International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is eliminating 12 general approved exclusions from Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, it said in a final rule released May 17.
Automakers and their trade groups cautioned the Bureau of Industry and Security to tailor its restrictions narrowly -- and allow a phase-in -- if they want manufacturers to stop buying information technology components from China for cars with advanced features, including electric cars.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
President Joe Biden said a regulatory effort from the Commerce Department to curtail the use of software, sensors and cameras in automobiles made by Chinese firms is one of the actions the administration is taking "to make sure the future of the auto industry will be made here in America with American workers."
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that could make changes to the exclusion process for Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Feb. 15, about six months after it published proposed changes aimed at improving the accuracy and efficiency of exclusion requests and objections (see 2308250035).
U.S. companies can temporarily import certain controlled firearms they previously exported to Ukraine in order to service or repair them, the Bureau of Industry and Security clarified as part of a broader Russia-related final rule released Jan. 23. BIS said those firearms can be temporarily imported under License Exception RPL (Replacement of Parts and Equipment) as long as they were originally exported under a BIS license.
Elizabeth Cannon, former global trade counsel with Microsoft, has joined the Bureau of Industry and Security as the executive director of the agency’s Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, a BIS spokesperson said. That office is responsible for implementing certain prohibitions on information and communications technology and services transactions, restrictions on foreign access to certain U.S. sensitive data, and more. Cannon’s first day was Jan. 22.