Britain’s Home Secretary is removing the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group from its list of terrorism organizations, according to an Aug. 13 post on the European Sanctions blog. Although the move decriminalizes involvement with the group in the U.K, European Union and United Nations sanctions on the group remain in place.

Shenzhen, a major city outside Hong Kong, introduced nearly 40 measures to improve the Qianhai-Shekou Area of China’s Guangdong Free Trade Zone, including “boosting trade facilitation,” according to an Aug. 13 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Changes include more “support” for “cross-border RMB business services,” referring to renminbi (RMB) as the currency, within the trade zone, the report said.

The trade aid was too generous to the richest farming families, suggests Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat who represents a rural district in Wisconsin. Kind sent a letter Aug. 12 to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue saying he is deeply concerned about a report that shows that thousands of payments were larger than the stated limit, with 82 farms receiving payments of more than half a million dollars in taxpayer funds. He also cited the same study using U.S. Department of Agriculture data that found some payments went to people who do not reside on farms, but live in Manhattan, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and the like.

The recent U.S. decision to designate China as a currency manipulator is said by some analysis to have decreased the chances of a trade deal and increased the likelihood of escalation that could have major economic consequences, according to an Aug. 9 report by the Congressional Research Service. “Many analysts have argued that the currency manipulation designation has complicated negotiations and reduced the likelihood of an agreement in the short-term,” the CRS said, “and in turn have argued that the escalation could begin having significant economic repercussions.” The report also noted skepticism among some analysts that China is trying to unfairly manipulate its currency, saying “many analysts” have argued that China’s decision to allow the yuan to depreciate “is not clearly an effort to gain an ‘unfair’ trade advantage.” The report pointed to one analyst who said there will be no “practical consequences” to the designation, which has been called a “political exercise” by other analysts.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new reporting requirements for 17 chemicals under significant new use rules. The proposed SNURs would require notification to EPA at least 90 days in advance of a new use by importers, manufacturers or processors. Importers of chemicals subject to these proposed SNURs would need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements should these proposed rules be finalized, EPA said. Exporters of these chemicals would become subject to export notification requirements. Comments on the proposed SNURs are due Sept. 13.

U.S. companies can use their compliance programs to mitigate the impacts of updated CBP guidelines that will make it more expensive to secure goods seized for export violations, according to an Aug. 12 post by Sandler Travis. CBP recently issued its updated mitigation guidelines for export control seizures, announcing it is eliminating the terms “technical violations” and “substantive violations” (see 1908050038). But CBP also introduced a new set of mitigating and aggravating factors related to export control seizures, and an effective compliance program can play an important role in minimizing the cost, the post said. “CBP may reference these guidelines when making such decisions,” the post said, adding that “export compliance programs and other factors can help lower that cost.”

The U.S.’s second round of Russian sanctions are expected to have a “minimal” impact, according to a post by Norton Rose Fulbright.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on the impact that proposed additions to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) will have on U.S. industries and commerce, according to a notice in the Federal Register. BIS is seeking comments about the additions to Schedule 1 in the “Annex on Chemicals” in the CWC that were implemented through the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act and the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations. BIS said it wants to assess the impact on U.S. chemical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies of the five “chemical families” being added to the annex. Comments are due Sept. 13.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security made several changes to its Entity List, adding, removing and modifying entries for companies in China, Canada, Malaysia, Russia, The United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and more. The changes add 17 entities to the list, modify 23 existing entries for China, Hong Kong and Russia, and remove three entities located in China and the UAE, BIS said in a notice. The changes take effect Aug. 14.

The Treasury Department’s most recent Venezuela-related general licenses “stop just short of a total embargo” on the country’s government, said Adrienne Braumiller, a trade lawyer and member of the Commerce Department’s Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee. Some companies will need to pay close attention to the updated expiration dates for certain general licenses, she said, and banks will be faced with a “new level of depth” to the complexity of screening their customers.