Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she plans to heavily enforce Entity List restrictions and more aggressively tackle the agency's emerging and foundational technology export control mandate. And although the agency’s review of China policies is ongoing (see 2101250049), she again stressed that Commerce doesn’t plan to remove export restrictions from Huawei and is looking for more companies to add to the Entity List.
The European Commission halted efforts to ratify a massive investment deal with China following back-and-forth sanctions over China's human rights violations committed against its Uighur Muslim ethnic minority, The Guardian reported May 4. “We now in a sense have suspended … political outreach activities from the European Commission side,” Valdis Dombrovskis, the commission’s executive vice president, said. The deal, called the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, was negotiated in December and secured greater market access for European Union companies in China along with certain questionable concessions on subsidies and labor standards (see 2101250052). “As long as members of the European Parliament are on sanction[s] list,” ratifying the agreement is “impossible,” Michael Reiterer, distinguished professor at Brussels School of Governance, told The Guardian.
The U.S. could rejoin the Iranian nuclear deal (see 2104220008) as early as this summer, a senior State Department official said, but much of the timing will depend on Iran. The official said both countries have had “constructive” talks in recent meetings but said Iran is being unrealistic about the number of sanctions it wants the U.S. to lift.
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The European Union finished up two examinations under its Trade Barriers Regulation concerning Saudi Arabia's restrictions on market access to EU ceramic tiles and Mexico's export restrictions on tequila, the European Commission said in a May 4 news release. Following the reviews, the EC said it would engage Saudi Arabia to ensure a “swift and efficient removal” of the kingdom's new technical regulations hindering 75% to 80% of EU exports of ceramic tiles. If engagement fails, the EU could consider taking the issue to the World Trade Organization. In Mexico's case, a measure blocking exports of tequila is under a number of administrative proceedings, so the EC will continue to monitor the situation. The Trade Barriers Regulation allows the EC to review global trade measures that violate international trade rules. Under the regulation, companies, industries, associations and member states may lodge a complaint against a perceived rule violation, prompting the EC to review and potentially act against the violation.
The Environmental Protection Agency released a final rule May 5 setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 13 chemical substances subject to Premanufacture Notices (PMNs), and a microorganism that was the subject of a Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances or microorganisms for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals and microorganisms subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances and microorganisms will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect July 6. The SNURs cover the following:
U.S. exporters and forwarders are still unsure how much due diligence is enough to comply with the Commerce’s Department’s recently expanded end-user and end-use restrictions, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America officials said. Although the Bureau of Industry and Security issued some guidance last year, the guidance didn't address all industry questions and was made more complicated by another set of restrictions that took effect this year, the officials said.
The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to address the agency’s “incomplete” implementation of its emerging and foundational technology export control mandate when she testifies before the House this week. Raimondo -- who will testify May 6 before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science -- should also address Commerce’s search for a Bureau of Industry and Security leader and outline the agency's export controls strategy to compete with China, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.
The State Department fined a U.S. aerospace and technology company $13 million for illegally exporting technical data to several countries, including China, according to a May 3 order. Honeywell International sent drawings of parts for military-related items, including for engines of military jets and bombers, the agency said, all of which were controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. After discovering the violations, issuing a self-disclosure to the State Department and bolstering its compliance program, the company again illegally exported technical drawings, failing to abide by its improved compliance requirements, the order said.
Forwarders are seeing a rise in maximum penalties issued by CBP for violations surrounding ocean shipments that occurred over a year ago, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America officials said. Joe Brogan, the chair of NCBFAA’s export compliance subcommittee, said CBP officers are increasingly digging up old violations where forwarders submitted incorrect transportation-related information, such as the date of export or the port of export, and have levied penalties higher than $14,000 for a “single occurrence.”