Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hasn't talked specifically to cargo airlines' executives, though he said with regard to passenger airlines “I've had conversations around the clock with all the airline CEOs.” Mnuchin spoke to reporters after leaving the Senate Republicans luncheon. “Essential travel, we want to have airlines that operate, maybe on a reduced basis. Airlines have a short-term liquidity issue, and absolutely, that's something we talked about today” with Senate Republicans. “I've also spoken to the [House] Speaker about that,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, testifying on the president's budget at a hearing Feb. 12, was asked repeatedly about what the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development might do on taxing digital companies, precluding France's digital services tax.
The Treasury Department announced that China is a currency manipulator after the Chinese yuan fell to its lowest level compared to the dollar in 11 years.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposed some changes to the labeling requirements and container standards for malt beverages and distilled spirits. The agency said in a notice that it plans to "eliminate all but minimum and maximum standards of fill for distilled spirits containers and thus eliminate unnecessary regulatory requirements and provide consumers broader purchasing options." The proposal would also provide that distilled spirits and malt beverages may be labeled with a U.S. standard of measure in addition to the "mandatory metric measure." While such labeling is already allowed, "it is not explicitly stated in current regulations," the agency said. The agency also proposed to eliminate all but a minimum standard of fill for wine containers. Comments on the proposals are due Aug. 30.
Brent James McIntosh, the general counsel at the Department of the Treasury, has been nominated by the White House to be undersecretary for international affairs, replacing David Malpass, who resigned. Malpass participated in many rounds of China trade negotiations.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is increasing the maximum penalty for violations of the Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act, it said in a notice. The ABLA requires a health warning statement on alcoholic beverages manufactured, imported or bottled for distribution in the U.S. or for units of the U.S. armed forces outside the country. The maximum penalty was previously $20,251 per day. Now TTB is increasing it to $21,039 per day to account for inflation. The new maximum penalty takes effect April 11.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is extending until June 26 the period for comments on a proposed overhaul of its regulations on the labeling and advertising of wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages. The Nov. 26 proposed rule would reorganize the regulations “to simplify and clarify regulatory standards,” and would also incorporate requirements currently set by guidance and policy documents directly into the regulations (see 1811230015). Comments on the proposal were originally due March 26.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told TV reporters that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is "most likely" to come to Washington later in January, and, Mnuchin said, "I would expect the government shutdown would have no impact." In Beijing, the Commerce Ministry spokesman answered questions Jan. 10 about the latest round of U.S.-China negotiations on the tariff escalations at a regular press conference, describing the talks as "extensive, in-depth and meticulous exchanges on trade issues and structural issues of common concern," and confirmed that forced tech transfer, intellectual property rights, non-tariff barriers and cyber attacks were all part of the discussion. He did not directly answer a question on whether agreement might be reached by the March 2 deadline (see 1812240001), instead saying the consultations "have progressed."
Rusal, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in April, will be delisted from sanctions Jan. 18, 2019, Treasury told Congress earlier this month. Although Rusal, a major aluminum producer based in Russia, was sanctioned in April, it received a series of stays of execution over the months as the government negotiated on how the company could avoid being put out of business as a result of the sanctions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Nov. 5 issued a final rule implementing the “snap back” of its Iran sanctions regulations following the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in May (see 1805080056). The agency is also re-adding more than 700 persons to its Specially Designated Nationals list that had been removed as a result of the now-defunct Iran nuclear deal. The actions come at the end of a 180-day “wind-down” period of phased reimplementation of the Iran sanctions, with many provisions on trade having already come into effect in August. This final phase mostly affects Iranian shipping, petroleum and financial institutions. OFAC also updated its frequently asked questions document on the Iran sanctions with new information related to the return of sanctions, including on provisions related to payments for goods or services already provided before sanctions were reinstated.