Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add to the Unverified List 33 entities with addresses in Canada, China, Estonia, Finland, Pakistan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. The agency's final rule also adds a new address for one currently listed company, Ling Ao Electronic Technology of Hong Kong. The Unverified List includes entities for which the U.S. government failed to complete satisfactory end-use checks, and therefore could not verify the entities' bona fides. The use of license exceptions under the EAR is prohibited for entities on the Unverified List, and certain record-keeping requirements also apply. Additions to the list are as follows:

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is looking into reports of delayed U.S. log exports into mainland China, the International Wood Products Association said in an email. "We understand that Chinese authorities are excluding shipments of raw logs that were previously allowed to be fumigated upon arrival in China or Hong Kong," the association said. The IWPA and others in the industry discussed the issue with APHIS on a May 9 call, it said. "As part of their ongoing discussions with their Chinese counterparts to address these delays, APHIS staff has asked IWPA" and others to compile reports from exports of logs with bark to China on successful and excluded shipments as of May 2. Such information should go to Tyrone Jones at APHIS at John.T.Jones@aphis.usda.gov by May 11.There have been recent reports of new non-tariff barriers in China on products from the U.S. (see 1805040054).

The State Department is barring companies in China, North Korea, Egypt, Iran, Russia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates from controlled export transactions and U.S. government procurement under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, it said in a notice. The agency’s order applies to the following entities, as well as any of their affiliates or successors:

The Census Bureau is finalizing amendments to the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) related to the transmission of certain information related to Kimberley Process certificates to the U.S. government, it said. The final rule clarifies that the certificates must be provided to Census immediately after export from the U.S., and that certificates for all rough diamonds classified under HS subheadings 7102.10, 7102.21 and 7102.31 must be provided to the agency immediately after entry of shipments into the U.S. The final rule also adds a note that Kimberley Process certificates aren’t confidential under U.S. Code Title 13 regulations, which cover Census. The final rule takes effect July 23.

CBP's requirements for exporting vehicles through Port Everglades, Florida, will change as of April 23, said an emailed notice from the Office of Field Operations in Florida. "Documentation required to export vehicles electronically will consist only of the Certificate of Title, and the Dock Receipt or Terminal Instrument Report. (TIR)," the email said. Vehicle export instructions and a confirmation letter were also modified to reflect the changes.

The Congressional Research Service, in a recent report, noted that the Chinese decision to raise tariffs on U.S. pork from 12 percent to 37 percent may be more significant than first reported. The U.S. Meat Export Federation has identified more than $1 billion in pork exports in 2017, because there is a large amount of U.S. pork that goes to Hong Kong. The trade association said a significant volume of the Hong Kong pork is then sent on to China. "Whether these transshipments of pork will be affected by the tariffs is uncertain," agricultural analyst Jenny Hopkinson wrote. Pork is by far the largest agricultural product on the list of $3 billion in goods that were hit with new tariffs on April 2 (see 1804020009). But even smaller volume targets, such as wine, can have significant impact for those producers. The report noted that Chinese purchases of wine accounted for 5 percent of all wine exports.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is amending the Export Administration Regulations to set new license requirements for exports and re-exports of specified target assemblies and components for the production of tritium, it said in a final rule. New ECCN 1A231 will cover the assemblies, with related production technology also requiring a license under ECCNs 1E001 and 1E201. The new controls were agreed to at the June 2017 meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. They take effect April 5.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 2 issued a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations to implement recommendations on export controls related to chemical and biological weapons adopted by the Australia Group. Changes affect ECCNs 2B350, 2B351 ECCN 2B352, 1C353, 1C350 and 1C351. The final rule is effective as of April 2.

Total U.S. soybean exports could fall by 40 percent if China imposes a 30 percent tariff in retaliation for U.S. tariffs, a new study from Purdue University agricultural economists says. The study, which was paid for by the U.S. Soybean Export Council, estimates that a tariff of that size would cut Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans by 71 percent. More than 60 percent of U.S. soybean exports go to China. The economists also modeled the effect of a 10 percent tariff. In that case, total U.S. exports could fall by 18 percent, they estimated. Congress members from farm states have been anxious about China imposing retaliatory tariffs against soybeans, seen as a likely target, in response to Section 301 tariffs on China announced March 22 (see 1803220034).

The State Department on Feb. 14 issued a notice in the Federal Register adding South Sudan to its regulations on prohibited exports, imports, and sales to and from certain countries, and setting a policy of denial for exports of defense articles and services (see 1802060017). The new regulatory provisions include several exemptions from the ban on arms trade, including arms meant to support Union Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions. The final rule took effect Feb. 14.