The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is encouraging industry impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to reach out to OFAC if the agency's regulations are delaying industry's ability to “meet deadlines,” OFAC said in an April 20 notice. This includes industry’s ability to file blocking and reject reports (see 2002200057), responses to administrative subpoenas, reports required by general or specific licenses or “any other required reports or submissions.” OFAC also asked industry to submit self-disclosures to OFACdisclosures@treasury.gov instead of physical submissions.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is suspending the general license authority for exports of “byproduct material” to Pakistan, the NRC said in a notice. Exporters are no longer authorized to ship those materials to Pakistan without a specific license, the commission said. The new restrictions are “necessary to enhance the common defense” and security of the U.S., the notice said. The suspension will “remain in effect until further notice.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency set 10 exemptions for exports of personal protective equipment (see 2004080018) and formally announced exceptions for shipments to Canada, Mexico and U.S territories, in a notice filed April 17. FEMA also announced exemptions for certain shipments containing controlled PPE, shipments traveling through the U.S. involving a foreign shipper and consignee, exports to military bases and more. The new exemptions were announced less than two weeks after a leaked CBP memo detailed some of the measures (see 2004160050).

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of April 20 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade updated its guidance for export controls of military goods, software and technology, according to an April 16 notice. The guidance now includes updated government contact information for use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said the EU could consider temporarily suspending tariffs on most-needed medical equipment to fight COVID-19, as well as asking other countries to do the same. He said the EU could consider “launching a more comprehensive negotiation of a plurilateral agreement that would lead to a level playing field, including the possible permanent liberalisation of tariffs on medical equipment and help to ensure that global supply chains can operate freely in this critical sector, and that our healthcare manufacturers could benefit from new market opportunities.”

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of April 17 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Canada will restart its reviews of applications for permits to export controlled goods to Turkey, Global Affairs Canada said in an April 16 notice. Canada stopped issuing new permits on Oct. 11, 2019. “in response to Turkey’s military incursion into Syria,” it said. Permit applications will now be “reviewed on a case-by-case basis under Canada’s risk assessment framework,” it said. “However, applications to export Group 2 items (i.e., military items) will be presumptively denied. These applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether exceptional circumstances exist to justify issuing the permit, including in relation to NATO cooperation programs.” Exporters who had permits to export to Turkey before Oct. 11, 2019, may now restart exporting under the terms of those permits, it said.

The Council on Foreign Relations said that U.S., European and Japanese pushback over Made in China 2025, at least the part on high performance medical devices, may ebb after the coronavirus pandemic has passed -- because other countries will want to implement their own versions. “If any country knows a little bit about reducing industrial dependence on the rest of the world through conscious industrial choices, that would be China,” said Brad Stetser, a CFR senior fellow for international economics, during a webinar April 16. He said China is displacing imported semiconductors, but has been less successful in displacing imported aircraft.

South Korea obtained a “special license” from the U.S. to export humanitarian goods to Iran, according to an April 17 report from the Korea Herald. The license allows South Korean companies to export to Iran under “enhanced due diligence” requirements that include a “much longer and more complicated process,” the report said. The South Korean government hopes the license will allow it to soon establish a humanitarian channel to trade with Iran, similar to the U.S.-Swiss joint mechanism announced earlier this year (see 2002270017), the report said. The Treasury Department did not comment.