South African imports of wheat and wheat products are expected to drop by 20% next marketing year, which begins Oct. 1, due to an increase in domestic production, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported Sept. 21. The country will likely import 1.6 million tons of wheat next marketing year, down from the “expected” 2 million tons in the current marketing year. Favorable growing conditions are expected to improve the domestic production to 2 million tons. The drop in imports could affect wheat shipments from Poland, Russia, Germany and Lithuania, all of which have been the “major exporters” of wheat to South Africa this year. The U.S. has been the six-largest exporter of wheat to South Africa this marketing year (Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2020), at 58,075 tons.

The European Commission issued a notice Sept. 16 on European Union dual-use export controls if the United Kingdom leaves the EU without a deal. The commission reminded dual-use traders that items exported from the EU to the U.K. will require a license after the transition period, which ends Dec. 31, and traders will no longer be able to rely on U.K. licenses for shipments from the EU to a third country. Traders also will not be able to rely on licenses issued by another EU member state to export dual-use goods located in the U.K. to a third country. The EC advised exporters to seek information from their country’s licensing authority “regarding the handling of relevant export scenarios” post-transition.

As trade and labor attorneys wait to see which company is the target of a promised AFL-CIO rapid response complaint, Warren Payne, a senior adviser for Mayer Brown's public policy and international trade practices, said there can be informed speculation on who might be first.

Vietnam’s customs authority recently issued guidance on an exemption for import duties and value-added taxes on items intended for “factory constructions,” KPMG said in a Sept. 22 post. An “export and processing” company that imports certain factory construction goods but then subleases a portion of the factory to another business is not eligible for duty exemptions on the imports for use in the factory construction, KPMG said. In addition, if the export and processing company continues to use the factory for its own business at the end of the sublease period, it cannot apply for import duty or VAT refunds.

India is under pressure to lift its ban on certain onion exports (see 2009150019) due to significant shipping backlogs at ports and borders, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Sept. 21. More than 400,000 metric tons of onions are stuck at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the USDA said, and more than 500 trucks of onions are at the Nepal and Bangladesh borders. USDA said officials in the state of Maharashtra, the largest onion-producing state in India and where Jawaharlal Nehru operates near Mumbai, plan to ask the national government to “immediately” lift the ban.

China is considering revising its standards for processed cheese and cheese products with new terms, definitions, physical and chemical indicators, and new microbial limits, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said Sept. 18. China notified the World Trade Organization on Sept. 14 of this addendum to an earlier notification in June 2019, the USDA said, and is accepting comments until Nov. 13. China has not proposed an adoption date for the new standards.

A Pennsylvania man was charged with illegally exporting guns from the U.S. to St. Lucia, the Justice Department said Sept. 23. Thomas Harris of Croydon allegedly purchased and smuggled 38 firearms to St. Lucia, failing to inform a shipping company that his shipments contained weapons.

A former employee for a Virginia night-vision equipment manufacturer pleaded guilty to selling night vision devices and components over the internet, the Justice Department said Sept. 23. Steven Rosine stole the equipment while working as a production engineer at Harris Corp.’s manufacturing facility in Roanoke, where he had access to the company’s equipment. The Justice Department said Rosine, of Troutville, Virginia, stole and sold image intensifier tubes, night vision systems and other parts, a majority of which were made using “classified production data” and controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Rosine made more than $119,000 from selling the ITAR-controlled items. He faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a possible fine of up to $250,000.

A California electronics company was fined about $475,000 after its former Finnish subsidiary illegally exported test measurement equipment to Iran, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Sept. 24. After Keysight Technologies acquired Anite Finland Oy in 2015, Anite continued to illegally supply equipment to Iranian end-users, hiding the transactions from Keysight, OFAC said. In a settlement agreement, Keysight agreed to implement improved compliance procedures and an annual audit of its compliance program for the next five years.

CBP and other export enforcement agencies are increasing detentions of shipments to China and Hong Kong due to a series of recently imposed export restrictions announced by the Trump administration, trade lawyer Doug Jacobson said. Jacobson said he has noticed a “dramatic increase” in detentions and seizures, and said he is spending “a lot of time” working with agencies to provide information on clients’ shipments.