International Trade Today is a service of Warren Communications News.
Subscriber Login
Defense Dept.
to
articlessource documents
Refine Search
Clear Terms

Search Primer

Multi-word term: Place inside quotes to ensure an exact match together (e.g. "China import").

Term list: Separate terms with spaces, not commas or semicolons to find either word (e.g. AD/CVD antidumping).

Acronyms: Use all capital letters (e.g., ACE).

Required term: If a term must be included in any resulting articles, prefix it with a plus sign (e.g., CBP +releases).

Excluded term: If a term should be excluded from any articles being found, prefix it with a minus sign (e.g., -ruling).

Singular form: Use the singular form when doing multi-word terms (e.g. "russian export control" instead of "russian export controls").

Shortest word form: When you have different word forms in a quoted term, include the shortest version if it is the last part of the expression (e.g., "entity list" instead of "entity listing" or "entity listed").

DOJ Settles Suit Involving Misunderstood ITAR Requirements for Staffing
February 21, 2020 |Penalties and Courts

The Justice Department settled its lawsuit with Chancery Staffing Solutions over claims of improper screening of non-U.S. citizens, the DOJ said in a Feb. 18 news release. The suit involved allegations that “the staffing company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when, at a law firm client’s directive, it screened out work authorized non-U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens with dual citizenship from a document review project without a lawful basis.”

UK Corrects Sanctions List Entry
February 21, 2020 |Sanctions

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a Feb. 20 correction relating to a previous sanctions notice. The OFSI said it provided “inaccurate identifying information” in a Feb. 19 notice about Abdul Haq, who is listed on the ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida Sanctions List. OFSI clarified that Haq is still subject to an asset freeze and corrected the error in an update to the list.

OFAC Sanctions Iranian Election Officials
February 21, 2020 |Sanctions

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated five members of Iran’s Guardian Council and its Elections Supervision Committee for interfering with free and fair elections, Treasury said in a Feb. 20 notice. The members are Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of the Guardian Council; Mohammad Yazdi, a member of Iran’s Guardian Council who was formerly Iran’s first judiciary chief; and three members of the Elections Supervisory Committee: Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, Siamak Rahpeyk and Mohammad Hasan Sadeghi Moghadam.

Topics:OFAC
FIRRMA Implementation Seen as Work in Progress, With Deals Reviewed Growing
February 21, 2020 by Matt Daneman|Top News

Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) implementation is in its early days, with new rules taking effect on Feb. 13 (see 2002110042), but it's generally assumed the number of transactions coming under Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) jurisdiction will quadruple, said David Plotinsky, DOJ National Security Division principal deputy chief, at a Federal Communications Bar Association event Feb. 19. He said the number of telecom deals subject to CFIUS also likely will quadruple, though there's less concern about deals on “the pipes” of telecom than on data. CFIUS experts said prospective deals now have to take CFIUS issues and possible mitigation steps into consideration early in the planning.

Oman to Increase Quality Checks of Imported Goods
February 20, 2020 |Middle East and Africa

All goods imported into Oman will now be checked for “quality and standards compliance” before entering the market, according to a Feb. 18 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The change, announced Feb. 2, is aimed at improving the quality of the country’s imported goods, specifically electrical products, cosmetics and building materials, the HKTDC said. Oman also stopped accepting paper applications for customs clearance beginning Feb. 7. All applications must be made through its single window online platform Bayan, the HKTDC said.

Ghana's New Electronic Customs System to Cut Clearance Time
February 20, 2020 |Middle East and Africa

Ghana will soon introduce its new electronic customs clearance system on a trial basis at its Takoradi Port, one of the country’s two major ports, before a national rollout, according to a Feb. 18 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The new UNIPASS system will replace the existing single window system and will provide a “one-stop platform” for all customs procedures, the HKTDC said. The platform will also integrate all government entities, which will allow for efficient information sharing between the customs authority, agencies and other stakeholders. The system is expected to cut the country’s customs clearance processing time from two days to a “few hours,” the HKTDC said, with “real-time tracking” of cargo. But the HKTDC said the platform has faced delays -- the system was originally scheduled for launch in January 2019, then rescheduled to January 2020.

UK Updates Permitted Destinations for Certain OGELs
February 20, 2020 |Europe

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade updated its list of permitted destinations for several open general export licenses, the DIT said in a Feb. 18 notice. The changes removed Yemen, Lebanon and Turkey as permitted destinations under certain licenses and added a destination for the Italian continental shelf. The DIT also suspended registration for an OGEL for certain military goods and reinstated the ability to register for an OGEL relating to exports “in support of joint strike fighter: F-35 lightning II.”