The Commerce Department should make clear who involved in the import process might be subject to the proposed procedures for how to review transactions that involve information and communications technology and services (ICTS) and are seen as a potential threat, the Express Association of America said in comments. The Commerce proposal is meant as a way for the government to oversee transactions, including importations, seen as risky (see 1911260032). Comments on the proposal were due Jan. 10 and were posted in Commerce docket 2019-0005.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned seven Venezuelan government officials who attempted to seize control of the country’s National Assembly and block an election, Treasury said in a Jan. 13 press release. The officials include Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero, Jose Gregorio Noriega Figueroa, Franklyn Leonardo Duarte, Jose Dionisio Brito Rodriguez, Conrado Antonio Perez Linares, Adolfo Ramon Superlano and Negal Manuel Morales Llovera. The sanctions came less than a week after the European Union announced intentions to soon impose sanctions on Venezuelan officials who tried to block the election process (see 2001100014).
The State Department is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice published in the Federal Register. The new amounts will apply only to penalties assessed on or after the Jan. 14 effective date of the notice, the agency said.
The U.S., the European Union and Japan should do more to align their export control regimes and cooperate on new export control measures to defend against Chinese mercantilist trade practices, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation said in a Jan. 13 report. The three parties should schedule “formal meetings” to discuss export controls, saying previous discussions have been too “limited in scope. They should be broader given the changing nature of China’s pursuit of advanced technology.”
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Jan. 14 that the Senate will hold a ratification vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement this week.
The Treasury Department released final regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 on Jan. 13, along with a fact sheet and a set of frequently asked questions. The regulations, which will take effect Feb. 13, grant expanded authorities to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. Treasury said the final regulations made several changes to the agency’s proposed regulations, released in September (see 1909180018), including defining additional terms and introducing an interim rule for a new definition of “principal place of business.”
Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius told reporters that Mercedes-Benz's transition plan for auto rules of origin under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will take three or four years. Kallenius, who was responding to a question from International Trade Today after a Q&A at the Washington Economic Club Jan. 10, did not say explicitly that the carmaker would be applying for the extension, which would require the company to show how Alabama production -- not just Mexican production at its joint venture with Nissan -- will meet the tougher standards. If it will take Mercedes four years to meet the standard, they would need an extension.
Hogan Lovells named Jared Wessel, who worked in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative General Counsel's office during the Obama administration, a partner, the law firm said in a news release. Anne Fisher, who works on export control issues, was named counsel, Hogan Lovells said.
Egypt plans to increase transit toll rates along the Suez Canal for dry bulk vessels and liquefied petroleum gas carriers by 5 percent, according to a Jan. 9 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The new rates, announced Jan. 4, will not impact tolls for other types of shipping, including container vessels, tankers carrying oil and oil products, liquefied natural gas carriers, car carriers and “general cargo” vessels. The changes were made by the Suez Canal Authority after “careful analysis of developments in competitor routes,” studies on the developing maritime transport market and the “global trade outlook,” the report said. The rates reflect the agency’s desire to “maintain traffic growth momentum at a challenging time for global shipping.”
The United Kingdom House of Commons voted 330-231 in favor of final passage of the U.K. Withdrawal Amendment bill on Jan. 9. The passage on the “third reading” means that the bill will now go to the House of Lords, then to the queen for royal assent before it becomes law, presuming the upper house makes no amendments that would return the bill to the House of Commons, the BBC said in a report. The bill provides that the U.K. will leave the European Union on Jan. 31, and sets an end-2020 deadline for negotiations over a permanent EU-U.K. arrangement.