The United Kingdom’s Export Control Joint Unit updated the list of companies approved to use the country’s open general trade control license for certain controlled goods, a June 9 notice said. The updated list includes more than 40 registered companies.

China will continue to reduce logistics and transportation costs for traders to accelerate the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a June 3 report from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The measures, introduced in part by the Ministry of Transport, emphasize the use of electronic certificates and call for “facilitation of customs clearance” in the railway sector, the report said. China will also continue to lower fees and taxes related to logistics. China previously lowered transportation costs for traders (see 2003190039).

Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department is asking industry to report activities involving certain chemicals controlled by the Chemical Weapons Convention by July 23, the agency said June 2. Hong Kong requires operators of certain facilities that work with the chemicals to submit annual reports, which are then submitted to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The annual reports must contain details about past and “anticipated activities” involving controlled chemicals.

The State Department renewed the charter for the Defense Trade Advisory Group, the agency said June 8. DTAG, the only State Department advisory board that addresses defense trade topics, will remain active for two more years unless it is terminated sooner, the agency said. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued an updated DTAG members list and presentations from September's DTAG plenary meeting.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is working with the Department of Defense to survey the industrial base involved with Air Force systems supply chains, BIS said in a June 8 notice. The survey data will provide both agencies with a clearer picture of the “structure and interdependencies” of companies that supply Air Force products, including “maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) related activities,” the notice said. The survey aims to help DoD’s Air Force Sustainment Center better “identify and resolve supply chain deficiencies, foreign dependencies, and other challenges in the industrial base.” The survey will also record “difficulties” faced by suppliers throughout the supply chain, including impacts from the coronavirus.

The United Kingdom and Japan officially opened trade negotiations June 9, the U.K. said in a notice. The U.K. said a free trade agreement with Japan would be an “important milestone towards the UK’s accession” to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Both countries “believe that the right response to the unprecedented economic challenge posed by coronavirus [COVID-19] is to make international trade easier and fairer,” U.K. Secretary of State-International Trade Liz Truss said in a statement.

The U.S. officially designated the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and its Shanghai-based subsidiary, E-Sail Shipping Company Ltd., a June 8 State Department news release said. State in December announced its intention to sanction both IRISL and E-Sail (see 1912120024), but the agency said it postponed those designations for six months to allow exporters of humanitarian goods to find alternative shipping methods when exporting to Iran. “Now that this generous delay has come to an end, those in the commercial and maritime industries doing business with Iran must use carriers or shipping methods other than IRISL or E-Sail,” State said.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 1-5 in case you missed them.

A U.S. official again argued that the U.S. has the authority to invoke snapback sanctions under the Iran nuclear deal and threatened to impose them unless an international arms embargo against Iran is extended. Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, said the U.S. will trigger a United Nations provision to reimpose a host of international sanctions against Iran if the arms embargo, set to expire in October, is not extended. Without the embargo, Iran could import a range of advanced military weapons from China and Russia, Hook said. “One way or another, we're going to accomplish this,” he said, speaking during a June 9 virtual talk hosted by the Heritage Foundation.

The U.S. technology industry is worried that upcoming trade restrictions could damage technological innovation and competitiveness, the Information Technology Industry Council said June 8. The U.S. should avoid imposing overboard restrictions in the name of national security, the group said, warning that export controls and other measures could harm the U.S. industrial base and lead to isolation.