The U.S. is restricting exports of certain personal protective equipment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a notice scheduled for Federal Register publication on April 10. The restrictions, which took effect April 7 and will last 120 days after publication, apply to certain respirators, masks and gloves, FEMA said.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls revised two frequently asked questions regarding U.S. persons abroad who request authorizations for exporting controlled defense services (see 2002200028), the agency said April 6. The first FAQ applies to situations in which a person’s employment for a foreign company qualifies as a defense services export, and the second FAQ addresses whether U.S. exporters will be granted a “safe harbor” period if they request authorization for exports of defense services they are performing without a license.
Mexico's undersecretary for foreign trade said July 1 is the earliest the new NAFTA could go into effect, but also suggested that an August or September date of entry into force would be fine. Luz Maria de la Mora spoke on a webinar hosted by the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute on April 7.
The Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control’s April 6 sanctions targeted a white supremacist group and its three leaders (see 2004060050), the State Department said April 6, announcing its own designation of the Russian Imperial Movement as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The sanctions against RIM marked the “first time the United States has ever designated foreign white supremacist terrorists,” State said. The group provides paramilitary-style training to Neo-Nazis and white supremacist, the agency said.
Sanctions should not hinder the delivery of virus-fighting supplies to countries in need, European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell said April 3. Borrell said both the European Union and United Nations sanctions list humanitarian exemptions, stressing that the EU will “ensure that these sanctions do not obstruct the global fight against COVID-19.” But he also said sanctions “continue to play an indispensable role in countering breaches of international law.” Borrell said the EU “encourages other jurisdictions” to clarify that their sanctions “are no obstacle to the global fight against the pandemic.”
The United Kingdom’s Department of Health and Social Care issued an April 6 guidance on the European Union’s export restrictions on personal protective equipment. The guidance lists what goods are covered under the restrictions, how exporters can apply for a license and how the U.K. determines license decisions. When reviewing a license application, the U.K. said it will consider whether the export will threaten the need for PPE within the U.K. and the EU, whether it will satisfy a “legitimate need” in the destination country, and whether the export will fulfill “one or more of the purposes set out” in the export control legislation.
Export controls on masks used by medical workers -- an idea that had been floated (see 2004030063) -- have been averted, 3M announced the evening of April 6. The multinational company is producing 35 million masks a month in the U.S., and the president had said none of that production should be exported to Canada and Latin America, major recipients of that output. But now, the administration will address U.S. regulatory restrictions that prevented some Chinese masks from being used for medical workers, and 3M will import 166.5 million N95 masks, mostly from its China plant, over the next three months, the company said. “The plan will also enable 3M to continue sending U.S. produced respirators to Canada and Latin America, where 3M is the primary source of supply,” the press release noted.
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The U.S. should expand the scope of humanitarian license exceptions for exports to Iran and add staffing within the Treasury Department to speed up the licensing process, members of the European Leadership Network and The Iran Project said April 6. The statement, signed by 25 former U.S. and European government officials, also said the U.S. needs to do more to assure companies, banks and organizations they will not be targeted for exporting humanitarian items to Iran. The letter follows similar calls by U.S. lawmakers, who said sanctions are hindering life-saving exports to Iran (see 2004010019).
Technology and semiconductor trade groups are objecting to increased export restrictions under consideration by the Trump administration, saying the controls could lead to industry uncertainty with significant impacts on semiconductor companies. In an April 6 letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the groups urged the administration to request industry input before finalizing the rule, which reportedly includes three measures to tighten restrictions on China’s ability to obtain advanced U.S. technology (see 2004020012).