The U.S. and UK Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will see them work together to develop tests for the most advanced AI models, following through on commitments made at the AI Safety Summit last November. Signed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and UK Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan, the partnership will see both countries working to align their scientific approaches and working closely to accelerate and rapidly iterate robust suites of evaluations for AI models, systems, and agents.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $68.9 billion in February, up $1.3 billion from $67.6 billion in January, revised. February exports were $263.0 billion, $5.8 billion more than January exports. February imports were $331.9 billion, $7.1 billion more than January imports.
The Treasury Department announced it is targeting a network facilitating shipments valued in the hundreds of millions for the Iranian military. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced additional action against Iranian military revenue generation, targeting Oceanlink Maritime DMCC for facilitating the shipment of Iranian commodities on behalf of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
Doha agriculture negotiations Chair Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy of Türkiye is hoping to jumpstart stalled negotiations in agriculture later this month, following the failure to reach any agreement on agriculture at the just concluded World Trade Organization’s 13th ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi.
It is premature to declare Nippon Steel's bid to buy US Steel dead,, despite election year politics driving acerbic scrutiny from Labor and legislators. Tuesday, the United Steelworkers scoffed at Nippon Steel's overtures to the union, calling them "nothing more than another collection of empty promises and open-ended language that would enable it to skirt obligations to workers and retirees."
President Biden raised concerns about China’s unfair trade and non-market economic practices in a phone call Tuesday with Chinese President Xi. It was the first time the two leaders have spoken directly since last November. The telephone conversation came on the same day it was announced that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be leaving for a visit to Beijing beginning today.
Statement Initiative (JSI) on electronic commerce have released a draft chair’s text described as "toothless" for its exclusion of disciplines on cross-border data flows, server localization, and source code. This effort aims to forge an agreement before the European summer break, according to individuals close to the negotiations. The draft text was disseminated by Australia, Japan, and Singapore.
The leaders of the House Select Committee on China are warning that a Chinese military company, BGI, is attempting to set up a new firm, Innomics, in Massachusetts and Kentucky, to avoid US regulatory scrutiny. In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) and ranking Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill) urged the Pentagon to label Chinese companies that aid the Chinese Communist Party in military biotech research as “Chinese Military Companies.”
The EU, the US, and other Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) partners, joined by Kazakhstan, Namibia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, announced the launch of the Minerals Security Partnership Forum – or “MSP Forum”. The forum will serve as a new platform for cooperation in the area of critical raw materials (CRMs) vital for the global green and digital transitions.
The EU and the United States held the sixth meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Leuven, Belgium. Building on prior gatherings, the ministerial continued to polish areas of common interest, while softpedaling longstanding areas of disagreement. Responding to a question about the effectiveness of the TTC, Ms. Raimondo pushed back: “Look at where the US and the EU were three years ago with respect to our collaboration on issues of technology and trade. It's it's nearly night and day."
Commerce's BIS extended the Temporary Denial Order for Russian air cargo operator Aviastar-TU initially imposed in April 2022. Aviastar has continued to engage in conduct prohibited by the TDO and Regulations, including, but not limited to, on flights into and out of Russia from/to Hangzhou, China as well as domestically within Russia.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is launching an enhanced strategy to combat illicit trade and support the American textile industry, with collaborative efforts between U.S. Customs and …
Wednesday, the United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at Minera Tizapa S.A. de C.V., a zinc mine Zacazonapan, Mexico, are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The US has suspended liquidation of tariffs on goods from the facility, a venture of of Industrias Peñoles and Japan's Sumitomo Corp. and Dowa Metals & Mining. Zinc concentrates produced at Tizapa are sent to Japan for processing. Earlier in the week the US asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Servicios Industriales González, S.A. de C.V. facility, a major metal fabricatorand supplier for Caterpillar, John Deere and Komatsu are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The United States has suspended liquidation on unliquidated entries of goods from the facility.
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today released the 2024 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report), which provides a comprehensive review of significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce in key export markets for the United States. Some controversy arose as the list of offending countries has been pared. “The NTE Report has received unprecedented attention this year because we are taking steps to return it to its stated statutory purpose," said Ambassador Tai in explaining the changes.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has opened the application period for the following 2024-2025 committees and councils: Advisory Committee, Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory …
In light of what seems to be an impending sense of defeatism and waning interest in the World Trade Organization (WTO) as it approaches its 30th anniversary at the end of December, India has advocated for the prioritization of discussions on “cross-cutting, real-life trade issues” that disproportionately affect developing countries, according to individuals familiar with the discussions.
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son urged the United States to recognize Vietnam as a market economy, arguing that the country could become an important part of US supply chains in the region. Vietnam has been pressing Washington to remove its current non-market economy status, which puts it in the same league as China and can leader to high tariffs in trade remedy cases.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen came down hard on China last week, warning that Beijing is dumping clean energy products on the global market, bringing down prices and threatening the Administration’s effort to promote green manufacturing. “I am concerned about global spillovers from the excess capacity that we are seeing in China,” Ms. Yellen said in a speech while visiting US solar company Suniva in Georgia.
Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security has published an updated version of “Don’t Let This Happen to You ," a compendium of case examples highlighting their criminal and administrative enforcement efforts.
On March 26, the United States hosted the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) bilateral Enhanced Disruption Task Force (EDTF), which is being established to counter illicit efforts by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to circumvent sanctions concerning the procurement of refined petroleum. Through EDTF, the United States and ROK are pursuing a wide range of joint actions to disrupt DPRK refined oil procurement networks, including by exposing DPRK sanctions evasion activities, reviewing options for autonomous sanctions designations, and engaging private sector and third-party actors throughout the region who facilitate – either knowingly or unwittingly – the DPRK’s oil procurement networks.
