CBP issued frequently asked questions about exports of personal protective equipment, detailing how exporters submit letters of attestation; how exporters will be notified of held shipments; the resolution process on disagreements surrounding restricted shipments; and more, according to an April 27 CMS message. The guidance comes about one week after the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued 10 exemptions for exports of PPE (see 2004200019). FEMA expects to issue most determinations on PPE shipments within two days (see 2004210022).
The Commerce Department amended the Export Administration Regulations to expand licensing requirements for exports, re-exports and transfers of items intended for military uses in China, Russia and Venezuela, according to a notice. The rule expands the licensing requirements for exports to China to include military end-users as well as military end-uses, broadens the list of items subject to the licensing requirement and review policy, and expands the definition for military end-use. The rule also “creates a new reason for control” and review policy for certain exports to the three countries, and added new Electronic Export Information filing requirements.
The Commerce Department eliminated its license exception for civil end-users (CIV) in an effort to cut exports to countries pursuing civil-military fusion (see 1904260018), the agency said in a notice. The change, which was expected for nearly a year (see 1907180037), will remove authorizations to export certain controlled items to most civil end-users for civil end-uses in Country Group D:1. The change takes effect June 29.
The Commerce Department is considering restricting the number of destination countries that are authorized to receive certain U.S. re-exports that are controlled for national security reasons, the agency said in a notice. The proposed rule would amend the license exception for Additional Permissive Reexports (APR) by removing nations in Country Group D:1, including China, from being eligible to receive those re-exports, Commerce said. The rule would remove APR license eligibility from more than 20 countries. Comments are due June 29.
The United Kingdom’s Export Control Joint Unit updated its export license application forms for firearms, according to an April 23 notice. The forms now include a “supplementary EC4 form,” which is a “continuation sheet” for the EC3 form. The EC3 form is required for exporting firearms to European Union countries.
The European Commission is narrowing the scope of European Union-wide export controls and expanding export exemptions to more territories, according to an April 24 notice. The measures, announced as draft regulations earlier this month (see 2004160033), apply for 30 days. The commission said it would also notify World Trade Organization partners about the changes “along with other EU coronavirus trade-related initiatives.”
The Directorate of Defense Controls on April 23 released its report to Congress on defense exports licensed under the Arms Export Control Act during 2019. The report, which includes an introduction and a memo to Congress, details the value and quantity of the licensed exports for each country destination and the “data on the actual shipments of those licensed transactions,” the DDTC said.
Export controls and trade restrictions are becoming an increasing part of U.S.-China competition despite little clarity about whether they will work in the long term, trade experts said. The measures also seem to lack a clear focus within both the U.S. government and China, with officials disagreeing on how best to impose restrictions, the experts said.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls announced a series of compliance, licensing and management measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response measures on industry, the DDTC said in an April 23 notice. The measures include temporary suspensions on certain registration renewal requirements, temporary reductions of certain registration fees and measures to allow companies to work remotely.
Cambodia recently announced changes to its list of prohibited and restricted goods, according to an April 22 alert from KPMG. The changes include additional prohibited goods, a list of goods that require export or import permits, a list of goods that require permits from the exporting country, a list of goods that require international transit permits and further trade guidance, KPMG said. Cambodia added that it may place controls on other items if they present “risks that require urgent measures,” and those controls would be in place for a maximum of six months.