Industrial Security leadership from Treasury, Commerce, and the DoD testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, calling for resources and legislative support as demands on their remit grow The witnesses testified in support of Defense Production Act reauthorization, continued vigilance on outbound and inbound foreign investment, and enhanced resources for trade security at BIS.
July 24 the Bureau of Industy and Security published a Final Rule formalizing the changes to the Export Administration Regulations imposed by Congress in the emergency supplemental appropriation [HR 815] signed into law April 24th. As a result of this new FDP Rule, exporters require a U.S. Government authorization for transfer of these items when produced outside the United States with certain U.S. technology, software, or production equipment when exports are destined to Iran or for use in connection with certain equipment destined to Iran, even when such items were never exported from the United States.
On July 18, 2024, the Bureau of Industry and Security published an interim final rule that revised the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). That rule inadvertently revised language related to recent changes to the Entity List. This document corrects the inadvertent revisions introduced in the July 18, 2024, rule.
Iranian national Saeid Haji Agha Mousaei, 53, made his initial appearance yesterday in Chicago federal court following his extradition from the United Kingdom to face charges for his role in a years-long conspiracy to evade U.S. export restrictions and transship advanced U.S. electronic testing technology to Iran using third-party countries. Mousaei and his co-defendants understood export restrictions on U.S.-origin goods to prohibited destinations like Iran and falsely represented to U.S. distributors that their purchases would remain in countries other than Iran, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Armenia, where the defendants controlled unnamed companies. In reality, after arranging for distributors of U.S.-origin goods to export shipments to the UAE, the defendants allegedly transshipped goods from the UAE to Iran without the required license and in violation of U.S. law.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), today released its Annual Report to Congress for calendar year 2023. The Annual Report highlights key indicators of CFIUS’s activities and provides statistics on transactions that CFIUS evaluated in 2023. For the three-year period from 2021 through 2023, investors from China filed the highest number of notices, accounting for 13.5 percent (115 notices) of total notices, followed by investors from Singapore with 8.4 percent (72 notices) and Canada with 8.1 percent (69 notices). Japan and the United Kingdom round out the top five with 6.5 percent each (56 notices each).
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today released guidance addressing questions raised by recent legislation that extended the statute of limitations for violations of certain sanctions that the agency administers. As explained in the guidance, OFAC may now commence an enforcement action for civil violations of International Emergency Economic Powers Act- or Trading with Enemy Act-based sanctions prohibitions within 10 years of the latest date of the violation if such date was after April 24, 2019. To match the new statute of limitations period, OFAC anticipates publishing an interim final rule, with an opportunity to provide comment, extending from five years to 10 years the recordkeeping requirements codified at 31 C.F.R. § 501.601.
Leading U.S. industry organizations have called for a strategic meeting with the Biden Administration to discuss enhancements to U.S. trade policy. The letter, addressed to Jacob Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and Dr. Lael Brainard, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, was signed by a diverse coalition representing sectors including agriculture, automotive, aerospace, chemicals, technology, and healthcare.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic imposed sanctions on six US defense contractors, along with five executives in retaliation for sales to Taipei. Sanctioned firms included Anduril Industries, Maritime Tactical Systems, Pacific Rim Defense, AEVEX Aerospace, LKD Aerospace, and Summit Technologies Inc.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is providing more detailed updates regarding the status of their applications via the public Licensing Portal. Applicants will now receive one of ten following case statuses to better indicate where their application is in the processing timeline.
The long-awaited Standards Rule has been published by the Commerce Department, revising Export Administration Regulations to facilitate US industry participation in international standards setting bodies. In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to revise the scope and the terms used in the EAR to describe “standards-related activities” that are subject to the EAR. As we reported last month [12385] lack of clear guidance from Commerce has chilled come companies' participation for fear of running afoul of export controls.
The United States and Mexico announced the successful a course of remediation to address denials of rights at the RV Fresh Foods facility, which produces guacamole in the state of Michoacán. This case is the first time the United States has used the mechanism in the food manufacturing sector. It is also the first time both the United States and Mexico have identified violations related to the conduct of the petitioning union.
Carrie Esko, director for ICT services and digital trade at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), has left to join the Semiconductor Industry Association as director of global policy for trade and supply chain matters. At the USTR, Esko led digital trade negotiations within bilateral and regional trade initiatives. She also served in other roles at USTR, including director for APEC affairs, and director for industrial goods, where she worked on trade policy and negotiations involving critical minerals, metals, and related sectors with partner governments across Asia and globally.
In an opinion piece published by his current employer Akin Gump, former WTO trade official Alan Yanovich considers the forum's prospects under a return of Trump Administration policies. Despite formidable challenges, Yanovich contends the institution has a shot at survival. "The best-case scenario that can be expected from a second Trump administration is benign neglect and even that is not the only plausible scenario," he writes. With no leverage or traction in trade relations with the U.S., supporters of the body will continue to rely on the WTO for purposes beyond dealing with Washington.
The Treasury Department said yesterday it is targeting and designating as blocked property a dozen persons and vessels, that have played a critical role in financing the Houthis’ destabilizing regional activities as part of the network of Sa’id al-Jamal. The action includes Indonesia-based Malaysian and Singaporean national Mohammad Roslan Bin Ahmad and People’s Republic of China-based Chinese national Zhuang Liang, who have facilitated illicit shipments and engaged in money laundering for the network.
The US Export-Import Bank announced yesterday approval of a $1.6 billion direct loan to support the construction of Omatapalo, Inc an Angloan construction firm will lead the construction of 65 solar mini grids with energy storage facilities, and the expansion of existing electrical grid distribution networks to power water collection, treatment and purification systems in four southern provinces in Angola.
Battle lines are being drawn in the World Trade Organization’s Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations as members take sides over the draft text on subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing prepared by the negotiations chair, according to people familiar with the developments. At the Doha trade negotiations committee meeting last week, Chair Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland made it known that the draft disciplines, including the alleged “free pass” given to big subsidizers engaged in distant water fishing with easily circumvented notification requirements, will remain unchanged, said people familiar with the discussions.
The United States blasted China’s “predatory” trade practices yesterday as the World Trade Organization launched its ninth trade policy review of Beijing. China has not lived up to the commitments it made in joining the WTO in 2001 and the challenges have gotten worse, US Deputy Representative to the WTO David Brisbee stated.
Participants in the US-led Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity have agreed on a new initiative aimed at boosting semiconductor production in the region. The Western Hemisphere Semiconductor Initiative will “turbocharge” countries’ capacity to assemble, to test and to package semiconductors, beginning with Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a meeting of APEP foreign ministers that concluded yesterday. The United States will hold a symposium in Mexico this September to identify ways that the region can play a larger role in the global supply chain for semiconductors.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) are calling on the Commerce Department to beef up its new rule on firearms license requirements in order to prevent US weapons exports from contributing to violence and killings across the globe. The lawmakers are responding to an interim final rule issued in April by Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which strengthened Commerce’s exports licensing requirements and regulations. But there are still critical weaknesses to the rule, the lawmakers said in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
In his weekly news confwerence, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated China's refusal to engage in nuclear nonproliferation discussions in light of arms sales to Taipei. "This has seriously compromised the political atmosphere for continuing the arms control consultations. Consequently, the Chinese side has decided to hold off discussion with the US on a new round of consultations on arms control and non-proliferation," he stated.
