Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 4-8 in case they were missed.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet Dec. 4, beginning at 1 p.m., in Washington, CBP said in a notice.
NEW YORK -- Moises Kalach, leader of the Mexican Coalition for USMCA and vice president of a textile conglomerate in Mexico, said his organization has met with 172 House offices and 30 Senate offices, and has particularly targeted 94 House Democrats -- from border states, moderates, Hispanics, pro-free trade, or on the Ways and Means Committee (many members fit more than one category).
Companies and trade groups are concerned about the consequences of the Commerce Department’s efforts to restrict sales of emerging technologies and are growing impatient with a delay that has stretched several months, stakeholders said in interviews. Nearly a year after Commerce issued advance notice that they planned to review the technologies, some companies are confused about the delay and fear the controls won’t be fully coordinated with U.S. allies, causing their customers to simply seek foreign sellers.
The United Kingdom has been “far too slow” in imposing unilateral sanctions against human rights abusers and should appoint a senior official responsible for implementing sanctions policy, Britain's House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said in a Nov. 4 report. The report, which was the committee’s second of 2019, makes several sanctions-related recommendations to Britain's Foreign Commonwealth Office and is critical of the country’s approach to sanctions. The committee asked for updates to its suggestions by May 2020.
Switzerland adopted adjustments to its sanctions against North Korea that align with the exceptions of the export ban agreed to by the United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee, Baker McKenzie said in a Nov. 6 post. The exceptions allow for exports of humanitarian aid to North Korea and will “increase legal certainty for those companies involved,” the post said. Switzerland’s amendment will take effect Dec. 1.
The State Department plans to publish its guidance for exports of surveillance technology by early January and will make several changes based on industry comments, officials said. Changes include the elimination of a “kill switch” suggestion and an effort to revise the definition for “surveillance,” which some companies complained was too broad.
A former top Commerce and trade official said the U.S.’s recent efforts to reform export controls and foreign investment screening are some of the most consequential developments the trade industry has seen in years. “The passage of [the Export Control Reform Act] and [the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act] together represents one of the biggest changes in trade compliance probably in at least a generation,” said Chris Padilla, former undersecretary for international trade and former assistant U.S. trade representative.
Four Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee praised the Treasury Department’s proposed regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act but also criticized several key areas, according to comments released Oct. 29. The comments were signed by Reps. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., Andy Barr, R-Ky., French Hill, R-Ark., and Steve Stivers, R-Ohio.
The Commerce Department plans to release proposed export controls on emerging technologies within the “next few weeks” and an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on foundational technologies before the end of the year, a top Commerce official said. Matt Borman, the Commerce deputy assistant secretary for export administration, suggested Commerce has been eager to release both controls to ease concerns from U.S. trade groups and companies, which have warned the agency against overly broad, unilateral controls.