China

As China's exports continue to strengthen, the Chinese government will have the necessary political cover to begin to allow the renminbi (RMB) to appreciate in 2010, though that may not have an influence on the bilateral trade deficit with the United States, two China experts predicted Wednesday (Feb. 17).

President Barack Obama said in Feb. 3 remarks that he is seeking a “reciprocal” trade relationship with China and promised to step up enforcement of China's trade obligations and fight for currency rates that do not artificially depress the price of foreign goods.

In the wake of the threat from Google earlier this month to leave China following attacks on the company's systems originating from China, the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), of which Google is a member, is urging the Obama administration to use existing trade enforcement tools to combat Internet censorship.

In a move likely to unsettle bilateral trade relations, Taiwan's legislature this week banned the importation of certain cuts of U.S. beef, prompting outrage from U.S. executive and legislative branch officials who had earlier backed a negotiated deal aimed at liberalizing Taiwan's imports of U.S. beef.

A WTO Appellate Body panel ruled this week that China may use the general exceptions found in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), such as those justifying actions necessary to protect public morals, to justify breaking commitments in its Protocol of Accession when there is a clear link between the two documents. The ruling came as the panel resoundingly rejected the merits of a Chinese appeal in the dispute brought by the United States over market access for certain intellectual property intensive goods such as DVDs, music, and films for theatrical release.

The U.S. and China have settled a fight over a Chinese policy initiative that subsidized companies designated as top exporters of famous brands products after China supplied the U.S. with evidence that all of the objectionable measures had been repealed, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced today (Dec. 18).

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) last week urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to address the imbalances in China's economic relationship with the United States, which he said cause many Americans to question the efficacy of U.S. trade policy.

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Timothy Stratford will leave the Obama administration and return to the private sector around late January, 2010, a U.S. trade official said yesterday (Dec. 15).

GENEVA -- A senior Chinese official this week strongly criticized as ineffective and counterproductive to the multilateral Doha round negotiations a U.S. effort to extract more market access concessions from key countries in bilateral meetings.