The head of the House Select Committee on China urged the Trump administration Aug. 25 to adopt a new framework for restricting computing chip exports to China, saying placing certain technical limits on such sales would be a more effective way to keep Beijing’s AI capabilities in check.
The State Department is finalizing changes from a January rule that will add and remove items on the U.S. Munitions List and clarify the control scope of others. It said some new items should be subject to export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, while others “no longer warrant inclusion” or will soon be moved to the Commerce Department’s Commerce Control List. The agency will also create a new license exemption for underwater drones and tweak other portions of the January rule, but it declined to make multiple changes requested by exporters.
President Donald Trump threatened to impose export controls on technology and semiconductors if countries have digital policies he dislikes.
Ian Richardson, who was named the first chief counsel for corporate enforcement at DOJ’s National Security Division in 2023 (see 2309120017), left the government this month to join Paul Weiss as a lawyer working on national security issues, he announced on LinkedIn. Richardson was most recently chief counsel of DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Rachel Alpert has left her role as chief counsel for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, she announced on LinkedIn. She was named to the position in October 2023 (see 2310250061).
The Federal Maritime Commission is revoking exemptions for several carriers that had allowed them to impose new rates, charges, classifications, rules or regulations with less than the commission’s required 30 days’ notice. The action applies to certain controlled carriers -- vessel-operating common carriers owned or controlled by a foreign government -- because they have been removed from the FMC’s list of controlled carriers “over the years.” The agency said they either no longer offer “carriage in the U.S. trades” or have since been bought by private companies.
China requested dispute consultations at the World Trade Organization regarding Canada's tariff rate quotas on certain steel goods from non-free trade agreement partners, including China, and Canada's surtax on certain steel and aluminum goods that contain China-origin steel or aluminum.
A dispute panel at the World Trade Organization on Aug. 22 found that the European Commission violated its WTO commitments in imposing countervailing duties on biodiesel from Indonesia. The panel found that the commission erred in finding that the Indonesian government provides a countervailable subsidy to biodiesel producers via the provision of crude palm oil and in concluding that Indonesian biodiesel imports "cause a threat of material injury to EU biodiesel producers."
Japan opened an expiry review of the antidumping duty order on dipotassium carbonate from South Korea to review whether to extend the measures, and it's hoping to complete the review in one year. The AD currently in place are applied at a 30.8% rate and cover entries during the taxable period June 24, 2021, to June 23, 2026.
Japan on Aug. 20 opened an antidumping duty investigation on bisphenol A from South Korea and Taiwan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Finance announced. Bisphenol A is a raw material for plastics, and it's used to make polycarbonate resin and epoxy resin. Japan is hoping to complete the investigation within one year.