Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Says Huawei Arrest Has Nothing to Do with Trade
*By Justin Chermol and Carlo Versano*
The arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was an "enforcement action, not a trade-related action," according to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
Ross told Cheddar's Megan Pratz that the arrest of Meng in Vancouver was a response to her flouting of sanctions ー and not a retaliatory strike or warning shot against a major Chinese telecom corporation. Asked by Cheddar whether Meng's charges would affect trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, he replied: "Doesn't seem to have so far."
When asked by Cheddar if China also viewed Meng's arrest as an enforcement action, Ross said: "So far, they've said that."
The arrest of the Huawei CFO occurred on December 1, the same day President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day trade truce on tariffs. Since then, the arrest has thrown a wrench into the delicate negotiations between the two world superpowers.
While Ross said the arrest should not affect trade negotiations, Trump has suggested otherwise.
In an interview with [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump/trump-says-would-intervene-in-arrest-of-chinese-executive-idUSKBN1OB01P), Trump said he would consider intervening with the U.S. Justice Department to influence the case if he thought it would help talks with China. "If I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made ... what’s good for national security – I would certainly intervene," he said.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
