complained to Biden this week about U.S. efforts to block certain U.S. technologies, including advanced semiconductors, saying it hindered China's development.
Restrictions on servicing ASML machines could be particularly painful given the large and expensive tools require constant maintenance.
China was ASML's second-largest market by sales last year (29%), after Taiwan.
Last year, Japan and the Netherlands joined a U.S. effort to keep certain chipmaking technology from China for national security reasons.
The Dutch government began restricting certain deep ultraviolet (DUV) equipment for Chinese customers and partially revoked one license, impacting a small number of customers in China, according to ASML.
But the Dutch restrictions did not go as far as U.S. rules, which barred American firms from servicing equipment at advanced Chinese factories.
Estevez has said publicly that the U.S. is asking allies to stop local companies from servicing certain chipmaking tools for Chinese customers.
"We are working with our allies to determine what is important to service and what is not important to service," Estevez said at an export control conference last week.
In October, the U.S. issued a regulation to keep more ASML DUV machines from certain Chinese chip factories because American parts in those tools gave Washington the power to regulate their export from overseas.
Officials may broach expanding the list of Chinese factories at the Monday meeting, one of the sources said.
Last week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Beijing.
Xi warned against setting up trade barriers.
Rutte said Dutch restrictions aim to disrupt business as little as possible.
However, Rutte said China's support for Russia, which the Netherlands views as its top national security threat, is a major impediment to relations – a signal that exports of goods with potential military uses to China will be scrutinized.
Rutte is a top candidate to become NATO's next secretary general.
Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York, Alexandra Alper in Washington, D.C., and Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Lisa Shumaker and David Gregorio
https://www.reuters.com/business/us-urg ... 024-04-04/
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"Yellen faces tough road on China's vast overproduction problem"
By David Lawder
April 4, 2024
GUANGZHOU, China, April 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in China's southern factory hub of Guangzhou on Thursday with a tough message to Chinese officials: you're producing too much of everything, especially clean energy goods, and the world can't absorb it.
China is unleashing a flood of electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, solar panels, semiconductors and other manufactured goods into global markets, the result of years of massive government subsidies and weak demand at home.
Global prices for many goods are tanking, pressuring producers in other countries.
"We see a growing threat of money-losing firms that are going to have to sell off their production somewhere," a senior U.S. Treasury official said of overproduction in key Chinese sectors.
In a series of meetings with top Chinese economic officials from Friday through Monday, Yellen will seek to convey her view that the excess production is unhealthy for China and that there is a growing drumbeat of concern about it in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Mexico and other major economies.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Yellen would explain: "If there are trade actions around the world, it's not an anti-China thing, it's a response to their policies."
But Beijing appears to be doubling down on investing in more manufacturing capacity in favored high-technology sectors, a stance that is also increasingly at odds with Europe.
"I do think the stage is set for renewed tensions with China," said Brad Setser, a former U.S. trade and Treasury official.
Setser added that Yellen's warnings about Chinese overproduction may be an initial step by the Biden administration towards new tariffs or other trade barriers on Chinese EVs, batteries and other goods.
En route to Guangzhou, Yellen declined to say whether she would raise the threat of new tariffs in her meetings in Guangzhou and Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Guangdong Province Governor Wang Weizhong, who has also presided over hundreds of billions of dollars worth of recent new projects.
But she said the Biden administration was determined to develop American supply chains in EVs, solar power and other clean energy goods with investment tax credits and would not "rule out other possible ways in which we would protect them".
In March, China's leadership pledged to follow through on President Xi Jinping's new mantra of unleashing "new productive forces" in China by investing in developing technology industries including EVs, new materials, commercial spaceflight and life sciences - areas where many U.S. firms hold advantages.
Yellen will also argue that China would be better off focusing spending on supporting households and boosting chronically weak consumer spending.
FACTORY FIRST
The results of China's prior investment binges are staggering.
Including EVs and combustion-engine cars, China by the end of 2022 had the capacity to produce 43 million vehicles annually, but its plant utilisation rate - a measure closely linked to profitability - was just under 55%, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
Bill Russo, the Shanghai-based founder and CEO of advisory firm Automobility, estimated that this translates to excess auto production capacity of about 10 million vehicles a year, or roughly two-thirds of North American auto output in 2022.
And new entrants are still coming into an increasingly cut-throat Chinese EV market.
Mobile phone maker Xiaomi on Tuesday launched sales of its sporty Speed Ultra 7 EV, drawing an estimate from Citi analysts that each unit sold would lose $10,000.
SOLAR DOMINANCE
The situation in China's solar panel sector may be worse, where overproduction pushed prices down 42% last year to levels 60% below the cost of comparable U.S.-made products.
Major Chinese producers are continuing to build factories, backed by provincial and local subsidies.
At the end of 2023, China had the capacity to build 861 gigawatts of solar modules per year, more than double the global total installed capacity of 390 million gigawatts.
Another 500-600 gigawatts of annual capacity is forecast to come online this year -- enough to supply all global demand through 2032, according to energy research firm Wood Mackenzie.
Chinese officials are expected to push back and argue that the excess capacity results from an unexpected downturn in demand following a property crisis and a rocky exit from COVID-19, said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"I can foresee a conversation that goes around in circles," he added.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Stephen Coates and Devika Syamnath
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 024-04-04/
"Yellen faces tough road on China's vast overproduction problem"
By David Lawder
April 4, 2024
GUANGZHOU, China, April 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in China's southern factory hub of Guangzhou on Thursday with a tough message to Chinese officials: you're producing too much of everything, especially clean energy goods, and the world can't absorb it.
China is unleashing a flood of electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, solar panels, semiconductors and other manufactured goods into global markets, the result of years of massive government subsidies and weak demand at home.
Global prices for many goods are tanking, pressuring producers in other countries.
"We see a growing threat of money-losing firms that are going to have to sell off their production somewhere," a senior U.S. Treasury official said of overproduction in key Chinese sectors.
In a series of meetings with top Chinese economic officials from Friday through Monday, Yellen will seek to convey her view that the excess production is unhealthy for China and that there is a growing drumbeat of concern about it in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Mexico and other major economies.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Yellen would explain: "If there are trade actions around the world, it's not an anti-China thing, it's a response to their policies."
But Beijing appears to be doubling down on investing in more manufacturing capacity in favored high-technology sectors, a stance that is also increasingly at odds with Europe.
"I do think the stage is set for renewed tensions with China," said Brad Setser, a former U.S. trade and Treasury official.
Setser added that Yellen's warnings about Chinese overproduction may be an initial step by the Biden administration towards new tariffs or other trade barriers on Chinese EVs, batteries and other goods.
En route to Guangzhou, Yellen declined to say whether she would raise the threat of new tariffs in her meetings in Guangzhou and Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Guangdong Province Governor Wang Weizhong, who has also presided over hundreds of billions of dollars worth of recent new projects.
But she said the Biden administration was determined to develop American supply chains in EVs, solar power and other clean energy goods with investment tax credits and would not "rule out other possible ways in which we would protect them".
In March, China's leadership pledged to follow through on President Xi Jinping's new mantra of unleashing "new productive forces" in China by investing in developing technology industries including EVs, new materials, commercial spaceflight and life sciences - areas where many U.S. firms hold advantages.
Yellen will also argue that China would be better off focusing spending on supporting households and boosting chronically weak consumer spending.
FACTORY FIRST
The results of China's prior investment binges are staggering.
Including EVs and combustion-engine cars, China by the end of 2022 had the capacity to produce 43 million vehicles annually, but its plant utilisation rate - a measure closely linked to profitability - was just under 55%, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
Bill Russo, the Shanghai-based founder and CEO of advisory firm Automobility, estimated that this translates to excess auto production capacity of about 10 million vehicles a year, or roughly two-thirds of North American auto output in 2022.
And new entrants are still coming into an increasingly cut-throat Chinese EV market.
Mobile phone maker Xiaomi on Tuesday launched sales of its sporty Speed Ultra 7 EV, drawing an estimate from Citi analysts that each unit sold would lose $10,000.
SOLAR DOMINANCE
The situation in China's solar panel sector may be worse, where overproduction pushed prices down 42% last year to levels 60% below the cost of comparable U.S.-made products.
Major Chinese producers are continuing to build factories, backed by provincial and local subsidies.
At the end of 2023, China had the capacity to build 861 gigawatts of solar modules per year, more than double the global total installed capacity of 390 million gigawatts.
Another 500-600 gigawatts of annual capacity is forecast to come online this year -- enough to supply all global demand through 2032, according to energy research firm Wood Mackenzie.
Chinese officials are expected to push back and argue that the excess capacity results from an unexpected downturn in demand following a property crisis and a rocky exit from COVID-19, said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"I can foresee a conversation that goes around in circles," he added.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Stephen Coates and Devika Syamnath
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 024-04-04/
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"After issuing factory capacity warning to China, Yellen faces tariff decisions"
By David Lawder
April 10, 2024
BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hammered home a stern warning to China's economic leaders that their overinvestment in factory capacity for clean energy goods is unacceptable throughout her four-day visit to Guangzhou and Beijing.
She did it while appearing to charm her Chinese hosts this past week, but now comes the hard part: deciding whether to advise U.S. President Joe Biden to move toward raising U.S. tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar panels and other clean energy goods to protect U.S. producers and workers.
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after hotter-than-expected inflation data threw cold water on hopes the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates as early as June.
Her other option is to press for time to allow a new U.S.-China dialogue on the issue to generate other solutions.
Yellen and her main counterpart, vice premier He Lifeng, launched the talks on "balanced growth," including industrial capacity and weak Chinese and global demand, on Saturday in the southern factory hub of Guangzhou.
Previous U.S.-China dialogues, including one launched in 2006 by former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson and a successor forum during Barack Obama's administration, largely failed to persuade China to shift away from its state-driven, investment-led economic model to a more market-driven path despite years of regular meetings.
On what may be her last trip to China as Treasury chief, Yellen saw pushback on her core complaint that a massive export wave of cheap EVs and solar panels, fuelled by state-supported production capacity that far exceeds domestic demand, was threatening competitors all over the world.
China trade experts say that the new dialogue may need to take place alongside a new Biden administration trade action, such as a new "Section 301" tariff investigation or World Trade Organization complaint.
Former president Donald Trump used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which covers unfair trade practices, to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports in 2018.
The Biden administration is now nearing completion of a lengthy review of whether to renew those duties.
"This dialogue isn't meant to be a negotiation, so I don't expect the U.S. to sit on its hands," said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"Washington will continue to amass evidence to be prepared to take action."
SOCIAL MEDIA STAR
While in China, Yellen won plaudits from Chinese officials, academics and social media users.
She publicly savoured Chinese cuisine and culture, sipping a beer made with American hops at a Beijing microbrewery and showing off her chopstick skills at a Cantonese restaurant in Guangzhou, the southern export hub.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang took note of the social media attention, telling Yellen: "The Chinese 'netizens' have been following your trip since the moment you landed in Guangzhou, and that shows the high expectations they have for the outcome of your visit."
They spoke for nearly three times the 30 minutes scheduled for their bilateral meeting on Sunday.
Unlike her first trip to China in July 2023, Yellen took time out to socialize with her hosts and visit cultural sites, including Beijing's Forbidden City on a private, after-hours tour.
Yellen and He exchanged gifts on a Pearl River boat cruise, in the southern export hub of Guangzhou.
She received a ceramic platter with an image of her official photo, and presented him with a signed painting print of cherry blossoms at Washington's Tidal Basin, an attendee said.
"She has a particularly high level of credibility within the Chinese government," American Chamber of Commerce in China Chair Sean Stein said of Yellen.
"She maintains a focus on economics and talks about things in a dispassionate way."
WHAT PROBLEM?
While the goodwill opened doors, pushback from state media and Chinese officials show disagreement with Yellen's core assertion that China's green energy manufacturing capacity far outstrips local demand and is flooding global markets with cheap exports from money-losing firms.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Monday called such claims baseless and said Chinese EV makers' success is due to innovation, not subsidies.
A Chinese government adviser told Reuters that industrial overcapacity is a topic for discussion with U.S. officials, "but not something that can be resolved."
"There will be no global trade if there is no overcapacity" and assertions of excess output in new energy sectors are "outrageous," the adviser said on condition of anonymity.
Still, Yellen's trip and the growing relationship with Chinese officials give her an "elevated voice" in the Biden tariff debate, said Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator who heads the Asia Society Policy Institute.
But Cutler said it would be hard for Yellen to argue in favour of more time for dialogue during a hotly contested U.S. presidential election year amid rising anti-China sentiment in the United States.
Reporting by David Lawder in Beijing; additional reporting by Kevin Yao and Joe Cash in Beijing and Marius Zaharia in Hong Kong; editing by Shri Navaratnam, William Maclean
https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/af ... 024-04-10/
"After issuing factory capacity warning to China, Yellen faces tariff decisions"
By David Lawder
April 10, 2024
BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hammered home a stern warning to China's economic leaders that their overinvestment in factory capacity for clean energy goods is unacceptable throughout her four-day visit to Guangzhou and Beijing.
She did it while appearing to charm her Chinese hosts this past week, but now comes the hard part: deciding whether to advise U.S. President Joe Biden to move toward raising U.S. tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar panels and other clean energy goods to protect U.S. producers and workers.
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after hotter-than-expected inflation data threw cold water on hopes the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates as early as June.
Her other option is to press for time to allow a new U.S.-China dialogue on the issue to generate other solutions.
Yellen and her main counterpart, vice premier He Lifeng, launched the talks on "balanced growth," including industrial capacity and weak Chinese and global demand, on Saturday in the southern factory hub of Guangzhou.
Previous U.S.-China dialogues, including one launched in 2006 by former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson and a successor forum during Barack Obama's administration, largely failed to persuade China to shift away from its state-driven, investment-led economic model to a more market-driven path despite years of regular meetings.
On what may be her last trip to China as Treasury chief, Yellen saw pushback on her core complaint that a massive export wave of cheap EVs and solar panels, fuelled by state-supported production capacity that far exceeds domestic demand, was threatening competitors all over the world.
China trade experts say that the new dialogue may need to take place alongside a new Biden administration trade action, such as a new "Section 301" tariff investigation or World Trade Organization complaint.
Former president Donald Trump used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which covers unfair trade practices, to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports in 2018.
The Biden administration is now nearing completion of a lengthy review of whether to renew those duties.
"This dialogue isn't meant to be a negotiation, so I don't expect the U.S. to sit on its hands," said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"Washington will continue to amass evidence to be prepared to take action."
SOCIAL MEDIA STAR
While in China, Yellen won plaudits from Chinese officials, academics and social media users.
She publicly savoured Chinese cuisine and culture, sipping a beer made with American hops at a Beijing microbrewery and showing off her chopstick skills at a Cantonese restaurant in Guangzhou, the southern export hub.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang took note of the social media attention, telling Yellen: "The Chinese 'netizens' have been following your trip since the moment you landed in Guangzhou, and that shows the high expectations they have for the outcome of your visit."
They spoke for nearly three times the 30 minutes scheduled for their bilateral meeting on Sunday.
Unlike her first trip to China in July 2023, Yellen took time out to socialize with her hosts and visit cultural sites, including Beijing's Forbidden City on a private, after-hours tour.
Yellen and He exchanged gifts on a Pearl River boat cruise, in the southern export hub of Guangzhou.
She received a ceramic platter with an image of her official photo, and presented him with a signed painting print of cherry blossoms at Washington's Tidal Basin, an attendee said.
"She has a particularly high level of credibility within the Chinese government," American Chamber of Commerce in China Chair Sean Stein said of Yellen.
"She maintains a focus on economics and talks about things in a dispassionate way."
WHAT PROBLEM?
While the goodwill opened doors, pushback from state media and Chinese officials show disagreement with Yellen's core assertion that China's green energy manufacturing capacity far outstrips local demand and is flooding global markets with cheap exports from money-losing firms.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Monday called such claims baseless and said Chinese EV makers' success is due to innovation, not subsidies.
A Chinese government adviser told Reuters that industrial overcapacity is a topic for discussion with U.S. officials, "but not something that can be resolved."
"There will be no global trade if there is no overcapacity" and assertions of excess output in new energy sectors are "outrageous," the adviser said on condition of anonymity.
Still, Yellen's trip and the growing relationship with Chinese officials give her an "elevated voice" in the Biden tariff debate, said Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator who heads the Asia Society Policy Institute.
But Cutler said it would be hard for Yellen to argue in favour of more time for dialogue during a hotly contested U.S. presidential election year amid rising anti-China sentiment in the United States.
Reporting by David Lawder in Beijing; additional reporting by Kevin Yao and Joe Cash in Beijing and Marius Zaharia in Hong Kong; editing by Shri Navaratnam, William Maclean
https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/af ... 024-04-10/
Re: CHINA
The New York Post
"Yellen pitches Bidenomics in Beijing — making America a laughingstock"
By Social Links for Philip Pilkington
Published April 11, 2024
Imagine your family finds your cooking so revolting, they refuse to eat it — and in response you decide it’s time to take a plate over to your neighbor’s house.
This is precisely what the Biden administration is doing with its economic platform.
It’s no secret Americans are sick of Bidenomics.
A recent Economist/YouGov survey showed 29% of voters are worried more about the economy and inflation than any other issue.
Only 22% of black Americans, 13% of Hispanics and 18% of young adults — all key would-be Biden voters — think they are better off financially than they were a year ago.
The verdict is in: Voters do not like what Joe is cooking.
Rather than reflect on these numbers, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen found herself in China this week offering a round of slops to the locals.
Although China rolled out the red carpet for Yellen in Beijing and Guangzhou, both the Chinese and the Americans ultimately saw her visit as a failure.
Looking under the hood, it’s not hard to see why.
No matter what you think about China’s trade strategies, it is obvious they are proving very successful for the Chinese.
European car manufacturers are terrified of a tsunami of cheap, newly high-quality Chinese electric vehicles about to wash over their shores.
America seems to feel the same way about Chinese EVs, having already imposed a 27.5% tariff on them.
Yet despite Western aversion to these products, they are flooding the rest of the global market.
In 2022, China itself accounted for 60% of EV purchases and provided 35% of global EV exports — up from 4.2% in 2018.
Despite negative headlines throughout 2023, the Chinese beat their growth target of 5% for the year.
In contrast to many Western countries, they achieved this economic growth with very low inflation.
Inflation at the end of 2023 was 3.4% in both America and Europe — in China, inflation for the year came in at -0.3%.
Considering these numbers, most people would see Yellen heading over to the Middle Kingdom to give economic advice as a hard sell.
But Yellen was undeterred.
She informed the Chinese their trade practices are too aggressive and their products too cheap.
While this may be true, the alternative advice she gave them was a stretch too far: Yellen said they should embrace Bidenomics.
America’s treasury secretary told the Chinese Communists they should focus less on their competitiveness and engage in more government expenditure to generate economic growth.
News reports suggest Yellen even tried to sell the Chinese on stimulus checks — or “stimmies,” as they came to be known during the pandemic.
This is very strange advice, as the Biden “stimmie” program is now widely thought to be the first in a series of policy blunders that led to the outburst of inflation that’s made the president so unpopular.
Put yourself in the shoes of the Chinese here: Yellen’s Treasury has created a cost-of-living crisis in America, and now she wants to Chinese to sign on to her funny-money program.
It was only a decade ago that the so-called Washington Consensus encouraged other countries to embrace free-market economics and improve their competitiveness.
Now Yellen and the gang are traveling the world trying to sell the economic equivalent of magic beans.
No doubt there are problems with China flooding Western markets with its cheap goods.
The question of how to address this is a large one, but surely the answer involves trying to recreate competitive industries in Western countries.
These countries, emerging from painful inflation, have had more than enough doses of Dr. Yellen’s Magic Money Juice.
Trying to peddle the same snake oil on the world stage is, frankly, an embarrassment to the United States, which used to pride itself on sound economic management.
Washington has decided firmly, on a bipartisan basis, that it no longer wants to rely on China for cheap imports.
Policymakers are now laser-focused on trying to bring jobs back to American shores.
This is a laudable goal, but there are better and worse ways of doing it.
Creating a carnivalesque roadshow in which the US treasury secretary travels the world promoting the same harebrained economic policies that have led to so much economic pain for the average American is not a good way to go about this.
If the Chinese had signed on for regular doses of Yellen’s snake oil, it might hobble their economy and give America the edge on the world stage.
But it’s safe to predict the Chinese will “just say no” to importing Bidenomics into Beijing.
Philip Pilkington is a macroeconomist and investment professional.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/11/opinion/y ... hingstock/
"Yellen pitches Bidenomics in Beijing — making America a laughingstock"
By Social Links for Philip Pilkington
Published April 11, 2024
Imagine your family finds your cooking so revolting, they refuse to eat it — and in response you decide it’s time to take a plate over to your neighbor’s house.
This is precisely what the Biden administration is doing with its economic platform.
It’s no secret Americans are sick of Bidenomics.
A recent Economist/YouGov survey showed 29% of voters are worried more about the economy and inflation than any other issue.
Only 22% of black Americans, 13% of Hispanics and 18% of young adults — all key would-be Biden voters — think they are better off financially than they were a year ago.
The verdict is in: Voters do not like what Joe is cooking.
Rather than reflect on these numbers, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen found herself in China this week offering a round of slops to the locals.
Although China rolled out the red carpet for Yellen in Beijing and Guangzhou, both the Chinese and the Americans ultimately saw her visit as a failure.
Looking under the hood, it’s not hard to see why.
No matter what you think about China’s trade strategies, it is obvious they are proving very successful for the Chinese.
European car manufacturers are terrified of a tsunami of cheap, newly high-quality Chinese electric vehicles about to wash over their shores.
America seems to feel the same way about Chinese EVs, having already imposed a 27.5% tariff on them.
Yet despite Western aversion to these products, they are flooding the rest of the global market.
In 2022, China itself accounted for 60% of EV purchases and provided 35% of global EV exports — up from 4.2% in 2018.
Despite negative headlines throughout 2023, the Chinese beat their growth target of 5% for the year.
In contrast to many Western countries, they achieved this economic growth with very low inflation.
Inflation at the end of 2023 was 3.4% in both America and Europe — in China, inflation for the year came in at -0.3%.
Considering these numbers, most people would see Yellen heading over to the Middle Kingdom to give economic advice as a hard sell.
But Yellen was undeterred.
She informed the Chinese their trade practices are too aggressive and their products too cheap.
While this may be true, the alternative advice she gave them was a stretch too far: Yellen said they should embrace Bidenomics.
America’s treasury secretary told the Chinese Communists they should focus less on their competitiveness and engage in more government expenditure to generate economic growth.
News reports suggest Yellen even tried to sell the Chinese on stimulus checks — or “stimmies,” as they came to be known during the pandemic.
This is very strange advice, as the Biden “stimmie” program is now widely thought to be the first in a series of policy blunders that led to the outburst of inflation that’s made the president so unpopular.
Put yourself in the shoes of the Chinese here: Yellen’s Treasury has created a cost-of-living crisis in America, and now she wants to Chinese to sign on to her funny-money program.
It was only a decade ago that the so-called Washington Consensus encouraged other countries to embrace free-market economics and improve their competitiveness.
Now Yellen and the gang are traveling the world trying to sell the economic equivalent of magic beans.
No doubt there are problems with China flooding Western markets with its cheap goods.
The question of how to address this is a large one, but surely the answer involves trying to recreate competitive industries in Western countries.
These countries, emerging from painful inflation, have had more than enough doses of Dr. Yellen’s Magic Money Juice.
Trying to peddle the same snake oil on the world stage is, frankly, an embarrassment to the United States, which used to pride itself on sound economic management.
Washington has decided firmly, on a bipartisan basis, that it no longer wants to rely on China for cheap imports.
Policymakers are now laser-focused on trying to bring jobs back to American shores.
This is a laudable goal, but there are better and worse ways of doing it.
Creating a carnivalesque roadshow in which the US treasury secretary travels the world promoting the same harebrained economic policies that have led to so much economic pain for the average American is not a good way to go about this.
If the Chinese had signed on for regular doses of Yellen’s snake oil, it might hobble their economy and give America the edge on the world stage.
But it’s safe to predict the Chinese will “just say no” to importing Bidenomics into Beijing.
Philip Pilkington is a macroeconomist and investment professional.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/11/opinion/y ... hingstock/
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"US lawmakers angry after Huawei unveils laptop with new Intel AI chip"
By Reuters
April 12, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. lawmakers on Friday criticized the Biden administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel AI chip.
The United States placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for violating Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing's technological advances.
Placement on the list means the company's suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it.
One such license, issued by the Trump administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020.
China hardliners had urged the Biden administration to revoke that license, but many grudgingly accepted that it would expire later this year and not be renewed.
Huawei's unveiling Thursday of its first AI-enabled laptop, the MateBook X Pro powered by Intel's new Core Ultra 9 processor, shocked and angered them, because it suggested to them that the Commerce Department had approved shipments of the new chip to Huawei.
“One of the greatest mysteries in Washington, DC is why the Department of Commerce continues to allow U.S. technology to be shipped to Huawei" Republican Congressman Michael Gallagher, who chairs the House of Representatives select committee on China, said in a statement to Reuters.
A source familiar with the matter said the chips were shipped under a preexisting license.
They are not covered by recent broad-cased restrictions on AI chip shipments to China, the source and another person said.
The Commerce Department and Intel declined to comment.
Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The reaction is a sign of growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to thwart Huawei's rise, nearly five years after it was added to a trade restriction list.
In August, it shocked the world with a new phone powered by a sophisticated chip manufactured by sanctioned Chinese chipmaker SMIC, becoming a symbol of China's technological resurgence despite Washington's ongoing efforts to cripple its capacity to produce advanced semiconductors.
At a Senate subcommittee hearing this week, Kevin Kurland, an export enforcement official, said Washington's restrictions on Huawei have had a "significant impact" on it access to U.S. technology.
He also stressed that the goal was not necessarily to stop Huawei from growing but to keep it from misusing U.S. technology for "malign activities."
But the remarks did little to stem frustration among Republican China hawks following the news about Huawei's new laptop.
"These approvals must stop," Republican congressman Michael McCaul said in a statement to Reuters.
"Two years ago, I was told licenses to Huawei would stop."
"Today, it doesn’t seem as though the policy has changed."
Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates
https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-l ... 024-04-12/
"US lawmakers angry after Huawei unveils laptop with new Intel AI chip"
By Reuters
April 12, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. lawmakers on Friday criticized the Biden administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel AI chip.
The United States placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for violating Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing's technological advances.
Placement on the list means the company's suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it.
One such license, issued by the Trump administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020.
China hardliners had urged the Biden administration to revoke that license, but many grudgingly accepted that it would expire later this year and not be renewed.
Huawei's unveiling Thursday of its first AI-enabled laptop, the MateBook X Pro powered by Intel's new Core Ultra 9 processor, shocked and angered them, because it suggested to them that the Commerce Department had approved shipments of the new chip to Huawei.
“One of the greatest mysteries in Washington, DC is why the Department of Commerce continues to allow U.S. technology to be shipped to Huawei" Republican Congressman Michael Gallagher, who chairs the House of Representatives select committee on China, said in a statement to Reuters.
A source familiar with the matter said the chips were shipped under a preexisting license.
They are not covered by recent broad-cased restrictions on AI chip shipments to China, the source and another person said.
The Commerce Department and Intel declined to comment.
Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The reaction is a sign of growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to thwart Huawei's rise, nearly five years after it was added to a trade restriction list.
In August, it shocked the world with a new phone powered by a sophisticated chip manufactured by sanctioned Chinese chipmaker SMIC, becoming a symbol of China's technological resurgence despite Washington's ongoing efforts to cripple its capacity to produce advanced semiconductors.
At a Senate subcommittee hearing this week, Kevin Kurland, an export enforcement official, said Washington's restrictions on Huawei have had a "significant impact" on it access to U.S. technology.
He also stressed that the goal was not necessarily to stop Huawei from growing but to keep it from misusing U.S. technology for "malign activities."
But the remarks did little to stem frustration among Republican China hawks following the news about Huawei's new laptop.
"These approvals must stop," Republican congressman Michael McCaul said in a statement to Reuters.
"Two years ago, I was told licenses to Huawei would stop."
"Today, it doesn’t seem as though the policy has changed."
Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates
https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-l ... 024-04-12/
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"US trade chief Tai says taking 'serious look' at tools to deal with China"
By David Lawder
April 16, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that the Biden administration is "taking a serious look" at U.S. trade defense tools to deal with threats posed by China's trade and economic policies, including a review of Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports.
In excerpts of testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee released ahead of a hearing on Tuesday, Tai said that China's policies were causing "dependencies and vulnerabilities in multiple sectors, harming American workers and businesses and creating real risks for our supply chains."
"This is why we are taking a serious look at how our existing tools are addressing this problem, including through our four-year review of the China Section 301 tariffs," Tai said.
Tai's testimony on the Biden administration's 2024 trade agenda comes just a week after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued a warning to Chinese leaders that their overinvestment in production capacity for electric vehicles, solar panels and other clean energy goods was threatening an unacceptable wave of exports that would hurt producers and workers in the United States and elsewhere.
Yellen on Tuesday will commence a new dialogue with Chinese officials on "balanced growth" at the Treasury, but China trade experts say her message to Beijing on excess capacity may be an initial step toward a new "Section 301" unfair trade practices investigation that could impose new tariffs on EVs, solar panels and other imports.
Former President Donald Trump used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports in 2018.
The Biden administration is now nearing completion of a lengthy review of whether to renew those duties.
Tai also will tell lawmakers that she is closely reviewing a petition from five U.S. unions to open a new Section 301 investigation into China's allegedly unfair acts, policies and practices in the maritime logistics and shipbuilding sector.
"Our economic relationship with the PRC is complex, and as the President said, we want competition with China, not conflict," Tai said in her excerpts.
A major goal of the Biden administration's work on supply chains has been aimed at reducing dependence on China and diversifying sources of supply to avoid bottlenecks like those that occurred at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tai said
"Reducing dependencies and vulnerabilities and strengthening supply chains is a major priority for USTR this year, which informs our work as part of the President’s Council on Supply Chain Resilience," Tai said.
The U.S. trade chief has put workers at the center of U.S. trade policy, seeking to build higher labor standards in trade negotiations with other countries.
She said this includes prioritizing strong labor commitments in negotiations with Kenya and Taiwan.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Michael Perry
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-trade- ... 024-04-16/
"US trade chief Tai says taking 'serious look' at tools to deal with China"
By David Lawder
April 16, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that the Biden administration is "taking a serious look" at U.S. trade defense tools to deal with threats posed by China's trade and economic policies, including a review of Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports.
In excerpts of testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee released ahead of a hearing on Tuesday, Tai said that China's policies were causing "dependencies and vulnerabilities in multiple sectors, harming American workers and businesses and creating real risks for our supply chains."
"This is why we are taking a serious look at how our existing tools are addressing this problem, including through our four-year review of the China Section 301 tariffs," Tai said.
Tai's testimony on the Biden administration's 2024 trade agenda comes just a week after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued a warning to Chinese leaders that their overinvestment in production capacity for electric vehicles, solar panels and other clean energy goods was threatening an unacceptable wave of exports that would hurt producers and workers in the United States and elsewhere.
Yellen on Tuesday will commence a new dialogue with Chinese officials on "balanced growth" at the Treasury, but China trade experts say her message to Beijing on excess capacity may be an initial step toward a new "Section 301" unfair trade practices investigation that could impose new tariffs on EVs, solar panels and other imports.
Former President Donald Trump used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports in 2018.
The Biden administration is now nearing completion of a lengthy review of whether to renew those duties.
Tai also will tell lawmakers that she is closely reviewing a petition from five U.S. unions to open a new Section 301 investigation into China's allegedly unfair acts, policies and practices in the maritime logistics and shipbuilding sector.
"Our economic relationship with the PRC is complex, and as the President said, we want competition with China, not conflict," Tai said in her excerpts.
A major goal of the Biden administration's work on supply chains has been aimed at reducing dependence on China and diversifying sources of supply to avoid bottlenecks like those that occurred at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tai said
"Reducing dependencies and vulnerabilities and strengthening supply chains is a major priority for USTR this year, which informs our work as part of the President’s Council on Supply Chain Resilience," Tai said.
The U.S. trade chief has put workers at the center of U.S. trade policy, seeking to build higher labor standards in trade negotiations with other countries.
She said this includes prioritizing strong labor commitments in negotiations with Kenya and Taiwan.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Michael Perry
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-trade- ... 024-04-16/
Re: CHINA
REUTERS
"US trade chief calls for 'decisive' action to shield EV sector from China"
By David Lawder
April 17, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. must take "decisive" action to protect electric vehicles (EVs) from subsidized Chinese competition, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday as she completes a review of Trump-era China tariffs and considers President Joe Biden's call for higher tariffs on imports of Chinese steel.
Tai told a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing that the U.S. needed to create a level playing field for U.S. workers and that Biden's call for higher "Section 301" tariffs on Chinese steel imports means that "we are in very, very advanced stages of our interagency work, and I expect that we will come to conclusion very soon."
She said that China's "anti-competitive practices," including "enormous amounts of state support," had fostered overproduction of solar panels a decade ago that devastated U.S. producers.
Tai said the U.S. was now facing a similar situation with EVs and the automotive sector, and leaving Chinese competition unchecked would cause the U.S. to lose the ability to produce those products.
"So we have to take early action, decisive action and we have to be really clear about why we're taking the action," she said.
"We are looking for a level playing field because the current playing field is not level, for all the talk about free trade."
Tai added that the current dynamics in the global EV industry is a significant factor in the Biden administration's examination of its trade tools.
USTR announced on Wednesday that it had opened a new unfair trade practices investigation into China's "acts, policies and practices" to dominate the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.
The probe, which accepts a petition from five U.S. labor unions, will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the same statute used by former President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports in 2018.
Some senators have urged Tai to use the Section 301 tariff review, launched in September 2022, to take actions to impose higher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
Tai told the panel that the completion of the review and any adjustments would be presented as a "complete package" and that she had a high degree of confidence it would be completed soon.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-04-17/
"US trade chief calls for 'decisive' action to shield EV sector from China"
By David Lawder
April 17, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. must take "decisive" action to protect electric vehicles (EVs) from subsidized Chinese competition, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday as she completes a review of Trump-era China tariffs and considers President Joe Biden's call for higher tariffs on imports of Chinese steel.
Tai told a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing that the U.S. needed to create a level playing field for U.S. workers and that Biden's call for higher "Section 301" tariffs on Chinese steel imports means that "we are in very, very advanced stages of our interagency work, and I expect that we will come to conclusion very soon."
She said that China's "anti-competitive practices," including "enormous amounts of state support," had fostered overproduction of solar panels a decade ago that devastated U.S. producers.
Tai said the U.S. was now facing a similar situation with EVs and the automotive sector, and leaving Chinese competition unchecked would cause the U.S. to lose the ability to produce those products.
"So we have to take early action, decisive action and we have to be really clear about why we're taking the action," she said.
"We are looking for a level playing field because the current playing field is not level, for all the talk about free trade."
Tai added that the current dynamics in the global EV industry is a significant factor in the Biden administration's examination of its trade tools.
USTR announced on Wednesday that it had opened a new unfair trade practices investigation into China's "acts, policies and practices" to dominate the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.
The probe, which accepts a petition from five U.S. labor unions, will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the same statute used by former President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports in 2018.
Some senators have urged Tai to use the Section 301 tariff review, launched in September 2022, to take actions to impose higher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
Tai told the panel that the completion of the review and any adjustments would be presented as a "complete package" and that she had a high degree of confidence it would be completed soon.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-04-17/