Taiwan will increase inspections of imports of U.S. fresh blueberries and onions this year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Jan. 15. Both will be subject to a “heightened 20 to 50 percent import inspection rate before quarantine clearance,” the USDA said. As part of the change, Taiwan removed U.S. lettuce from the increased inspection list. The changes took effect Jan. 1 and last until Dec. 31.
Malaysia’s amended trade and customs-related legislation took effect Jan. 1, according to a Jan. 10 Baker McKenzie post. The changes include replacing the country's customs regulations and free-trade zone regulations and introducing a new format for customs declaration forms. Other changes include the Customs Act of 2019, which increases the power of customs authority to enforce customs laws, collect underpaid duties and penalize non-compliant entities. Malaysia also created record-keeping requirements for a period of seven years for certain importation and exportation activities in free-trade zones. In addition, Malaysia customs now has the ability to offset “any amount of drawback or refund” that is due against “any unpaid amount of customs duty, excise duty, sales tax, service tax … or any other money payable.”
China’s General Administration of Customs eliminated import inspection surveillance for certain fabrics, adult garments, textile machinery and cold-rolled steel, according to a Jan. 15 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The change took effect Jan. 1.
Correction: The comment deadline for the interim rule for the definition for principal place of business in the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act regulations is Feb. 18 (see 2001140060).
GunUniversity.com posted a copy of a document that it says is the Commerce Department’s final rule for the transfer of export controls of firearms, ammunition and defense items from the State Department to Commerce. In a Jan. 14 post, the website said the rule will be published this week. The National Shooting Sports Foundation also expected the rule to be published this week (see 2001140043) and has called it the top concern of the gun industry (see 1908130066). Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has said he will block any attempt to transfer the controls from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List unless the administration abides by certain requests, including informing the Senate of certain licensed exports (see 1912160057). Commerce did not comment on the document’s authenticity.
The State Department rescinded statutory debarments for three people and two entities that previously pleaded guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act, but did not reinstate their export privileges, according to a notice in the Federal Register. The agency rescinded debarments for Jami Siraj Choudhury, David Michael Janowski II, Netria Corporation, Jonathan Robert Reynolds and State Metal Industries after each requested reinstatement. The State Department said each party took “appropriate steps to address the causes of the violations sufficient to warrant rescission of their respective notice of statutory debarment.” But the agency also said the notice does not reinstate their export privileges, adding that it no longer requires export privileges to be reinstated before a debarment is rescinded. “This change in policy recognizes that the circumstances warranting statutory debarment may be different from those warranting the revocation of export privileges,” the State Department said. The policy change was announced in March (see 1903120050).
Five men were indicted for conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Powers Act and the Export Control Reform Act by trying to illegally export items to Pakistan, the Justice Department said in a Jan. 15 press release. The men -- Muhammad Kamran Wali of Pakistan, Muhammad Ahsan Wali and Haji Wali Muhammad Sheikh of Canada, Ashraf Khan Muhammad of Hong Kong, and Ahmed Waheed of the United Kingdom -- used a network of front companies to export the goods to Pakistan’s Advanced Engineering Research Organization (AERO) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).
Four Senate committees reported the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement out, clearing the way for a floor vote Jan. 16. The Foreign Relations Committee and Commerce Committee had voice votes. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 22-1 in favor, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent senator from Vermont, the only no vote, though Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who previously voted no in the Finance Committee, was not present and did not vote by proxy. In the Appropriations Committee, 29 senators voted for the implementing bill, and two voted no -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementations introduced a sanctions regime on Belarus for human rights violations and to “encourage” the government to “respect democratic principles and institutions,” the OFSI said in a Jan. 15 notice. The U.K. also released an explanatory memorandum about the sanctions and guidance, and will eventually release a list of people sanctioned under the regulations. The measures include assets freezes, trade prohibitions and criminal penalties for violations of the sanctions, including fines and prison sentences. License exceptions are available for “certain circumstances,” including “acts done for the purpose of national security,” “prior obligations,” “extraordinary situations” and more.
The State Department sanctioned Moldovan official and oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc for corruption, the State Department said Jan. 13. The agency also sanctioned Plahotniuc’s family members, including his wife, Oxana Childescu, son, Timofei Plahotniuc, and his minor child.