A Chinese national who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Raytheon Missiles and Defense engineer was sentenced to 38 months in prison after pleading guilty to violating U.S. export controls, the Justice Department said Nov. 17. Wei Sun, who was charged in January (see 2002050025), violated the Arms Export Control Act when he took a company laptop with sensitive military technology data to China. His computer contained data controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, including technical information on a missile guidance system. Raytheon didn’t comment.
The European Council approved a tariff package that would eliminate customs duties on U.S. lobster imports in exchange for reduced U.S. duties on several European Union products, including prepared meals, crystal glassware, surface preparations, propellant powders and lighters (see 2008210028). The package, which the European Union said would be the first EU-U.S. tariff reduction in two decades, could increase market access for both EU and U.S. traders by about $240 million per year, the council said in a Nov. 18 news release. The package needs European Parliament approval. If enacted, it would take effect retroactively from Aug. 1 for five years.
Twenty-one United Kingdom parliamentarians urged their government to impose sanctions on Chinese entities and people responsible for human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang region, following similar moves by the U.S. The members, part of the U.K.’s Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, urged Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to sanction the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, and Chinese officials Chen Quanguo, Zhu Hailun, Sun Jinlong, Peng Jiarui, Wang Mingshan and Huo Liujun, all sanctioned by the U.S. earlier this year (see 2007090024 and 2007310028).
The U.S. sanctioned more than 50 people and entities for being part of a “key patronage network” for Iran’s supreme leader, the Treasury Department said in a Nov. 18 news release. The agency also sanctioned Iranian Minister of Intelligence and Security Mahmoud Alavi for human rights abuses. In total, Treasury sanctioned one vessel, nine people and more than 40 entities.
The U.S. and other governments need to substantially increase outreach with industry before continuing to pursue export controls over emerging technologies, experts said. Although the U.S. and other governments do some outreach work, future controls will be ineffective and difficult to comply with without more industry input, they said. “It’s [like] trying to change a tire while we’re driving down the road,” said Scott Jones, a senior adviser at the Strategic Trade Research Institute, speaking during a Nov. 17 webinar hosted by STRI. “Going forward, it fundamentally has to be much more collaborative.’
The U.S. and eight other countries speaking at the World Trade Organization said they're concerned about the expected proposal from the European Union to implement a carbon border tax as part of its climate change mitigation policy. The proposal is expected next year. A Geneva trade official said the EU started the discussion at a Committee on Trade and the Environment meeting Nov. 16. The countries that are concerned want to make sure subsidies for EU industries in green energy will be fair; that costs aren't borne only by producers; and that any action is WTO-compliant.
China has revised and published its “import and export tariff commodities and item notes,” which will affect the country’s commodity classifications, China’s General Administration of Customs said in a Nov. 16 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The move follows similar changes by the World Customs Organization to its “Harmonized System Notes,” China said. The revisions become effective Dec. 1.
China criticized President Donald Trump’s executive order that will ban Americans from investing in Chinese military-owned firms (see 2011130026), saying it unfairly suppresses Chinese companies, China’s Commerce Ministry said Nov. 16, according to an unofficial translation of a press release that cites a news conference transcript. China also said the U.S. list of companies with ties to the Chinese military is neither based on “nor consistent with legal principles.”
The Department of Justice on Nov. 16 released a “year-in-review” synopsis of its China Initiative, detailing the agency’s emphasis on investigating Chinese theft of U.S. technology and trade secrets. The agency said it charged three cases of Chinese economic espionage that were intended to benefit the Chinese government, and it focused on raising awareness among U.S. academic institutions. Universities are among the nation's “most vulnerable sectors” to Chinese trade theft because of the importance of the free flow of ideas, the agency said. DOJ also said it plans to increase outreach in the coming year to help U.S. businesses and academia “better protect themselves.” The initiative was established in November 2018.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Nov. 16 removed sanctions from Neda Industrial Group to align with the European Union, which lifted the designation last week (see 2011160010). The U.K. said Neda Industrial Group is an “industrial automation company” that has worked for Kalaye Electric Company at the uranium fuel enrichment plant in Natanz, Iran. Kalaye has been involved in centrifuge component production.