The European Union is considering sanctions against Belarus for human rights violations and unfair elections earlier this month, an Aug. 11 notice said. The Belarus government “deployed disproportionate and unacceptable violence” to restrict freedom of expression and media, the notice said. The EU will conduct an “in-depth review” of relations with Belarus. “This may include, inter alia, taking measures against those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests, and falsification of election results,” the EU said.

The worsening U.S.-China trade relationship is continuing to hurt U.S. companies, which are increasingly losing Chinese customers to European, Japanese and domestic Chinese firms, U.S.-China Business Council officials said. But despite the rising tensions, USCBC President Craig Allen said he is hopeful China will meet its phase one purchase commitments, and said the two sides should begin discussing phase two during an expected meeting between trade officials this week.

The United Kingdom will continue to impose countervailing and antidumping duties on imports of U.S. biodiesel, including biodiesel consigned from Canada, after the U.K. leaves the European Union, the country said Aug. 10. The determination filled a “call for evidence” from U.K. companies to examine trade remedies imposed by the EU that “matter to U.K. industry,” it said.

CBP removed 22 reference and exemption codes from the Electronic Export Manifest Appendix I, the agency said in an Aug. 10 CSMS message.

CBP issued an Aug. 11 guidance on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s renewed and revised list of export restrictions on personal protective equipment (see 2008060061). The guidance highlights the restrictions and exemptions announced by FEMA, and said CBP will continue to help review controlled exports.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed review of a Census Bureau rule to remove certain filing requirements for exporters shipping goods to Puerto Rico. The rule, which will be issued first as an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, stemmed from Puerto Rico's requests to remove the requirements, which it said were burdensome (see 2006030043). OIRA received the rule May 22 and completed its review Aug 10.

The owners of a Miami freight forwarder were sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of $7,500 each for illegally exporting live fish to Colombia. Alvaro Cortes, Olga Rodriguez and their company, Planet Express Cargo & Courier Corp. (PECC), falsified shipping manifests and failed to declare the exports to CBP and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Justice Department said Aug. 10. The agency said Cortes and Rodriguez likely exported more than 1,000 illegal shipments of wildlife to Colombia. They had previously pleaded guilty.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a U.S. person $5,000 for buying jewelry, meals, clothing, hotel rooms and other gifts for a person on the Specially Designated Nationals List. The U.S. person, who OFAC did not name, was a civilian hire stationed by the U.S. Army at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, during the violations, according to an Aug. 11 notice.

A California man pleaded guilty Aug. 10 to illegally exporting cesium atomic clocks to Hong Kong, the Department of Justice said. Alex Yun Cheong Yue, who was arrested in June 2019 (see 1906270067), shipped the clocks without the required license from the Bureau of Industry and Security. He faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence and a $1 million fine. Wai Kay Victor Zee and his company, Premium Tech Systems, Ltd., were also charged in the case. Zee remains at large in Hong Kong.

Three Republican senators threatened U.S. sanctions against a German port for helping to build Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline (see 2007150021), urging the port to stop providing “goods, services and support” for the project.” In an Aug. 5 letter to Fahrhafen Sassnitz GmbH, operator of Mukran Port, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said the port should immediately stop supporting the Russian-flagged vessels Fortuna and Akademik Cherskiy.