Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin welcomes more than 1,600 to Cybersecurity Summit featuring federal CISA Director

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement at the opening of his Cybersecurity Summit at the Statehouse Convention Center in cooperation with the FORGE Institute and featuring the Director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Jen Easterly:

“You don’t have to look far to understand why cybersecurity matters. Look on the front page of today’s newspaper about China hacking three American telecom companies. Today, so much of our life is connected to each other: government, individuals, businesses, for example. I don’t think anyone can question the need for cybersecurity now.

“There are a lot of people out there who want to do you harm. Some are individuals that aren’t that smart and will get caught quickly. Some of them are highly sophisticated entities—such as criminal cartels—that want to do you harm. Some of them are aggressive nation-state actors, including China, Russia and Iran. If you have a home computer and a printer, and it’s connected to the Internet, you need to be cyber-secure. If you’re a big company or a small company, you need to be cyber-secure.

“When it comes to cybersecurity, we are only as strong as our weakest link. Success on this front requires a collective defense built on cooperation and collaboration.”

In addition to the opening chat between Griffin and Easterly about the role of CISA and tools being provided to Arkansas, speakers on the first day of the two-day summit included Congressman French Hill (AR-02), member of the House Intelligence Committee; Senator Tom Cotton (AR), member of the Senate Intelligence Committee; and Lee Watson, founder of the FORGE Institute. Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-01) will be the opening speaker on the second day of the summit on October 8.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin at 2024 Cybersecurity Summit in Little Rock, AR

Cotton, Rubio, Hawley introduce legislation to end permanent normal trade relations with China

Senator Tom Cotton

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) today introduced The Neither Permanent Nor Normal Trade Relations Act to end Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China.

“China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations status has enriched the Chinese Communist Party while costing the United States millions of jobs. This comprehensive repeal of China’s PNTR status and reform of the U.S.-China trade relationship will protect American workers, enhance our national security, and end the Chinese Communists’ leverage over our economy,” said Senator Cotton.

Senator Marco Rubio

“Giving Communist China the same trade benefits that we give to our greatest allies was one of the most catastrophic decisions that our country has ever made. Our country’s trade deficit with China more than quadrupled, and we exported millions of American jobs. Ending normal trade relations with China is a no-brainer,” said Senator Rubio.

Senator Josh Hawley

“More than two decades ago, Washington elites granted China most favored nation trading status, enabling Beijing to exploit our working class. Congress must revoke this sweetheart deal to protect American workers from our greatest adversary and to bring back the millions of manufacturing jobs shipped overseas,” said Senator Josh Hawley.

Text of the bill may be found here.

The Neither Permanent Nor Normal Trade Relations Act would:

• End PNTR for China.

• Phase-in tariffs for Chinese products over five years, including 100% tariffs for goods determined to be important to national security. 

• Empower the President to create supplementary quotas and tariffs to phase out Chinese imports and to institute overriding bans on specific Chinese goods.

• End de minimis treatment for covered nations—including China—and require customs brokers for other de minimis shipments.

• The revenue produced will go towards farmers and manufacturers injured by potential Chinese retaliation, the purchase of key munitions important to a Pacific conflict, and paying down the debt.

Representative French Hill's bill to expose financial corruption of China's leaders passes house

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. French Hill (AR-02) today released the following statement after his bill, H.R. 554 - Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, passed the House. If China takes hostile military action against Taiwan, this bill would expose the financial corruption of China’s top leaders and their families.

“As we have seen in current conflicts around the world, deterring our foreign adversaries from taking further aggressive steps on the world stage is crucial to enhance global stability and strengthen America’s national security. Under Speaker Johnson’s leadership, many of these bills we are voting on in the House this week do just that.

“I applaud the passage of my bipartisan bill to expose the financial corruption of top Chinese leaders and their families triggered should China dare to utilize military force to take control of Taiwan and am pleased my bill is one step closer to becoming law. We must demonstrate unified strength in curbing Chinese aggression and thereby safeguarding our strategic interests and those of our allies.”

Further Background:

H.R. 554 - Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act: Rep. Hill's legislation would require public disclosure of the financial assets of top Chinese leaders in the event that China invades Taiwan.  

Walmart sells $3.7 billion stake in JD.com

by Kim Souza (ksouza@talkbusiness.net)

Walmart sent a signal that it’s reducing investments in China by selling 144.5 million shares of JD.com, which totaled about $3.7 billion. The trade happened Wednesday, ending the retail giant’s eight-year partnership.

The world has changed since Walmart first took a stake in China’s e-commerce platform JD.com in 2016. Walmart ramped up its ownership to 10% as it sought to grow its retail business inside China. Since that time, China has experienced a volatile economy, slower consumption patterns, and a prolonged shutdown from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Walmart said divesting the JD shares indicates the company plans to focus on Walmart China, Sam’s Club, and allocate funds to other priorities. Walmart execs have said the Sam’s Club format is performing well in China for online and physical sales. Market analysts estimate Sam’s Club achieved a compounded annual growth rate of around 30% in the past three years. Sam’s Club China posted annual sales of $11.1 billion (US) in 2023. More than 50% of Sam’s Club orders in China came from online.

Walmart sells $3.7 billion stake in JD.com

Attorney General investigating Fort Smith company for potential China connections

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

An investigation is underway on 4811 S. Zero Street LLC, in Fort Smith, a company state officials suspect has connections to Chinese foreign nationals who may want to be near the foreign military pilot training center at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in the city.

Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward sent a letter dated July 23 to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin asking him to investigate the company which was created June 14, with the incorporator being Pei-Te Lin. The company’s agent address is 300 S. Spring St., in Little Rock.

The building at 4811 S. Zero St., is the former Trane manufacturing plant that closed in 2017 and was recently sold in an auction. The building and property sold for $5 million, according to Sebastian County Assessor Zach Johnson.

Attorney General investigating Fort Smith company for potential China connections

Former Trane manufacturing plant at 4811 S.Zero St., in Fort Smith.

U.S Rep. Rick Crawford said he is optimistic about steel agreement between the U.S, Mexico

KUAR | By Ronak Patel

Last week, the United States and Mexico reached a deal to address China’s ability to evade tariffs that were created to protect North American products that are made with steel, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, said the agreement is a way to enforce existing tariffs, according to the Associated Press.

“The president [Biden] is taking action to close loopholes left by his predecessor [Trump] that allowed China to circumvent trade rules,” she said.

U.S Rep. Rick Crawford said he is optimistic about steel agreement between the U.S, Mexico

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AUDIO: Governor Hutchinson’s Weekly Address | Enriching Lives with Arkansas Rice

LITTLE ROCK – September is National Rice Month, Arkansas produces more rice than any other state, and an Arkansas family farm recently sold their rice to China, the first shipment from an Arkansas grower ever. Today, I’d like to talk about ... rice.

We’ll start with rice by the numbers. Arkansas produces more than 48 percent of the rice grown in the United States. Arkansas’s No. 1 agricultural export is rice, which is valued at $722 million. Rice grows in more than 40 counties in Arkansas, with Arkansas County growing the most rice in the state. Arkansas has 1,877 rice farms, and 97 percent of those farms are family owned and operated. In 2021, Arkansas farmers grew approximately 1.2 million acres of rice with an estimated yield of 167 bushels per acre. That is a lot of rice.

Arkansas produces predominately a long-grain rice on 1.1 million acres, but we also produce a small amount of medium grain and short grain rice. And the state’s rice industry donates nearly 170,000 pounds of rice a year to the less fortunate in Arkansas, which is more than a million servings of rice.

The family from Atkins that just announced its sale of rice to China has been farming for 10 generations – from Scotland in the 1700s, to Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kansas. In 1957, Charles and Grace Ralston moved their farming to Arkansas, six years before Tim Ralston was born. Tim and his wife, Robin, now own and operate Ralston Family Farms.

For the first fifty years in Arkansas, the Ralstons raised soybeans, corn, cattle, and a few acres of rice. When the local water district made water from the Arkansas River available, the Ralstons turned to rice. Eight members of the family – from 25 years old to 58 – work the farm, where they do everything from planting to milling to packaging and distributing their rice. Last year, they raised 4,000 acres or rice, and their ability to track their rice from planting to the shipping appeals to the Chinese grocery distributor who bought the Ralston rice in July. Their first commercial shipment to China was 20 metric tons of long grain rice, which arrived in July, and a second shipment is  en route.

As of today, about 20 percent of the Ralstons’ crop is in, and they expect to complete the harvest in early October. The Ralstons’ rice is sold in every state and in about 6,000 stores. They eat rice at least once a day, and at church potlucks, everyone knows there will be at least one rice dish on the table.

The Ralstons embody the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that has fueled so many companies in Arkansas. They saw a need and an opportunity, and this year they made history by selling their product to China.

The Ralstons’ rice is more than a commodity, and growing rice is more than a job. When they exported that first shipment to China in July, they were shipping a piece of their heart and their heritage. The rice raised in the Arkansas soil will enrich lives in China, and perhaps shrink the distance between our nations and our cultures. Everybody loves rice, and it’s a good development for the state’s rice growers and the Ralstons to imagine that at a potluck supper, someone will bring a casserole made with Ralston Rice from the Natural State.

Arkansas Rice Exported to China for the First Time

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

The top U.S. rice producing state has for the first time exported rice to China, the largest global rice importing country. Tim and Robin Ralston of Atkins-based Ralston Family Farms, announced the shipment Tuesday (Sept. 14). Gov. Asa Hutchinson is slated to visit the farm later this week.

Through a contract with a private importer in China, the first shipment of rice from Ralston Family Farms arrived in China in late July 2021. A second shipment is being scheduled with future shipments planned on regular intervals to meet demand. The rice will be sold on the retail market under the label of Ralston Family Farms.

“The Ralstons’ rice is more than a commodity, and growing rice is more than a job for the family. Rice has been part of their lives for 10 generations, and when they exported their first shipment to China in July, they were shipping a piece of their heart and their heritage. The rice raised in the Arkansas soil will enrich lives in China, and perhaps shrink the distance between our nations and our cultures. Everybody loves rice, and it’s a good development for Arkansas and the Ralstons that the people across the ocean will have our rice to enjoy,” said Gov. Hutchinson.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/09/arkansas-rice-exported-to-china-for-the-first-time/