Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Finance jointly decided to start an antidumping duty investigation on nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet and strip from China and Taiwan, they announced. The investigation, which will take a year, was opened following a petition from Japanese producers Nippon Steel, Nippon Yakin Kogyo Co., NAS Stainless Steel Strip Manufacturing Co. and Nippon Kinzoku. The ministries noted that the investigation also covers the customs territories of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu but excludes the regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

The State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System's advisory opinions application will undergo system maintenance from 2 to 5 p.m. EDT July 25. "Industry users may experience service degradation, interruptions, or limited application functionality within DECCS during this maintenance window," the agency said. "If you experience any issues, please log back in after the maintenance window."

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., has been appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the panel announced July 22. Fine, who became a House member in April, introduced a bill in early July that would require a review of whether individuals or entities included on certain sanctions list should be included on other sanctions lists (see 2507070022). In late June, he introduced a bill to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

The House approved by voice vote late July 21 a bill aimed at improving the investigative capabilities of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The new U.S. outbound investment regulations appear so far to be blunting American investments in sensitive Chinese technology sectors, even for investments that only require a notification to the Treasury Department, law firm Sidley Austin said in a client alert this month.

China this week criticized the EU’s recent decision to sanction more than 25 mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies for supporting Russia's military-industrial complex (see 2507180017), saying the bloc’s allegations are “groundless." Beijing “is strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it,” a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said July 21 in response to a reporter's question at a regular press conference, according to an unofficial translation.

The U.K. is accepting public comments on how the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation can improve its civil enforcement of financial sanctions and whether it should adopt several proposed changes to its current practices. Those include:

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two people and five entities involved in money laundering and importing petroleum products into territory controlled by Houthis, the group designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization in March (see 2503040008). The designations target a network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates for being “among the most significant importers” of petroleum products and money launderers for the Houthis.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Indonesia said Indonesia will accept FDA certificates and prior marketing authorization for medical devices and pharmaceuticals, will exempt U.S. exports of cosmetics and medical devices "from certain requirements," and will exempt U.S. companies from local content requirements.