The State and Defense departments should act quickly to send more weapons, ammunition and military equipment to Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia’s military incursion, Republican lawmakers said. In a March 15 letter to secretaries of both agencies, Republican leaders on the Senate and House national security committees urged the administration to “rapidly exercise the authority” granted under Congress’ recently passed spending bill (see 2203110011), which includes funding for “a robust package of lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.”
The Commerce Department is still working on its long-awaited routed export rule and is unsure when it will be finalized, officials said this week. Kiesha Downs, chief of the Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division’s regulations branch, said Census is “still in a holding pattern” for the rule, which requires more work between Census and the Bureau of Industry and Security.
The Census Bureau has received mostly opposing comments on a proposal for a new country of origin data element in the Automated Export System but hasn’t yet made a decision about whether to move forward with the change, said Kiesha Downs, chief of the agency’s Foreign Trade Division’s regulations branch. The rule (see 2112140033), which would require U.S. exporters of foreign-produced goods to declare the country of origin (COO) for their item in AES, could lead to costly compliance challenges (see 2201040044), companies and trade groups recently told the agency.
Senators on the Finance Committee agreed that deepening trade ties with countries in Asia is important both for geopolitical and economic reasons, but they disagreed during a March 15 hearing on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework about whether a traditional free-trade agreement is a better approach than the IPEF.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are negotiating to begin conference on the China package this work period, a Senate aide said by email. The work period is scheduled to end April 8.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has started a large-scale industry outreach effort to ensure companies understand compliance requirements under the new Russian export controls, including direct talks with U.S. and foreign businesses and work on new guidance. The effort, previewed by BIS officials this week, underscores the significant export control and regulatory undertaking by the agency since late February, which has resulted in hundreds of pages of new Russian and Belarusian export restrictions.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet remotely March 31, CBP said in a notice. The meeting will be the first for the newest COAC members. Comments are due in writing by March 28.
Michelle Schulz, a former member of the President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration, rejoined the Braumiller Law Group as of counsel, the firm announced in an email. Schulz was one of the founders of the Braumiller Law Group, helping start the firm in 2003 when it was known as Braumiller Schulz. Schulz also served for a decade as a senior adviser to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Aerospace. Her practice deals with export controls, including matters under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations, along with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases and Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. regulations, the firm said.
President Joe Biden this week nominated Paul Rosen, a white collar lawyer with Crowell & Moring, to lead the Treasury Department's work on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. as the agency's assistant secretary for investment security. Rosen was previously a federal prosecutor and an official at the Department of Homeland Security, where part of his job included advising the White House on CFIUS matters. He is currently a partner in Crowell's White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement, Privacy & Cybersecurity and Government Contracts groups and co-chair of the firm's National Security practice.