House Select Committee on China ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., asked the Trump administration Nov. 12 to explain how it plans to respond to China’s reported transfer of ballistic missile fuel ingredients to Iran in apparent violation of recently reimposed UN sanctions (see 2509290051). In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, the lawmakers said the sanctions bar support for Iran’s ballistic missile program. The State Department declined to comment.

CBP reminded the trade that the agency plans to discontinue the use of the Document Image System (DIS) for submitting outbound cargo declarations, starting Dec. 1, according to a cargo systems message. This includes the CBP Form 1302A: Cargo Declaration, supplemental form CBP 168, and any associated documents that comprise the outbound cargo manifest, CBP said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued four new or amended Russia-related general licenses Nov. 14. General License 124B, which replaces 124A, authorizes petroleum services and other transactions related to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Tengizchevroil and Karachaganak projects. General License 128A, which replaces 128, authorizes certain transactions involving Lukoil retail service stations located outside Russia. General License 130 authorizes transactions involving certain Lukoil entities in Bulgaria, and General License 131 authorizes certain transactions for the negotiation of and entry into contingent contracts for the sale of Lukoil International GmbH and related maintenance activities.

The Trump administration has given Hungary a one-year exemption from sanctions that it recently imposed on two major Russian energy companies, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late Nov. 12.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has redesigned its Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS) industry user homepage.

The vast expansion of export controls to counter American adversaries has eclipsed the government's ability to enforce them, according to a new report from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Exporters should continue preparing to adhere to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s new Affiliates Rule, even though the Trump administration recently suspended it for a year, two compliance experts said Nov. 13 during a webinar hosted by the American Association of Exporters and Importers.

The Council of the European Union agreed Nov. 13 to eliminate its de minimis provision, through which goods worth under $174 could enter the EU without customs duties being paid. The council said the new rule will start applying once the EU customs data hub is running, which is expected to be in 2028, since the hub is "currently under negotiation between the Council and the European Parliament as part of a broader fundamental reform of the EU customs framework." The customs data hub will allow for calculation and notification of customs debt on a "per-item basis." To facilitate a speedier implementation of the end of the de minimis provision, however, the council said it committed to work toward a "simple, temporary solution" to impose duties on goods under the de minimis threshold by 2026. No further specifics were provided.

The Council of the European Union this week took two actions on trade in the agricultural and food sector.

Mexico has imposed a tariff of 156% on imports of sugar, according to a decree published Nov. 11 in the country's Official Gazette.