Members of the European Parliament are pushing for tighter enforcement of export controls surrounding spyware products, saying several countries -- including Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria -- are routinely flouting the bloc’s export restrictions. They also criticized the European Commission for not doing enough to hold member states accountable for potentially violating the EU’s dual-use export controls (see 2105100013).
The chair of the World Trade Organization's Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures urged all WTO members to submit missing subsidy notifications as soon as possible. Chair Sally Bardayan Rivera of Panama, during a May 2 meeting, said 88 members have yet to submit their 2021 notifications, which were due by the middle of 2021. Seventy-five members have not submitted their 2019 subsidy notifications, while 64 have yet to submit their 2017 notifications. "Eight delegations took the floor to urge members to step up their efforts and ensure both timely submission of notifications as well as complete notifications," WTO said.
U.S. export controls and investment restrictions can successfully maintain America’s lead over China in sensitive technologies, including semiconductors, said Michele Flournoy, a former Defense Department official. But she also warned against policies that could push the U.S. toward decoupling from Beijing, saying the government needs to do a better job working with industry to craft the restrictions.
The European Commission and office of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy floated a proposal for a new sanctions regime to target corruption. In a joint communication to the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Economic and Social Committee, they said the regime would allow for sanctions where acts of corruption "seriously affect or risk affecting the fundamental interests of the Union and the objectives of the" Common Foreign and Security Policy. Such acts of corruption include "passive or active bribery" of a public official or "embezzlement or misappropriation" of funds by a public official.
Although National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (see 2304270066) and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (see 2304200058) confirmed in recent weeks that the administration is working on an outbound investment screening mechanism, their “vague” descriptions of the tool suggests the process has been difficult, a technology policy expert said. Martin Chorzempa, a research fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, wrote in a May 3 post that the administration appears to be “having a challenging time balancing the planned restrictions against the concerns of a private sector that continues to have a stake in Chinese investments.”
Over half of charge complaints submitted to the Federal Maritime Commission have been resolved by the parties agreeing to a settlement, FMC Managing Director Lucille Marvin said during a May 3 FMC meeting. More than half of what comes in gets settled "almost right away," Marvin said. Once "regulated entities see that we're involved, they come back to the table and issue refunds or waivers."
The Treasury Department is proposing to add eight military bases that would fall under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., including an Air Force base in North Dakota that was the subject of a controversial CFIUS decision last year. The proposed rule, released May 4 by Treasury’s Office of Investment Security, also would amend the definition for “military installation” to include six additional U.S. states. Comments on the changes are due June 5.
Congress should amend shipping regulations to give the Federal Maritime Commission jurisdiction over certain fees assessed by railroads under ocean bills of lading, more than 70 trade groups, including the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, said in a May 2 letter to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The groups said those charges should be billed through the contracting carrier and be subject to demurrage and detention invoicing requirements that were included as part of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act.
The Senate will work over the next several months to build a bill Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sees as a sequel to its China package -- also known as the Chips Act -- that could expand China-related export controls and investment restrictions.
The European Parliament’s International Trade Committee approved a proposal last week that would renew the EU's suspension of import duties, antidumping duties and safeguards against Ukraine for another year. Members voted 27-1, and seven abstentions, to approve the measure, which would continue to suspend import duties on agricultural products, industrial items and other goods. The proposal is scheduled to be voted on by all members next week and will need to be approved by the European Council.