WTO ‘National Security’ Ruling Meets Trump

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 3/30/2019 07:36:00 PM
From Crimea to America: considering the plight of "national security" trade barriers. Here's a heads-up for everyone; over the next few days, the World Trade Organization is expected to rule over Russia hitting the Ukraine with trade sanctions on "national security" grounds [DS512]. In the past, such claims were considered unquestionable by the WTO. However, the expectation now is that the WTO will rule against Russia and in favor of the Ukraine. You should be asking by now, "What do Russia-Ukraine 'national security' dust-ups have to do with the United States?" Well, it sets a precedent for the WTO proceeding with cases...
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Grindr, a US National Security Threat

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 3/27/2019 04:07:00 PM
Fat, old guys like Trump and Xi need not apply on Grindr, but their geopolitics still shape the app's governance. Never let it be said that American protectionism was always staid. As it turns out, the Committee On Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is now forcing the divestment of the gay dating app Grindr by its Chinese owners who bought the service in 2016. It may sound strange, but it's true: gay bureaucrats on Grindr appear to be a security concern since they may disclose too much about their employment to boys they meet [hunky PRC spy guys, mayhaps?] in this Chinese-owned digital playground: Chinese...
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Will Boeing's 737 Ground US-China Trade Talks?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 3/20/2019 05:19:00 PM
The only thing being "maxed" around here are US-China trade tensions. It's a major embarrassment for the mainstay product of the United States' largest exporter of manufactures to be grounded worldwide. Remember, though, that Chinese aviation authorities were among the first to do so. Boeing's workhorse model, the 737, has had teething problems with the rollout of its latest edition, the Max 8 and 9. Worse still, the two recent crashes of the plane appear to have been caused by similar factors, shifting the likelihood of blame away from pilot error to the software of the plane. Now, we learn that not only is the Boeing...
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Did PRC Cave In to Trump on Knowledge Transfer?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 3/15/2019 12:20:00 PM
All hail great American leader Trump! Sort of. One of the main grievances the United States has had about Chinese trade practices concerns requiring knowledge transfer to domestic firms. To Westerners, such provisions are increasingly questionable intrusions on their intellectual property rights at a time when PRC firms are not so far behind their developed-world counterparts or even surpass their knowledge in certain respects like in 5G. It is certainly up for debate whether China or the United States is being hurt the most amid Trump's ongoing tariff-slapping frenzy, but that the Chinese are eager to have these tariffs...
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Did US Win Big Over PRC Ag @ WTO?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 3/12/2019 02:31:00 PM
There was actually a  (pre-Trump) time when the "WTO court" actually functioned. But no longer. In case you missed it, the WTO recently ruled against Chinese agricultural subsidies that the United States complained about. Note this case, DS511, predates the Trump administration and was originally during that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. Given that China is a huge market for foodstuffs--they need to feed 1.4 billion folks--it's a pretty big deal for those who hope to export agricultural products to China. Unbeknownst to most of the rest of us, China is by now actually the biggest agricultural subsidizer of them...
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Techlash: Huawei Strikes Back at Canada, US

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 3/04/2019 02:37:00 PM
I suppose the headlines Huawei garners is related to what's at stake with 5G coming into wider commercial use. Will China be able to capitalize on its little-doubted technical advantage in 5G, or will the US be able to negate this advantage by getting its allies to boycott PC 5G gear over "security" concerns? Previously we talked about its attempts to use soft power--gaining influence not through the use of coercion but rather through attraction. Apparently, though, there are limits to the Huawei folks' patience with trying to win friends and influence people. Not having been very successful swaying North American (US and...
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