The Marshall Plan: Trade Insights

E-Commerce as a Trade War Shelter? USTR’s ‘List 4’; a New Chinese Company on the US Entity List

Welcome back to the Marshall Plan: Trade Insights podcast, I’m William Marshall, today is Thursday, 15 August This week I want to do a deep dive into a safe harbour in the US-China trade war, which is retail e-commerce but before that, let’s talk about some important news to update you on: (1) obviously the US trade representative's new $300 billion trade action or the so-called list 4 has been promulgated; (2) a new pilot free-trade area within the Shanghai free-trade zone announced by the Chinese State Council; (3) heightened enforcement in Vietnam of made in Vietnam claims and an increased circumvention enforcement from the United States; (4) the actual signing of the removal of South Korea from Japan's export white list which will come into effect later this month; and (5) the addition of another Chinese entity to another Chinese state-owned company to the US entity list effective 13 August. So let's get into...

Decoding Origin, Currency Manipulation, and More Trade Developments

Welcome back to the Marshall Plan podcast where I aim to make international trade developments tangible and practical. Today is Thursday, 8 August. This week I want to do a little bit of a deep dive into the rules of origin and also bring you some of the latest developments over the last week of significance and and perhaps talk about what they mean to you: President Trump tweeting about a list 4 for section 301 tariffs against China, the US officially naming China a currency manipulator, the new developments in the Japan and Korea trade dispute and the interim final rule banning US Federal Government procurement from Huawei, ZTE and certain other Chinese telecom or electronics companies. Let's get into it...

The Trade Deficit is Fake News and a Quick List of Real Trade News

Hi everybody Thursday, 1 August this week I want to do a little bit of a deep dive into the trade deficit why I think it's a distorted number and how customs valuation will help unlock the secrets to understanding it. First let's do a bit of Roundup of trade news: (1) China US trade negotiations in Shanghai what may come out of it (2) No Deal brexit? what does that mean? (3) the US policy paper on the developing country status at the WTO; (4) Japan - Korea trade dispute and (5) the exclusion process in China to exclude US origin items from China's retaliatory duty in the ongoing trade dispute.  Let's get into it    This is going to be the format that I try to follow going forward.  We had a couple of unique episodes this week mostly because of the Hong Kong protests which I think are important for people to understand and also that the US China trade negotiations resumed earlier this week but ordinarily I'm just gonna be doing one weekly episode, I'll be giving you some important or key trade news updates and I'll do a short deeper dive into one particular topic. So hopefully you found the news update useful or practical again I'm gonna try to put these links to the sources if you're interested into the show notes.  If i'm not able to do that successfully or as quickly as you like, feel free to email me and i'm happy to share the links Show links 1.) US-China Trade Talks End With No Deal in Sight [https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/business/economy/us-china-trade-talks.html&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTI0MjA5NTk3NjMxNDcyMDc4NjcyGjA0NjM5Y2Q4NGNiZjQ5MGE6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNEZ4Qc1oCQ10ZPfyLKzOIZ2ByKQOQ]  2.) No-Deal Brexit 'Up To The EU' Says Boris Johnson But Is Brussels ... [https://www.forbes.com/sites/pascaledavies/2019/07/31/no-deal-brexit-up-to-the-eu-says-boris-johnson-but-is-brussels-ready/]  3.)  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/memorandum-reforming-developing-country-status-world-trade-organization/ [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/memorandum-reforming-developing-country-status-world-trade-organization/]  4.)  https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2019/0701_001.html [https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2019/0701_001.html]

BONUS: What to Expect from US-China Trade Negotiations in Shanghai

I won’t normally release so many episodes so quickly, but with negotiations set to re-start tomorrow and lots of confusion remaining, I thought I’d add some background to help in understanding the issues. As the US trade negotiators arrive in Shanghai for the re-start of negotiations, do we expect a positive outcome or an eminent resolution? NOPE! In this episode, we review the status of the trade dispute between the US and China, what the outstanding issues are, what has China attempted to do to resolve its end, and whether there is any common ground between the parties to form a base for an agreement. We will examine the new foreign investment law, the draft commercial encryption law, and the draft export control law from China and how they may affect the outstanding issues in the trade war.

Hong Kong Protests and the US-China Trade War

In this, my first podcast episode, I try explain the connection between the Hong Kong protests and the US-China trade war. People accuse me of finding a connection to trade in everything, but I hope after this short episode, you will look at the news from Hong Kong in a new light. I am proud to introduce you to The Marshall Plan. With this series, I want to provide a place where you can learn about the latest trade developments, hear a deeper discussion of the issues and implications, gain an understanding of what it means as a practical matter, and provide some food for thought on what to do for your business. There is so much news coming at us daily regarding trade wars and tariff measures. The US-China trade war, US-France, Japan-Korea, Section 301 tariffs, and more. Businesses large and small do not fully understand what’s coming at them and do not know how to plan to survive and thrive in the midst of such apparent chaos. I am the host, and my name is William Marshall, hence the name of the show. I I am an international trade lawyer practicing in Hong Kong. I am a partner at Tiang & Partners, in association with PwC Legal International and am qualified in Hong Kong and the US State of New York.