The European Union will no longer require EU-wide export authorizations for personal protective equipment. The export authorization scheme, first announced in March (see 2003200029), was intended to ensure adequate EU supply of medical goods during the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission said in a May 26 notice. The commission said the scheme “served its purpose” and “there have been no requests to prolong the scheme.” It officially ended May 26.
Even as COVID-19 delays some advances in trade facilitation -- such as being able to use a single window to export into Canada -- the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement has good news for it, panelists said during a Dickinson Wright webinar May 28.
The State Department approved three potential military sales to Kuwait worth a combined $1.425 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said May 28. The first sale includes $425 million worth of weapons technical assistance and support, and the second sale includes a “Patriot missile Repair and Return program” worth $200 million. The principal contractors for both sales are Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Liedos (formerly SAIC) and KBR. The third sale includes 84 “Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancements” and related equipment for $800 million. The principal contactor for this sale is Lockheed Martin.
A North Korean bank and 28 North Korean and Chinese citizens were charged with evading U.S. sanctions, according to an indictment unsealed May 28. The scheme -- which included branches of North Korea’s state-owned Foreign Trade Bank in Thailand, Libya, Austria, Russia, Kuwait and China -- involved a series of front companies used to access the U.S. financial system. The scheme allowed the banks to process at least $2.5 billion in illegal payments through more than 250 front companies, which provided funding for North Korea’s nuclear missile programs.
The State Department announced sanctions on Amir Zukic, a former member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s House of Representatives, according to a May 28 press release. Zukic was designated for corruption that undermined the rule of law.
The European Council extended European Union sanctions against Syria for one year, until June 1, 2021, according to a May 28 press release. The sanctions will continue to target members of the Syrian regime, their supporters, and businesspeople who aid the “suffering” of the Syrian people, European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell said in a statement. The council also removed sanctions from two people and one company that “halted their sanctionable behavior,” along with two additional deceased persons.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. is increasing scrutiny on transactions involving basic medical supplies and sensitive technologies, trade lawyers said. Companies may also be seeing more CFIUS-related delays and a heavier involvement by political appointees in the CFIUS process as the Trump administration seeks to place more pressure on China, the lawyers said.
The U.S. will officially strip Hong Kong of its special trade treatment, which will include changes to U.S. export controls and sanctions against Chinese officials, President Donald Trump said May 29. Trump said the export controls will impact dual-use technologies and sanctions will target both Hong Kong and mainland China officials.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of May 29 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
At a time that the World Trade Organization is under stress -- its appellate body disbanded, and its director general quitting before his term is up -- member countries are also resisting moving proceedings online. Nigel Cory, associate director of trade policy for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said other groups have “shifted these critical high-level meetings online,” but the WTO canceled its June ministerial meeting. Cory said that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is negotiating online on the matter of digital taxes, so it is showing it can be done.