October 2019 Trade Bulletin

Highlights of This Month’s Edition: 

• Bilateral trade: The U.S. trade deficit in goods with China totaled $31.7 billion in August, down 17.6 percent year-on-year; U.S. exports rose to a five-month high.
• Bilateral policy issues: Members of Congress are scrutinizing risks posed by Chinese companies on U.S. exchanges and in federal retirement plans; the Trump Administration is rumored to be assessing similar risks; the U.S. Department of the Treasury published proposed regulations implementing FIRRMA’s expansions of CFIUS’s jurisdiction.
• Policy trends in China’s economy: China’s Corporate Social Credit System, while still in the early stages of development, could pose significant compliance risks for U.S. companies and add to the Chinese government’s geopolitical toolkit; Beijing removes foreign institutional investment quotas and grants first foreign payments license in latest financial opening moves.
• In focus – China’s pork supply: U.S. pork exports to China rose this year despite tariffs in response to falling hog populations devastated by African swine fever; China’s tariff exceptions announced on September 13 included pork and pig feed ingredients; China’s government forecasts pork supplies will continue to be strained into the first half of 2020.