The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control submitted to Congress its annual report on assets held in the U.S. by terrorism-supporting countries and agencies. The report, released May 29, describes U.S. sanctions regimes and details the number of designated individuals, entities and countries designated by each regime as of Dec. 31, 2018. It also includes a list of blocked funds in the U.S. associated with the Specially Designated Global Terrorists, Specially Designated Terrorists and Foreign Terrorist Organization programs, as well as a similar list of blocked funds associated with three state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, Syria and North Korea.
In the May 27-28 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Travelex Ltd., a currency-exchange company, was fined about $12,600 for violating the European Union’s Egypt financial sanctions regime, the United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a May 24 press release. The company “dealt with funds” of about $250 “belonging to a person designated” by the sanctions, the OFSI said in an enforcement notice.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 20-24 in case they were missed.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a “finding of violation” against U.S.-based State Street Bank and Trust Co. (SSBT) after it violated U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran, OFAC said in a May 28 notice. The bank was not fined, OFAC said, partly because the bank’s managers were likely unaware of the violations and because the bank cooperated with OFAC and improved its compliance program.
The oversight of inspection and supervision of China’s exported and imported toys has been granted to China’s General Administration of Customs, according to a May 23 alert from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The change gives China Customs “responsibility for the inspection” of all traded toys listed in the “Catalogue of Import and Export Commodities Subject to Inspection,” HKTDC said. All toy exports and imports not listed in the catalogue will “remain subject to spot-checks in accordance with the prevailing GAC regulations,” the alert said.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee Export Modernization Working Group will work closely with CBP "in the development of regulatory change to mandate the use of electronic export manifest for all modes and review existing CBP export regulations," said Jim Swanson, director of CBP Cargo Security and Controls Division, in a government paper on the working group issue. CBP released the document ahead of the May 30 COAC meeting in Laredo, Texas. The group will also "review and assist in the development of the operational requirements for electronic export manifest and assist in the expansion of the current pilots to full operational status," Swanson said. Another goal is to help with implementing Post Departure filing enhancements. The work group will also "continue to review export materials that have been previously generated and formulate recommendations regarding their relevance and subsequent disposition in the context of a more modern supply chain," according to an executive summary from the Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee. "After engaging in full deliberation and discussion, the Work Group shall advise the COAC of any advice or recommendations."
The United Nations Security Council removed Mazen Salah Mohammed from its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List, lifting an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo, according to a May 21 U.N. press release. The sanctions were lifted after the Security Council Committee received a “delisting request” for Mohammed, an Iraqi national, by the “designating State," the press release said. The U.N. lists Mohammed as a member of Ansar Al-Islam, a Sunni Muslim militant group based in Iraq.
The Commerce Department plans to roll back regulations that make it easier for U.S. exporters to sell goods that have both civilian and military purposes, making it more difficult for China to acquire U.S. technology, according to a May 23 report by Politico. As part of its plans, Commerce is considering ending a general policy of approving export licenses for products bound for civilian use, instead switching to reviews on a “case-by-case basis,” the report said. Commerce’s plans include “four regulatory actions” that target China under the Export Control Reform Act, including options that would revoke two license exceptions relating to shipping restricted technology to China and an option that would expand a ban on U.S. defense-related exports to China, the report said.
The Department of State published its spring 2019 regulatory agenda. The agenda includes a new mention of a proposal to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to include definitions for "activities that are not exports, re-exports, or retransfers." The activities include "launching items into space; providing technical data to U.S. persons within the United States or within a single country abroad; and moving a defense article between the states, possessions, and territories of" the U.S., State said. The proposal also "removes from ITAR licensing requirements the electronic transmission and storage of unclassified technical data via foreign communications infrastructure when the data is secured sufficiently to prevent access by foreign persons." Under the proposal, State would also amend the ITAR to create definitions for “access information” and revise definitions of release to include “the improper provision of access information to foreign persons.” State is aiming to issue the proposal in September, it said.
The agenda also includes a rule that would revise Categories I, II and III of the U.S. Munitions List to include items that gives the U.S. a “critical military or intelligence advantage or otherwise warrant control at the highest level.” The rule states that exports of “commercially available firearms and ammunition,” removed from Category I and III, will continue to be controlled under the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Commerce Control List. State said the transition from the Munitions List to the CCL “will result in a net reduction in regulatory burden for the affected manufacturing and export community.” State aims to issue the rule in May 2019, it said.