The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is considering permanently revising the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow industry employees involved in ITAR-related activities to work remotely, DDTC said in a notice released July 28. DDTC also said that in response to industry requests it will extend temporary telework measures, which had been set to expire July 31, through Dec. 31 (see 2007230033). The agency said it will use that time to “fully investigate the possibility and ramifications of making this modification, or a variation thereof, a permanent revision,” and may seek comments on the change.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for seven chemical substances that are subjects of premanufacture notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemicals 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 subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemicals will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Sept. 28. The SNURs cover the following chemical substances:
Two European Parliament members urged the European Union to “swiftly” impose sanctions on China for human rights violations in Hong Kong and against Muslim minority groups. In a July 23 letter, MEPs Hilde Vautmans of Belgium and Katalin Cseh of Hungary called on EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to more quickly create a human rights sanctions regime and provide a time table for the imposition of sanctions. Vautmans and Cseh said the EU should sanction Chinese leaders involved in infringing on Hong Kong’s autonomy and the mass detention of Uighurs. “We urge you to make progress with the drafting of the proposal,” Vautmans and Cseh said. Borrell said in December the EU was preparing a Magnitsky Act-style human rights sanctions regime (see 1912100046), and Parliament members have previously asked the EU to move faster (see 2004020016).
The U.S. extended for one year a national emergency that authorizes sanctions against people and entities engaged in terrorist activities, drug trafficking and other actions in Mali, the White House said July 23. The White House said activities in Mali continue to “pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S. The extension is through July 26, 2021.
The aerospace industry applauded the U.S. decision to loosen export restrictions on unmanned aircrafts, saying the change may allow U.S. companies to better innovate and compete in emerging markets for new aircraft technologies. The decision, announced by the State Department July 24, will no longer subject exports of certain unmanned aerial systems to a “strong presumption of denial,” but will instead impose a case-by-case review policy on a “subset” of unmanned aircrafts that fly at speeds below 800 kph.
The Department of Justice issued a forfeiture complaint against four companies that allegedly laundered money on behalf of U.S.-sanctioned North Korean banks, the agency said July 23. The complaint calls for the forfeiture of more than $2 million used to buy goods for the North Korean government, the Justice Department said. The four unnamed companies were part of a money-laundering scheme involving three sanctioned entities: Velmur Management Pte. Ltd, Dandong Zhicheng Metallic Material Co. and multiple branches of North Korea’s Foreign Trade bank. “This complaint illuminates how a global money laundering network coordinates with front companies to move North Korean money through the United States,” acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said in a statement. “This case demonstrates that we will use all tools … to target companies that harm U.S. national security, regardless of where they are doing business.”
The Customs chapter in the U.S. Code, Title 19, will be reorganized by subject matter, not chronologically, the Office of Law Revision Counsel recently announced. Title 19 appeared in 1926, and has 30 chapters. “The new Title 19 -- renamed as Customs and International Trade -- will enable general and permanent laws related to customs and international trade to be better organized and maintained," the Office of Law Revision Counsel said on its website. "Using an act-centric organization framework, the structure of the new title reflects the structure of included acts where possible.”
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on July 23 revised an entry under its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions regime. The entry is for Noor Wali Mehsud, the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan leader sanctioned by the U.K. July 16 (see 2007170017). Mehsud remains subject to an asset freeze.
Forty-three countries accused North Korea of violating a United Nations cap on refined petroleum imports and asked the U.N. to end all oil shipments to North Korea until year-end, Reuters reported July 24. The countries -- including the U.S., the United Kingdom and France -- told the U.N. that North Korea used illegal ship-to-ship transfers to import more than 1.6 million barrels of petroleum January through May. The countries asked the U.N. Security Council to issue a determination that North Korea has surpassed its annual cap of 500,000 barrels and to “inform member states that they must immediately cease selling, supplying, or transferring refined petroleum products to [North Korea] for the remainder of the year,” the report said.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on July 23 extended a measure to “allow continued telework operations” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure, first announced in April (see 2004240017), suspended an International Traffic in Arms Regulations requirement to allow employees involved in ITAR-related activities to work remotely. The measure, which was to expire July 31, will be extended to Dec. 31, the agency said.