In a lengthy State of the Union address, President Trump covered many issues and highlighted his administration’s achievements over the past year in claiming a “new American moment.” On international trade matters, Trump broke no new ground in reiterating his administration’s position that it will promote only “free, fair and reciprocal trade.” In his opening
Section 301 Investigations
USTR Initiates Section 301 Investigation into China’s Acts, Policies and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property and Innovation
By Thompson Hine International Trade on
Less than a week after President Trump issued a presidential memorandum directing the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to determine whether to investigate China regarding certain intellectual property and technology transfer issues, USTR Robert Lighthizer formally initiated a Section 301 investigation into the matter on August 18, 2017. In announcing the investigation, he stated that, “[a]fter…
President Trump Directs USTR to Examine China’s Intellectual Property & Forced Technology Transfer Policies
By Thompson Hine International Trade on
Asserting in a presidential memorandum that “Violations of intellectual property rights and other unfair technology transfers potentially threaten United States firms by undermining their ability to compete fairly in the global market,” President Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to investigate any of China’s laws, policies, practices or actions that may be unreasonable…