The Commerce Department is slated to take over export control responsibility from the State Department, which would mean Congress would no longer be notified when there are sales of more than $1 million to foreign governments. The final rule is ready for implementation, but Congress could stop it if there's a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to reverse agency rules.
The Transportation and Related Equipment Technical Advisory Committee has worked with the Commerce and Defense departments on several Wassenaar Arrangement proposals, some of which are nearly ready for interagency review and others that are scheduled for proposal at Wassenaar next year. The proposals involve space-related technologies, compressors, industrial gas turbines and commercial supersonic engines, said Ari Novis, chair of the committee and director of international trade compliance for Pratt & Whitney.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Nov. 13 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently released a report on the World Trade Organization moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. The moratorium, in effect since 1998, is scheduled to expire this year. The report provides details of the “different issues at stake” in the debate over whether to extend the moratorium or eliminate it, the OECD said.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
In the Nov. 11-12 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The United Kingdom's Export Control Joint Unit fined nine British exporters for export violations of dual-use goods from May to October, according to a Nov. 12 notice. The fines included penalties of between $5,500 and about $100,000 for exporters who failed to acquire appropriate export licenses for military goods.
A European Union effort aimed at harmonizing value-added tax measures across member nations will take effect in Hungary on Jan. 1, 2020, KPMG said in a Nov. 11 post. The European Commission recently issued a draft version of its “explanatory notes” on the new rules, which will include four changes, KPMG said: a “simplified treatment for call-off stock,” unified rules to simplify chain transactions, a “mandatory” VAT identification number to apply the zero VAT rate and “simplified proof of intra-Community supplies.” The explanatory notes will provide guidelines for “adjusting to the new rules as well as guidance for possible practical challenges,” the post said.
The European Commission recently released its 2019 Export Control Handbook for Chemicals, with information on goods on the dual-use control list, Common Military List, Syria restricted list and more. The report contains current export control regulations for certain goods and a list of controlled chemicals arranged by Export Control Number, Chemical Abstract Service number and Combined Nomenclature code.
The United Kingdom, Germany and France said they are concerned about Iran’s latest decision to restart uranium enrichments in a breach of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, saying Europe’s efforts to reduce tensions and sanctions are “made increasingly difficult.” In a Nov. 11 statement, the countries urged Iran to “reverse all measures inconsistent” with the JCPOA.