The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is seeking comments on potential changes to regulations on anti-money laundering programs, a notice released Sept. 16 said. The changes would require financial institutions to establish an “effective and reasonably designed” anti-money laundering program and would specify how that is defined. FinCEN said those types of programs assess and manage risks “as informed by a financial institution’s risk assessment” and anti-money laundering priorities “to be issued” by FinCEN. The changes would also outline reporting requirements for “information with a high degree of usefulness to government authorities.” The agency said the effort is intended to “modernize” its regulatory regime to address the “evolving threats of illicit finance.” Comments are due Nov. 16.

The Federal Register is experiencing delays publishing complex agency rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an “unusually” large number of documents submitted this year, said Katerina Horska, legal affairs and policy director for the Office of the Federal Register. Horska said the Federal Register typically publishes rules within three days of receiving them, but some “can take more than a month.”

The U.S. is seeking to seize more than $955,000 belonging to two China-based companies for acting as intermediates for North Korea’s purchase of telecommunications equipment from ZTE, the Department of Justice said Sept. 11. The companies -- Ryer International Trading Limited and Rensy International Trading Co., Limited -- allegedly helped North Korea illegally buy millions of dollars worth of U.S.-origin parts from ZTE between 2010 and 2016 by negotiating contracts, processing payments and receiving goods on behalf of North Korean customers. DOJ alleged Ryer and Rensy also acted as conduit for North Korean money laundering through sanctioned North Korean banks.

European Union Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand said the EU has made another offer to settle the Boeing-Airbus dispute. “There's a lot we need to do to calm down the tensions in our relationship,” she said during a Sept. 15 webinar hosted by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She pointed to the deal on lobster tariffs as good but small. “It's the first tariff liberalization we have done in 20 years” between the U.S. and EU, she noted.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 16 released a final rule setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 24 chemical substances subject to premanufacture notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemicals for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemicals will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Nov. 16. The SNURs cover the following chemical substances:

The Food Safety and Inspection Service is proposing to amend its inspection regulations to expand situations wherein the agency will generically approve the labels of meat, poultry and egg products, it said in a proposed rule issued Sept. 14. If the proposed rule is adopted, FSIS would no longer need labels to be submitted for FSIS approval if they are (1) labels on products for export that deviate from FSIS requirements; (2) labels that list ingredients in the ingredients statement as being certified “organic” (e.g., organic garlic) under the Agricultural Marketing Service National Organic Program; (3) labels that display geographic landmarks, such as a foreign country's flag, monument, or map; (4) labels that make negative claims identifying the absence of certain ingredients or types of ingredients (e.g., statements such as “No MSG Added,” “Preservative Free,” “No Milk,” “No Pork,” or “Made Without Soy”); or (5) labels of products that receive voluntary FSIS inspection. FSIS is also proposing to “cease evaluating labels submitted to FSIS that are eligible for generic approval,” it said. Comments are due Nov. 13.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Russian nationals involved in the cybertheft of nearly $17 million, it said in a Sept. 16 news release. The designations target Danil Potekhin and Dmitrii Karasavidi for orchestrating a phishing campaign that targeted U.S. citizens and businesses through fake web domains that mimicked “legitimate virtual currency exchanges,” OFAC alleged. When people accessed the domains and entered their personal information, Potekhin and Karasavidi allegedly stole that information and accessed real virtual currency accounts. OFAC said Potekhin and Karasavidi are also the subjects of a Justice Department indictment.

The U.S. needs a clearer approach to its export control regime and should coordinate more closely with allies to counter China’s technological rise, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said, adding that the U.S. needs to better communicate to industry about the risks of doing business with China and its government-sponsored human rights abuses.

The Census Bureau issued its advance notice of proposed rulemaking on removing filing requirements for shipments between the U.S. and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 2009150045 and 2006030043). The agency is seeking comments on the impact of no longer requiring Electronic Export Information filings for those shipments, which the Puerto Rican government and other international traders have requested for “many years,” Census said in a notice released Sept. 16. Comments are due Nov. 16.

Five cargo handling organizations published guidance and a checklist on international packing standards to improve safety practices for freight containers. The groups said they are concerned by a rise in container fires aboard ships. The guidance covers the United Nations’ Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU). The checklist details “actions and responsibilities” for those in charge of packing cargo in freight containers to help reduce “serious injuries” among shipping crews and port staff.