China decided to defer sanctions on five U.S. subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean for one year under an agreement to refrain from escalating the trade war with the United States.
China's Ministry of Commerce said on the 10th that the United States has suspended for one year, starting Nov. 10, the implementation of Section 301 (of the trade law) investigative measures against China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries, and that it would defer for one year sanctions on five U.S.-based subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean.
Earlier, on the 14th, China placed five U.S.-based subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean on a sanctions list banning transactions with Chinese corporations, saying it was because they cooperated with and supported the U.S. government's "Section 301 investigation on China trade," harming China's sovereignty, security, and interests.
Those sanctioned are Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., Hanwha Shipping LLC, Hanwha Ocean USA International LLC, Hanwha Shipping Holdings LLC, and HS USA Holdings Corp. These corporations are subsidiaries created by Hanwha Group to build ships in the United States and enter the local shipbuilding market.
However, at the U.S.-China summit held in Busan on the 30th, the leaders of the two countries agreed to refrain from escalating the trade war, and after the United States decided to defer for one year the control measures it had previewed against China's shipping, logistics, and shipbuilding industries based on the Section 301 investigation of the trade law, China announced corresponding measures.