Speakers for Navigating the New Normal, a keynote panel at a trade symposium convened by The Economist Feb. 2, discussed whether the political pressure to bring supply chains closer to home will overcome the fact that Vietnam's and China's economies weathered the pandemic better than Europe, with no conclusion, but also talked about what the future of the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the United Kingdom will be in trade.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Feb. 1 amended and added sanctions entries under nine sanctions regimes. The U.K. amended entries under the regimes for Russia, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iran, chemical weapons, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan. The U.K. also added four entries to its Zimbabwe regime.

The United Nations warned that Sri Lanka’s policies and practices are ripe for human rights violations and urged member states to sanction human rights abusers in the country. “States can consider targeted sanctions, such as asset freezes and travel bans,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a Jan. 27 statement. The U.N. said Sri Lanka has created “parallel military task forces and commissions that encroach on civilian functions” and reversed “important institutional checks and balances.” Bachelet urged “the international community to listen to the determined, courageous, persistent calls of victims and their families for justice, and heed the early warning signs of more violations to come.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Feb. 2 updated a general license that authorizes transactions involving Venezuela’s ports and airports. General License No. 30A, which replaces No. 30 (see 1908060048), also authorizes certain transactions and activities that involve Venezuela’s Instituto Nacional de los Espacios Acuáticos (INEA) or any entity INEA owns by 50% or more. OFAC said the license does not authorize transactions or activities related to the export or reexport of “diluents” to Venezuela.

The Bureau of Industry and Security, in the Census Bureau’s January trade newsletter, addressed several frequently asked questions about filing requirements for exports to China, Russia and Venezuela. The agency detailed how electronic export information (EEI) filing requirements apply to exports and which license exceptions are available. It also provided contact information for exporter questions. Filing requirements apply to more exports than just those captured under the agency’s April rule on exports to military end-users and for end-uses (see 2004270027), BIS said. There won’t be a new “license-type code” for EEI filings in the Automated Export System for exports controlled for anti-terrorism reasons, BIS said.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Jan. 25-29 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Thomas Vilsack, President Joe Biden’s nominee for agriculture secretary, said the agency will prioritize foreign market access for U.S. exporters and secure more trade agreements centered around agriculture. But Vilsack also said increasing competitiveness for U.S. exporters will be challenging, particularly because of the lasting impacts of the Trump administration's unpredictable trade policy.

The U.S. is reviewing its sanctions authorities to impose restrictions on Myanmar officials following a coup by the country’s military earlier this week, a State Department official said Feb. 2. The agency is considering sanctioning the country's military, including senior military officials, and is working with other countries in the region to impose similar restrictions, the official said. “We will take action against those responsible, including through a careful review of our current sanctions posture,” the official told reporters, adding that the sanctions could also target companies with ties to Myanmar’s military.

Princeton University was fined $54,000 and ordered to audit its export control compliance program after committing 37 U.S. export violations, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a Feb. 1 order. BIS said the university illegally exported “various strains and recombinants” of an animal pathogen, which were controlled for chemical and biological weapons reasons, to overseas research institutions without the required BIS licenses.

Detention and demurrage disruptions are causing devastating damage to U.S. intermodal carriers and are placing large burdens on the shipping and transportation industry, the Harbor Trucking Association said in a new report. The association, which represents U.S. drayage carriers serving West Coast ports, and TradeLanes, a technology company focused on streamlining global commodity trade, surveyed HTA members and found that more than half reported critical negative effects on their business from the detention and demurrage costs. Detention and demurrage is common in the industry as well, with 64% of respondents saying that they incur them on more than 15% of their containers with the average price around $200 per container. Once the charges are levied, governmental relief is rarely given, with 80% of respondents saying they got charges reduced 0-25% of the time. The charges cost more than money, evidenced by the majority of respondents saying the invoices take at least 45 minutes to complete.