The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee’s Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee Export Modernization Working Group issued draft recommendations ahead of the COAC’s Oct. 7 meeting. The group recommends that CBP work with the Census Bureau and others to define a “clerical error versus a material error” for both Electronic Export Information and manifest filings and issue “appropriate guidance” to CBP personnel. When CBP finds clerical errors in the filings, the group said, CBP should contact the filer for a correction before issuing a penalty. The group also recommended that CBP work with Census to “develop and conduct” mandatory export enforcement training for CBP personnel.
A former U.S. official and a Senate staffer who worked closely with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. criticized the Bureau of Industry and Security’s handling of emerging and foundational technologies, saying the lengthy process is impeding the work of CFIUS. David Hanke, the former staffer and architect of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, called CFIUS’s reliance on BIS’s export control effort a “deeply flawed system,” while Nova Daly, the Treasury Department’s former deputy assistant secretary for investment security and policy, acknowledged the process is difficult but said BIS should move faster.
The administration should increase export controls and sanctions pressure on China, place more scrutiny on Chinese foreign direct investment and push for the modernization of multilateral export regimes, the House’s Republican-led China Task Force said in a Sept. 30 report. It urged the administration to act quickly, saying China and other U.S. “adversaries” are flouting international export control laws and undermining U.S. technology industries.
The Commerce Department delayed its ban on TikTok and a federal judge temporarily blocked the agency from imposing prohibitions on WeChat, complicating prohibitions that Commerce announced last week in response to President Donald Trump's executive order (see 2009180026). Commerce on Sept. 19 said it will “delay the prohibition of identified transactions” -- which were scheduled to take effect Sept. 20 -- until Sept. 27. The agency made the decision “in light of recent positive developments” surrounding the sale of TikTok.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet Oct. 7, remotely, beginning at 1 p.m. EDT, CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by Oct. 6. The COAC will hear from the following subcommittees on the topics listed below and then will review, deliberate and formulate recommendations on how to proceed on those topics:
The Commerce Department outlined its prohibitions for the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat, saying in notices released Sept. 18 that it will no longer allow transactions between U.S. parties and the Chinese companies or their subsidiaries. The prohibitions detail a range of blocked activities for both ByteDance Ltd. and Tencent Holdings, including bans on providing internet hosting services, content delivery services and transactions with the two companies. Certain prohibitions on the availability of TikTok in the U.S. took effect Sept. 20, and all prohibitions on WeChat are effective as of Sept. 20. Other restrictions on TikTok will take effect Nov. 12.
Two-way investment between the U.S. and China dropped to a nine-year low during the first half of 2020, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations said in a Sept. 17 report prepared with data from the Rhodium Group. It also said growing tensions between the two sides are leading to an increase in U.S. investment reviews, specifically of past Chinese transactions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is preparing industry guidance for its August restrictions on Huawei, including changes to the foreign direct product rule (see 2008170029), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Matt Borman said. He said BIS will issue a series of frequently asked questions similar to its “fairly extensive” FAQs issued in June for new licensing restrictions for military-related exports (see 2006290045). Borman did not say when they will be released.
The U.S. needs a clearer approach to its export control regime and should coordinate more closely with allies to counter China’s technological rise, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said, adding that the U.S. needs to better communicate to industry about the risks of doing business with China and its government-sponsored human rights abuses.
The Bureau of Industry and Security and the Census Bureau recently completed rules related to export controls and Electronic Export Information filing requirements, but they have not yet been published due to delays at the Federal Register office, officials said. A final rule from BIS will implement export control decisions stemming from the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement plenary, including new restrictions on emerging technologies (see 2008100013). An advance notice of proposed rulemaking from Census will seek comments on removing certain EEI filing requirements for shipments to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 2008110017 and 2006030043).