The Singapore Customs TradeNet will undergo system maintenance Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, it said Jan. 15. The agency advised users to avoid submitting applications during this time. This is in addition to the usual 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday maintenance.
Hong Kong plans to update and strengthen its regulatory control of certain “harmful substances” in foods and food imports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported Jan. 14. The changes will affect substances in food “with respect to three types of mycotoxins” and other substances found in “edible fats and oils,” condiments and infant formula products, USDA said. Hong Kong submitted the proposed changes to the World Trade Organization. Public comments are due March 15.
China announced procedures to “fast track” entry and exit customs clearances for certain railway trains, the country’s General Administration of Customs said Jan. 14, according to an unofficial translation. The notice details how “railway operating enterprises” and others can apply for “express” services and submit information and data electronically. The changes aim to “further unblock the large international logistics channel that opens to the west,” promote China-Europe freight trains, and improve the efficiency of domestic railways for freight transportation. The railway rapid customs clearance initiative is called Fast Pass.
China recently issued two new catalogs of trade-restricted goods, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said Jan. 18. The restrictions are in conjunction with its obligations under several multinational conventions covering organic pollutants and mercury. The lists, which took effect Jan. 1, cover goods under 75 tariff codes, including certain pesticides in retail packaging, battery packs with cells that contain mercury, fluorescent lamps and mercury‑containing cosmetics.
The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing Jan. 26 to hear from the nominee to head the Commerce Department, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D).
The State Department should clarify to the Commerce Department that Electronic Export Information filings are not required for exports of certain licensed technical data controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the American Association of Exporters and Importers said in a Jan. 8 letter. Even though the export of that data is authorized by an ITAR exemption and exempt from Automated Export System filings, the AAEI said “regulatory modifications made to support Single Window automation inadvertently” created uncertainty about whether AES filings are required. The uncertainty stemmed from the removal of language in the ITAR that “previously indicated no AES filing was required for such exports,” AAEI said. “This inconsistency causes confusion within industry, potentially impacts trade statistics, and may cost companies in business processing time,” the group said. AAEI urged the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to clarify the filing requirement “either through issuance of an amendment” or “informally through coordination with” the Census Bureau. DDTC didn’t comment.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended entries under eight sanctions regimes, the U.K. said in Jan. 19 notices. OFSI amended entries under its regimes for Belarus, Burma, Chemical Weapons, North Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Russia and Syria. The amendments update identifying information for the entries, which are still subject to asset freezes.
China announced sanctions on 28 Trump administration officials and advisers who have “seriously violated China's sovereignty,” according to a Jan. 20 statement by China's Foreign Ministry. The sanctions target former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, former White House adviser Peter Navarro and others. The sanctions include a ban on traveling to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau and will prohibit the former officials from “doing business with China.”
No short-term action should be expected on sanctions, export controls or foreign investment scrutiny, as President Joe Biden takes over U.S. trade policy following President Donald Trump's thorough shake-up of traditional policy, lawyers said on a Thompson Hine webinar Jan. 19. The Trump administration made significant policy changes in all three of these areas, and it appears Biden will shy away from any immediate course reversal due to a stated desire to focus initially on domestic concerns and to use Trump measures as a leverage point in future negotiations, lawyer David Schwartz of Thompson Hine said. The only difference the lawyers predict for the Biden administration will be in the general approach to these issues, with a special emphasis on a more measured tone, they said. For instance, while the sanctions themselves may stay in place, Biden will shift from dubbing the White House's approach to Iran as a “maximum pressure” campaign to one that applies “compliance pressure,” Schwartz said. He also predicts a more measured use of the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List to promote multilateral cooperation.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Jan. 19 updated its guidance for exports to military-end users and for end-uses in China, Russia and Venezuela (see 2006290045). BIS said it amended one frequently asked question concerning exports to national police. The agency recently amended the Export Administration Regulations to add a military end-user list, which consists of entities subject to export licensing requirements (see 2012220027).