A top Pentagon official said the U.S. needs to loosen export controls on certain defense items, adding that U.S. companies are losing customers to countries with less-strict export regulations. Ellen Lord, the Defense Department’s undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said she hopes to work with the Commerce, Treasury and State departments to rethink the administration’s export control strategy by year-end.
The Commerce Department will add 11 China-based entities to its Entity List for their involvement in human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, a notice released July 20 said. Nine of the entities are involved in the forced labor of Muslim minority groups and two conduct “genetic analyses” to “further the repression” of the minorities, Commerce said. The additions take effect July 22.
The State Department published its spring 2020 regulatory agenda. The agenda includes a new mention of a final rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations due to changes made by multilateral export regimes. The rule would update the U.S. Munitions List and “corresponding parts of the ITAR” based on “related treaties” and export regimes, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, that have updated their export controls. The agency is aiming to issue the rule this month.
The Philippines recently began authorizing exports of strategic goods, including military items and dual-use goods, under its new export control regime, a July 17 PricewaterhouseCoopers alert said. The authorization scheme, which took effect July 1, will initially focus on a limited set of “export activities” and will eventually expand to cover other activities, such as “transit/transshipment, re-export, reassignment, related services, and importation,” the alert said. Exporters of strategic goods must register with the Philippines’ Strategic Trade Management Office before submitting an export application, the alert added, and can apply for only three types of authorizations, depending on the shipment’s number of destinations or end-users.
The United Nations Security Council sanctioned the leader of a Taliban branch in Pakistan, a July 16 notice said. The designation targets Noor Wali Mehsud, leader of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan. The United Kingdom also added Mehsud to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.
The United Kingdom on July 17 issued guidance on post-Brexit sanctions regulations on Mali, Yemen and Iraq. The regulations will help ensure the U.K. continues to meet obligations under United Nations sanctions against the three countries and will replace the U.K.’s current regulations under European Union sanctions. The guidance also provides memorandums for Mali, Yemen and Iraq, detailing the purpose of the sanctions and how they will be applied.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 17 sanctioned four entities and one person for supporting a U.S.-sanctioned Chinese drug trafficking company. OFAC also sanctioned members of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s inner circle and two Nicaraguan companies.
The Commerce Department plans to add 11 Chinese-based entities to its Entity List for their involvement in human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. Nine of the entities are involved in the forced labor of Muslim minority groups and two of the entities conduct “genetic analyses” to “further the repression” of the minorities, Commerce said. The additions take effect July 22.
China said it still plans to fulfill its commitments under the phase one trade deal with the U.S. despite rising tensions over Hong Kong and a host of new U.S. sanctions and export restrictions (see 2007150019, 2007140068, 2007010040 and 2006290063). The trade agreement will “benefit both countries and the world,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said July 16, according to an unofficial translation of a press conference transcript. “We will implement the signed agreements.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is seeking comments on an information collection related to letters of attestation for exports of controlled medical exports, a notice in the Federal Register said. Exporters must support these letters to certify that they qualify for one of FEMA’s exemptions for exports of personal protective equipment before their shipment can be approved (see 2004200019 and 2004210022). Comments are due Sept. 15.