The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended a Burma-related sanctions listing, according to an April 27 notice. OFSI updated the listing for Than Oo, who is still subject to an asset freeze. In a related action, the European Union renewed sanctions against Burma for one year until April 30, 2021, according to an April 24 notice.

CBP issued frequently asked questions about exports of personal protective equipment, detailing how exporters submit letters of attestation; how exporters will be notified of held shipments; the resolution process on disagreements surrounding restricted shipments; and more, according to an April 27 CMS message. The guidance comes about one week after the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued 10 exemptions for exports of PPE (see 2004200019). FEMA expects to issue most determinations on PPE shipments within two days (see 2004210022).

Although the auto industry appears to have lost the fight to delay a switchover from NAFTA to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, an executive at the organization that represents parts suppliers said they now hope that with give-and-take on the implementing rules and perhaps some flexibility, the industry will be able to make a July 1 entry into force date work.

The Commerce Department amended the Export Administration Regulations to expand licensing requirements for exports, re-exports and transfers of items intended for military uses in China, Russia and Venezuela, according to a notice. The rule expands the licensing requirements for exports to China to include military end-users as well as military end-uses, broadens the list of items subject to the licensing requirement and review policy, and expands the definition for military end-use. The rule also “creates a new reason for control” and review policy for certain exports to the three countries, and added new Electronic Export Information filing requirements.

The Commerce Department eliminated its license exception for civil end-users (CIV) in an effort to cut exports to countries pursuing civil-military fusion (see 1904260018), the agency said in a notice. The change, which was expected for nearly a year (see 1907180037), will remove authorizations to export certain controlled items to most civil end-users for civil end-uses in Country Group D:1. The change takes effect June 29.

The Commerce Department is considering restricting the number of destination countries that are authorized to receive certain U.S. re-exports that are controlled for national security reasons, the agency said in a notice. The proposed rule would amend the license exception for Additional Permissive Reexports (APR) by removing nations in Country Group D:1, including China, from being eligible to receive those re-exports, Commerce said. The rule would remove APR license eligibility from more than 20 countries. Comments are due June 29.

The Federal Maritime Commission will adopt a final rule to give industry guidance on how it assesses the “reasonableness” of detention and demurrage charges, the agency said. The rule, which was proposed in September and has garnered new attention due to charges caused by COVID-19-related shipping delays, is expected to give industry clarity on how FMC will consider whether detention and demurrage policies incentivize the movement of cargo or whether they are unjustified. The rule will become effective upon its publication in the Federal Register.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, assistant U.S. trade representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy, has told industry representatives in her sector that she's retiring. Corn Refiners Association CEO John Bode said farmers, ranchers and agribusiness companies are grateful for her public service. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn't comment

South Africa announced value-added tax relief as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an April 23 KPMG post. The VAT relief includes “fast-tracking” of VAT refunds, a measure that will allow some companies to file monthly VAT returns instead of bimonthly returns, and a case-by-case “waiver of penalties” for “larger businesses,” the post said.

The United Kingdom’s Export Control Joint Unit updated its export license application forms for firearms, according to an April 23 notice. The forms now include a “supplementary EC4 form,” which is a “continuation sheet” for the EC3 form. The EC3 form is required for exporting firearms to European Union countries.