The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two Iran-related frequently asked questions to address its Dec. 11 designations of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and E-Sail Shipping Limited (see 1912110024). In FAQ 810, OFAC said the two entities are also subject to prohibitions under the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations due to their designation by the State Department. In FAQ 811, OFAC specified that license exceptions for exports of food, medicine and other humanitarian items generally do not apply to parties sanctioned for weapons proliferation activities. U.S. exporters will not be able to ship “agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices” to IRISL and E-Sail, OFAC said. Exporters who ship those items “risk exposure to sanctions under additional authorities.” To avoid risks, U.S. exporters should make sure sales of those goods are completed no later than June 8, 2020, when the designations take effect, OFAC said.
A Hong Kong-based appliance maker said its subsidiary may have violated U.S. sanctions, according to its global offering released Dec. 9. JS Global Lifestyle Company said its subsidiary, U.S.-based SharkNinja Operating LLC, “engaged in a wire transfer” for a shipment on an Iran-flagged ship operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line, the company said. The transfer may be deemed a violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions regulations and the company may be subject to a civil monetary penalty. The company said it is “committed to ensuring our compliances with relevant economic sanctions laws” and preventing a future violation, but said it will not “always be able to do so, for factors beyond our control or otherwise.”
Member nations adopted “a number of” new export controls at the Wassenaar Arrangement’s plenary session earlier this month, with a focus on “proliferation-sensitive exports,” according to a Dec. 6 statement released by the plenary chair. They also updated a 2007 guidance for exports of small arms and light weapons and amended a guidance for export controls on the disposal of surplus or demilitarized military equipment. The member states also released a summary of the changes made to multilateral export controls of dual-use goods and technologies. A 243-page report describes the list of dual-use goods and technologies discussed during the meetings.
The Chinese “irreversibly accelerated” their Made in China 2025 industrial program since the summer, taking a sharp protectionist turn as the U.S.-China trade war persisted with no negotiated breakthrough, Photronics CEO Peter Kirlin said on a fiscal Q4 call Dec. 11. “They ain't turning back,” said Kirlin, whose company drew more than half its Q4 revenue from the photomasks it supplied Chinese panel makers, produced at Photronics factories throughout Asia, including in Xiamen and Hefei, China.
The European Union is proposing to amend its rules on tariff retaliation so it can still impose tariffs and other restrictions after the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement appellate body ceased to function on Dec. 11, the EU Commission said in a press release.
The United Kingdom is now set to leave the European Union on Jan. 31 under the terms of a recently re-negotiated transition deal, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a resounding victory in elections held Dec. 12. Now holding a 365-seat majority to Labour’s 203 seats and the Scottish National Party’s 48, Johnson plans to hold a vote Dec. 20 on his Brexit deal, which is likely to pass, according to reports from the BBC and The Guardian.
About a year into the Trump administration's maximum pressure sanctions campaign on Iran, the effort has done nothing to bring Iran to the negotiating table, panelists said during a Dec. 12 Atlantic Council event. U.S. sanctions have instead emboldened a more aggressive Iran, panelists said, which is growing increasingly frustrated with its unwilling European trade partners and will likely continue breaching the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Intel named Jeff Rittener chief government affairs officer and general manager of the company's Governments, Markets and Trade group, Intel said in a Dec. 10 news release. “In this role, Rittener is responsible for overseeing the company’s global government affairs efforts and the worldwide team of trade professionals responsible for ensuring the company’s full compliance with U.S. and other government regulations in the areas of export, customs and sanctions,” the company said. Rittener currently represents Intel on the Commerce Department Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
In the Dec. 11 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: