Brianna Krominga, former trade attorney at Stanton, joined business law firm LimNexus as a senior associate in the Washington, D.C.-based International Trade & Regulatory Compliance group, the firm announced. Krominga previously co-led a court-appointed compliance monitor team for the "largest criminal monitorship in U.S. history for export controls and sanctions violations," the firm said. Krominga also helped lead the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security corporate audit of a Chinese multinational telecom company. Her practice will center on export controls, economic sanctions, customs and Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. matters, LimNexus said.
Maria Alejandra (Jana) del-Cerro, former regulatory and multilateral affairs analyst at the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Control's Policy office, has rejoined Crowell & Moring, the firm announced. Del-Cerro will serve as a partner in the International Trade and Government Contracts group, advising clients on aspects of export compliance including export controls, sanctions and Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. matters. At the State Department, del-Cerro worked to amend and interpret the International Traffic in Arms Regulations in promoting bilateral defense trade working groups' priorities, the firm said.
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on “The Future of U.S.-Taiwan Trade” on Sept. 14 at 11 a.m. It will be livestreamed on the committee website.
The Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously to approve the nomination of Doug McKalip to be chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The full Senate must vote on his nomination before he can start the job.
The Biden administration is considering a set of executive orders to restrict investment and sales involving advanced technologies in China, according to a Sept. 2 post on Medium from Semafor technology reporter Reed Albergotti. Citing people with knowledge of the plans, Albergotti said one order would “narrow” the types of technology that “can be sold to Chinese customers.” The other executive order, for which plans are still up in the air, would involve either a notification scheme for investments in certain technologies including semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, or a mechanism for the U.S. government to block such investments, similar to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or both, Albergotti said. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the executive order on investment as early as September, the post said. The White House did not comment.
CBP posted several documents ahead of the Sept. 14 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
J. Philip Ludvigson, a former Treasury Department official, has joined King & Spalding as a partner in the Washington, D.C.-based International Trade practice, the firm announced. Serving at Treasury from 2019 to 2022, Ludvigson worked in the Office of Investment Security -- the office that chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. -- as the acting deputy assistant secretary and was the founding director for monitoring and enforcement. Prior to his time at Treasury, Ludvigson served as the acting director of foreign investment risk management at the Department of Homeland Security, guiding the agency's CFIUS and Team Telecom participation, the firm said. Ludvigson's practice will center on advising clients on CFIUS jurisdiction and risk-related concerns, King & Spalding said.
Only a small percentage of foreign real estate purchases are reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, but that may change given an uptick in concern, lawyers at Morgan Lewis said in an Aug. 29 blog post.
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade, in an Aug. 27 move, restricted the trade of "Wheat or Meslin Flour (Atta), Maida, Samolina (Rava/Sirgi), Wholemeal atta and resultant atta." The existing policy allowed the export of the subject goods, though their export was subject to the recommendation of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (see 2208090033). Under the new policy, exports of wheat will be barred, with permission given by India's government to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their government. The DGFT also said wheat or meslin flour is no longer exempted from export restrictions and bans (see 2205200020).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking public comments on how well China is fulfilling its commitments to the World Trade Organization. There will be no public hearing due to COVID-19, but the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee will facilitate public participation via written questions and written responses. Written comments are due at www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2022-0012, by Sept. 28 at 11:59 pm EDT. Government officials will pose written questions to commenters in October, and the original writers will have until Oct. 26 at 11:59 pm EDT to respond.