China

When Mark Lewis walked into the Pentagon in late 2019, he thought his most important job as a leading research official would be overseeing the development of new, high-speed missiles.

Two Republican lawmakers from Wisconsin on Wednesday sent U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai a list of questions about the Section 301 tariff exclusion process that they say former USTR Robert Lighthizer failed to adequately answer before leaving office.

The Biden administration will maintain the previous administration’s determination that Hong Kong should no longer receive special treatment from the U.S., Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Wednesday, arguing that China has restricted the autonomy of Hong Kong.

Chinese government agencies this week issued a series of preferential policies, including tariff cuts and tax exemptions, for its semiconductor industry as part of China’s broader initiative to shore up domestic manufacturing of high-tech products.

China still “has work to do” on intellectual property rights protection improvements mandated under its phase-one trade deal with the U.S., the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says in its annual National Trade Estimate, an exhaustive list of concerns about trade barriers worldwide.

Congress and the administration should start working now to renew Trade Promotion Authority so the U.S. is able to pursue future trade goals, such as concluding negotiations with the United Kingdom, opening new markets in Africa and potentially even rejoining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Tuesday.

A Federal Register notice published Monday announced a thirty-day public comment period for the licensing procedure.