Tencent Holdings is “in the process of seeking further clarification from relevant parties in the U.S.” about President Donald Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order banning U.S. transactions with the WeChat parent company after Sept. 20 on national security grounds (see 2008070032), said Chief Financial Officer John Lo Wednesday on a quarterly investor call. “Based on our initial reading and subsequent press reports, the executive order is focused on WeChat in the United States and not our other businesses in the U.S.,” said Lo. The White House didn’t comment Thursday.

Delisting Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) shares from the New York Stock Exchange is “not the only option” if President Donald Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order takes effect barring WeChat parent Tencent Holdings from doing business in the U.S. after Sept. 20 (see 2008070032 or 2008070061), said TME Chief Strategy Officer Tony Yip on a quarterly investor call Monday. It's "premature" to comment because the July 24 report from the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets on alleged Chinese threats to U.S. national security lists “alternative" remedies to an outright ban, he said. “We are evaluating all options” to be sure that when “further policy” directives come out, “we will be acting in the best interest of our shareholders to protect long-term value,” he said. The White House didn’t comment Tuesday. The stock closed 1.2% lower Tuesday at $15.50.

Some tech merchandise of Chinese origin sent to Mexico for minimal handling and then exported to the U.S. is eligible for tariff treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, said Customs and Border Protection in a ruling Friday. Jose Fierro, an El Paso customs broker, requested the ruling less than a week after USMCA took effect July 1. The broker said a client contracted with a Mexican maquiladora final assembly facility for logistical services, and inquired if USMCA treatment would apply. Workers at the maquiladora facility will provide sorting, picking and packing services on the goods, which will be exported to the U.S. "in the same condition as they were imported into Mexico," Fierro told CBP. The goods include computing products of various sorts and a broad variety of goods, including smart speakers, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches and fitness trackers.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comment by Aug. 20 whether to extend for another year new List 4A Section 301 tariff exclusions on Chinese imports that are set to expire Sept. 1. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently, said the agency Monday. The focus will be whether, despite the first imposition of the additional duties, the particular product remains available only from China.

Australia's new digital trade agreement with Singapore is the “most ambitious digital trade rules” Australia has ever negotiated, that government said. The deal includes provisions on e-commerce and is expected to make it “easier for [Australian] exporters to do business,” Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said: It will help Australian companies “reach more customers and further tap into the Singaporean market.” The pact will cut costs for Singapore companies exporting to Australia, Singapore said.

U.S. export controls on Chinese technology will increasingly affect post-secondary schools, the Hinrich Foundation reported. It said higher education, which struggles with insufficient government export control guidance, should prepare for increased controls on software and networks. “New measures will fundamentally change how universities enter into collaborative research partnerships, hire faculty and admit foreign students,” the foundation said Wednesday. Recommendations included “risk-management measures” to address the U.S.-China technology race. U.S. post-secondary institutions want clarity and education from their government on following existing intellectual property, export control, licensing and related technology rules and laws, said Association of American Colleges and Universities President Lynn Pasquerella in an interview Thursday. She said schools don't want more regulations, since they follow best practices and the export control regime affecting IP has been around for many years. Her stakeholders need to collaborate with counterparts from elsewhere, including China, so U.S. curbs on such activities are harmful, the association head said: "The impact of the current policies on higher education will have a negative effect in terms of research, in terms of equity and diversity. And I would hope this would be different with a different administration." Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidance under the Trump administration, though partly rolled back, would still prevent some collaboration online with international students, Pasquerella noted. She estimated some 1.1 million post-secondary students in the U.S. are from other countries, or 5.5% of the entire student population, generating $47 billion in tuition revenue. China's embassy in Washington and the White House didn't comment Thursday.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs began an interagency review of a Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security pre-rule to pinpoint potential controls for foundational technologies. OIRA received the rule Monday. The rule faced months of delays (see 2007230044).

The Trump administration, without evidence, “stretched the concept of national security and abused its state power to bring down certain non-U.S. enterprises,” said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Tuesday. It was in reaction to President Donald Trump’s threats Monday to put TikTok out of business in the U.S. if it’s not sold to an American company by Sept. 15. The threats are “a blatant act of bullying,” which China “firmly opposes,” said the spokesperson. If Trump follows through, “then any country can take similar measures against any U.S. company on the grounds of national security,” he said: “The U.S. must not open Pandora's box, or it will suffer the consequences.” Trump told reporters Tuesday he had a “great conversation” with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (see 2008030027), in which he told Nadella that China can’t control such a large company for “security reasons.” He suggested Microsoft buy the entire company, not just 30%, because the brand is “hot.” U.S. Treasury deserves a “substantial" cut of the money exchanged in any deal because the federal government is allowing the negotiations to continue, said Trump. Banning TikTok would be unfair to users, the Open Markets Institute said in a statement Tuesday, but it supports the sale to a U.S.-owned company.

Trump administration threats to act against Chinese software companies run “counter” to World Trade Organization “principles of openness, fairness, transparency and non-discrimination,” said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Monday. “China firmly opposes that.” He urged the U.S. to “stop politicizing economic and trade issues" and practicing "discriminatory" policies "in the name of national security.” The “countless” Chinese software companies doing business in the U.S. are “feeding data directly” to China’s “national security apparatus,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News Sunday: President Donald Trump “will take action in the coming days with respect to a broad array of national security risks that are presented by software connected to the Chinese Communist Party.” TikTok is being eyed by the administration (see 2008030027).

The Rural Wireless Association supported its “hybrid” four-phase approach for 5G Fund, in which the first $1.5 billion would be paid out quickly to carriers with 500,000 or fewer subscribers receiving legacy support (see 2006260057), in a meeting with FCC Office of Economics and Analytics staff. The approach “could allow faster deployment of 5G in areas where no 5G exists or is likely to exist (absent support),” RWA said in a filing posted Friday in docket 20-32.