Asia

China’s Ministry of Commerce on Thursday claimed the Federal Communications Commission is discriminating against Chinese state-owned telecommunications companies by demanding that four prove they are not influenced by China’s government if they want to keep their operating licenses.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has for the first time included the foreign operations of a U.S. company, Amazon, on its annual list of “notorious markets for counterfeiting and piracy.”

“The speculative statements that form the basis of the DOJ Statement are simply conjecture and are not supported by the facts.”

The U.S. International Trade Commission should consider the effect that duties on imported mattresses could have on hospitals and consumers -- and the possibility the domestic industry might not be able to supply a burgeoning demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Justice Department said in a “statement of interest” filed last week.

The coronavirus pandemic has depressed Chinese demand for U.S. services and energy products, putting Beijing in further jeopardy of failing to meet purchasing commitments in its phase-one trade deal with the U.S., according to analysts and researchers.

“Today’s ITC vote means that almost all manufacturers that import from China will face final combined AD/CVD cash deposit rates of about 59%,” the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance said in a statement.

Vietnam recently committed to buying $3 billion of U.S. farm goods.

“Any slowdown in manufacturing in one part of the world will have a ripple effect in economic activity across the globe because of regional and global value chains.”

The lack of a functioning Appellate Body led to the suspension of a World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body meeting on Friday, as the Philippines seeks the right to retaliate against Thailand while the latter appeals -- the type of scenario many said was inevitable given the paralysis of the body.