The Commerce Department’s lengthy rollout of export controls over emerging and foundational technologies may be impeding congressionally mandated export control reform measures and the work of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., the Congressional Research Service said in a report Aug. 21. Commerce’s effort, mandated by the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, has resulted in several export control notices, including on geospatial imagery software (see 2001030024) and items agreed to by multilateral control bodies (see 2006160034). But Commerce has yet to release its advance notice of proposed rulemaking for foundational technologies (see 2008040008), and the pace of the controls has frustrated some in industry (see 2002040057 and 1911070014).
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Aug. 21 (some may also be given separate headlines):
Japan will use a public-private partnership to create and implement measures to regulate the country’s growing “alternative meat industry,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported Aug. 17. The partnership will aim to establish standards for “insect-based and plant-based foods derived through innovative technologies.” They will develop standards for food safety, quality, international export, and proposed guidelines for labeling and product certification. The USDA said Japan planned to begin this summer a process of creating working groups to focus on the standards by product category, such as insects for feed or cultured meat.
Hong Kong suspended certain imports from a Brazilian meat plant after China said meat from the plant tested positive for the coronavirus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service reported Aug. 14. The suspension, which took effect Aug. 13, applies to imported poultry meat from the plant, which can only sell poultry products to Hong Kong. Even though only one Brazilian plant was affected, USDA said Hong Kong traders might begin importing poultry products from countries other than Brazil due to fears “that products from other Brazilian plants could be found to be contaminated with coronavirus.” The report said: “It seems that the Hong Kong food authority has not overreacted to the incident. Given that the batch in question is not available in Hong Kong, [the Hong Kong Center for Food Safety] has not issued a voluntary recall of products from the plant.”
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute released an Aug. 20 report on China’s increasing use of global talent recruitment programs to steal technology and intellectual property from universities and companies around the world. The report details how the practice helps China leverage “foreign technology and expertise” and how it can be combated, especially as China seeks to “shift the balance of power” within the technology industry away from the U.S.
China will launch a pilot “preferential” certificate of origin system for trade with certain least developed countries, an Aug. 18 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. The system, to launch Sept. 10, will issue online certificates of origin for trade with Bangladesh, Niger, Ethiopia, Mozambique and East Timor, China’s General Administration of Customs said. The system will “further promote the implementation of special preferential tariff treatment measures” for certain least developed countries “that have established diplomatic relations with China, the notice said. It will also help improve customs clearances for qualified goods.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued an order temporarily denying export privileges for three Indonesian companies and three people for illegally exporting U.S. aircraft parts to Iran’s Mahan Air. In an Aug. 20 press release, BIS said the companies operate an “international procurement scheme” for the sanctioned Iranian airline and will be barred from exporting or receiving U.S.-origin goods for 180 days. The suspension may be renewed.
The head of the Bureau of Industry and Security on Aug. 19 affirmed a more than $30 million penalty against a shipping company for export violations after ordering a judge to review the fine for being too high. Commerce Acting Undersecretary for Industry and Security Cordell Hull said in March the fine was perhaps disproportionate to the violations committed by Singapore-based Nordic Maritime Pte. Ltd and chairman Morten Innhaug (see 2003170040), but the judge “affirmed” the penalty. Although Hull said the administrative law judge’s “narrow analysis” for the reasoning behind the recommended penalty was “erroneous,” he said BIS will accept the fine. “BIS believes the penalty should be affirmed in its entirety,” Hull wrote.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo officially initiated a United Nations process to reimpose sanctions under the Iran nuclear deal after failing to convince the U.N. to extend an Iranian arms embargo (see 2008170017 and 2008190036). Pompeo said other U.N. members privately wanted the arms embargo extended but did not stand publicly with the U.S.
The U.S. is reducing by 50% tariffs on certain prepared meals, certain crystal glassware, cigarette lighters and lighter parts, surface preparations and propellant powders, in exchange for the European Union ending tariffs on live and frozen lobster imports. Canada had been taking market share from Maine lobster exports since Canada and the EU signed a trade deal, and Canadian lobsters could enter duty free. The products from the EU have an “average annual trade value of $160 million,” while lobster exports to the EU topped $111 million in 2017, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a news release Aug. 21. All the tariff reductions are effective as of Aug. 1, 2020.