SAN ANTONIO -- The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security and the Census Bureau hope to issue their long-awaited proposed regulations on routed export transactions in late spring or early summer, said Sharron Cook, senior policy export analyst at BIS, at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference April 17. When they come out, Cook thinks, export forwarders will see two of their bigger headaches with the current regulations on track for resolution.
The State Department is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to make changes to its licensing exemption for transfers made by or for an agency of the U.S. government. The scope of the revised exemption is now expanded to allow for permanent exports and retransfers, as well as transfers by third parties acting for the U.S. government. The final rule takes effect April 19.
SAN ANTONIO -- CBP is combing through its export processes to streamline, automate and harmonize agency review, exams and penalties across the ports, according to Jim Swanson, director of CBP’s cargo and security controls division. Speaking at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference April 17, Swanson said CBP has “incrementally moved the ball” on exports in the past year, but is “on the verge” with “a few things we’re working on diligently.”
Rhenus Logistics of Germany acquired Freight Logistics, which is based in Miami, Florida, Rhenus said in a news release. “The acquisition of Freight Logistics is an important step for us in expanding our business activities in the Americas region and follows our latest acquisition of Rodair in Canada in the beginning of 2019," said Jorn Schmersahl, CEO of Rhenus Air & Ocean Americas. "These steps enable us to consolidate our network there and to serve both North America and the Latin American region from Miami as our new gateway. This will help us live up to our goal of being globally oriented and we can establish more links between the continents.” Financial terms of the deal weren't released. Freight Logistics "specializes in supply-chain solutions, international transportation (air & ocean), customs brokerage, compliance, warehousing and distribution," Rhenus said.
FTI Consulting will now offer services related to export controls and sanctions compliance, the company said in an April 16 news release. "The Export Controls and Sanctions offering at FTI Consulting includes compliance program assessment and design, implementation and remediation; investigations and disclosures; independent monitoring or related support services; supply chain and third-party risk management; trade control audits and reviews; license application preparation and license management support; de minimis calculation analysis; deemed export control reviews; wind-down support for sanctioned country operations; and compliance crisis management," the company said. FTI hired Matthew Bell, who previously worked as chief export compliance officer at ZTE, as senior managing director to lead the new effort. “The complexities and changing nature of export control and sanction regulations require companies to undertake vigilance, ongoing training and continuous process improvement, particularly as governments have signaled additional enforcement and trade disputes have increased,” said Paul Ficca, global leader of the Forensic & Litigation Consulting segment at FTI Consulting.
In the April 17 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that beginning May 2, those who had property seized by the Cuban government after the Communist revolution can sue foreign companies "trafficking in property that was confiscated by the Cuban regime. Any person or company doing business in Cuba should heed this announcement," he said April 17. The right to sue foreign companies had been suspended for more than 20 years, and European diplomats warned Pompeo ahead of the announcement "the extraterritorial application of unilateral restrictive measures, such as the LIBERTAD Act, is contrary to international law." Trade Minister Cecilia Malmstrom said that if he went through with the plan to allow these lawsuits, the EU may launch a World Trade Organization case, and would allow EU companies to file counterclaims in EU courts against Americans bringing suit.
The executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's U.S.-UK Business Council, said that even a customs union would be more complicated for U.S. exporters than the status quo. Marjorie Chorlins was speaking with reporters on a conference call April 17. "The amendment proposing a customs union came very close to passing," she said, in response to a question from Export Compliance Daily. But exactly what would be included in the customs union could vary -- it does in Norway and Turkey, she said.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of April 17 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Canadian government should increase its role in getting China to resume imports of canola, the Canola Council of Canada said in an April 17 news release. "As days have turned into weeks and a Canadian delegation has not yet been accepted by China, the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) is calling on the Government of Canada to consider all available options to resume seed trade," the group said. "While technical discussions are still required, continued delay shows that more options need to be considered."