A few days ago, CGTN interviewed Dentons Beijing senior partner Kevin (Kaiming) Cai and partner Jason (Lei) Sun for their comments on the hot topic of the US-China trade war – the Section 232 and Section 301 investigation hearings.
On July 19, 2018, the US Department of Commerce held a Section 232 national security investigation of imports of automobiles and automotive parts hearing in Washington, DC. As the Chinese legal advisor for the China Chamber of International Commerce, Dentons responded to this investigation on behalf of the Chinese automobiles and automotive parts industry.
From July 24 to 25, Dentons lawyers participated in the hearing of the Section 301 investigation.
On July 29, CGTN interviewed the two Dentons lawyers that participated in both hearings, Mr. Cai and Mr. Sun, for their comments on the hearings and the related issues. The program was broadcasted on CGTN at 11pm on the same day.
Kevin Cai, senior partner of Dentons
Jason Sun, partner of Dentons
Mr. Cai said, "Most of the witnesses were urging for the termination of the 232 investigation". Of the 44 witnesses at the hearing, 43 opposed the 232 investigation. In addition, on the eve of the hearing, more than 140 US congressmen expressed concern about the potential negative impact of the investigation on their letters to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.
"We have also observed the differential treatment of the US officials towards Chinese and American companies at the hearings", Mr. Cai said. Since only a few Chinese companies have participated in the hearing, it is difficult to compare the characteristics of the testimony of American companies and Chinese companies. However, it is apparent that the US officials responded to the US witnesses with more empathy and understanding and US testimony is more persuasive to the US officials.
On July 19, Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Automobiles and Automotive Parts hearing was held in Washington, DC
Threatening to investigate and impose tariffs is a tired tactic for the US. Using 301 investigation as a bargaining chip to get China to bend to its will can be traced back to the 1990s. However, over time, threats remained threats. But it may change now.
In this regard, Mr. Sun believed that the time was different and China has become so big. The US has begun to feel a real threat from China, so it has started taking practical actions. "For the 232 case, we might be more optimistic, because it's not targeted directly at China. But for the 301 case, we need to be prepared to accept an environment where there are lots of tariffs on us," Mr. Sun said.
Reportedly, the second round of public hearings of the 301 investigation has ended and the second list will be released soon.
Dentons International Trade team will continue to provide legal support to the China Chamber of International Commerce on the Section 232 investigation, and fully uphold the interests of the Chinese automobiles and automotive parts enterprises in trade with the United States.