A Jacksonville, Florida, woman pleaded guilty to filing false export information to illegally ship military-related boats and engines to China, the Department of Justice said Sept. 16. Yang Yang submitted false information in the Automated Export System after trying to order seven combat rubber raiding craft with engines from a U.S. manufacturer, the agency said (see 1911040022). She faces a maximum 15-year prison sentence.

The U.S. sanctioned more than 45 Iranian people and companies for cyberattacks, and designated two Lebanese companies and a Lebanese official for involvement with Hezbollah. The Iranian sanctions target Advanced Persistent Threat 39 and Rana Intelligence Computing Co. as Ministry of Intelligence and Security-owned or -controlled, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Sept. 17. Rana was involved in a “years-long malware campaign” that targeted Iranian dissidents, journalists and international companies, OFAC said. The Lebanese designations target Lebanon-based Arch Consulting and Meamar Construction, and Sultan Khalifah As’ad, a Hezbollah Executive Council official “closely associated” with both companies, OFAC said.

Industry should expect the Bureau of Industry and Security's increased activity around export controls to continue, including more additions to the Entity List and the “refinement” of export controls for Hong Kong, said Tim Mooney, a BIS senior export policy analyst.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is preparing industry guidance for its August restrictions on Huawei, including changes to the foreign direct product rule (see 2008170029), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Matt Borman said. He said BIS will issue a series of frequently asked questions similar to its “fairly extensive” FAQs issued in June for new licensing restrictions for military-related exports (see 2006290045). Borman did not say when they will be released.

The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:​​

The Canada government issued the following trade-related notice as of Sept. 16 (some may also be given separate headlines):

Japan announced the launch of a government-sponsored export control program for small and medium-sized companies, which includes “briefing sessions” and guidance from export control experts on complying with regulations surrounding sensitive technologies. The program, a collaboration of the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and the chambers of commerce in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, will create a “security trade control system … to prevent the outflow of sensitive technologies” by smaller companies, the ministry said Sept. 15, according to an unofficial translation. It will feature a free “specialized consultation desk” for export control issues, Japan said, and company visits by export control experts to help with in-house compliance programs. It said the resources will be available to companies operating in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, but the program may expand to other regions.

China’s General Administration of Customs will allow imports of French “breeding eggs,” a Sept. 14 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. The notice contains quarantine and sanitation requirements for the egg imports. The two countries have an arrangement and protocol in place, and the guidelines will ensure proper enforcement. The notice says “breeding eggs” are defined as “poultry and fertilized poultry eggs used for breeding and breeding young poultry, including chickens, ducks, geese and other breeding poultry birds.”

China will continue to exempt 16 U.S. items from retaliatory tariffs for another year, Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, reported Sept. 15. The exemptions, first announced in September 2019 (see 1909110051) and scheduled to end Sept. 16, 2020, will now end Sept. 16, 2021, the report said.

China’s General Administration of Customs announced new procedures aimed at simplifying and streamlining its electronic data declaration requirements for air and water transport, it said Sept. 15, according to an unofficial translation. The notice includes information on when declarations are not required, declarations for “empty containers [dispatched] … in domestic coastal ports,” procedures related to electronic customs clearances, and customs declaration requirements for ships on “short-distance scheduled passenger routes.” The new procedures take effect Dec. 1.