U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in her second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, heard again and again from members of Congress who are hearing from companies in their districts that they want Section 301 tariff exclusions back. She heard repeatedly that the 9% countervailing duties on Canadian lumber are making a bad situation worse. And she heard that the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and Generalized System of Preferences benefits program should be renewed. On each topic, both Democrats and Republicans shared concerns, though on GSP, Republicans only spoke of the cost to importers, while Democrats worried about the effects of GSP on the eligible countries. Tai testified for more than four hours in front of the House Ways and Means Committee on May 13.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added two individuals and one entity to its Libya sanctions regime and amended one entry, in a May 13 financial sanctions notice. Mohamed Al-Kani and Abdurahem Al Kani were added to the list for their serious human rights abuses in Libya, along with the al-Kaniyat militia on the grounds that the group has committed shocking violations of international humanitarian law. In addition, OFSI updated the individual listing of Aisha Muammar Muhammed Abu Minyar Qadhafi, updating her Libyan passport number.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed designations from three people and one entity earlier this week (see 2105110030) after the agency determined that “circumstances no longer warrant” their inclusion on sanctions lists, a May 13 notice said. The agency removed sanctions from Syrian military official and Brig. Gen. Jami Jami, Netherlands-based entity Staroil B.V. and two other people: Alexander Hollebrand and Paul Van Mazijk. The people and entities were previously listed under OFAC’s Syria sanctions regime.
The State Department’s recent $13 million penalty against Honeywell International highlighted the importance of company employees closely following internal compliance procedures and treading carefully when dealing with China, law firms said. It also showed that the State Department is committed to targeting weaker compliance programs but will impose lenient penalties if violations are self-disclosed, the firms said. Honeywell signed a settlement agreement with the agency earlier this month after it illegally sent drawings of export-controlled parts for military-related items to potential customers in several countries, including China (see 2105040018).
The Senate likely will vote on the Endless Frontier Act next week and should pass the bill before the end of the moth, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said May 13. The bill, which would provide more federal funding and incentives for semiconductor research, has “strong” bipartisan support, Schumer said, and will help maintain U.S. technological leadership over trade competitors, including China. “The Endless Frontier Act would right the ship by making one of the largest investments in American innovation in generations,” Schumer told the Senate.
The European Council announced that a group of third countries aligned with the bloc's sanctions regime on ISIL and al-Qaida and with the February sanctions on Myanmar due to the recent military coup in that country. In May 11 and May 12 news releases, the EU said North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine and Moldova aligned themselves with the Myanmar sanctions. It said the same group, minus Norway and with the additions of Armenia and Georgia, also levied sanctions against ISIL and al-Qaida and the persons, groups, undertakings and entities associated with them.
The State Department designated Yu Hui, a former Chinese government official, for human rights violations, the agency said May 12. The State Department announced the designation along with its release of the 2020 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. The agency said Yu is the former office director of the so-called Central Leading Group on Preventing and Dealing with Heretical Religions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned seven people and two entities for drug trafficking, the agency said May 12. The sanctions target Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas and Gonzalez Penuelas Drug Trafficking Organization (Gonzalez Penuelas DTO), which is “among the largest sources of raw opium gum and heroin” in northern Mexico. OFAC also sanctioned six people and one entity for their ties to Gonzalez Penuelas DTO: Ignacio and Wilfrido Gonzalez Penuelas, Efrain Mendivil Figueroa, Adelmo Nunez Molina, and Raul and Juana Payan Meraz, and construction company City Plaza, Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable.
The European Commission published guidance May 11 for individual and business compliance with recent sanctions on Myanmar put in place due to the February military coup and subsequent protest crackdown. The sanctions are composed of financial sanctions, a travel ban and limited sectoral sanctions that include an embargo on exports of arms equipment that may be used for internal repression, dual-use goods for use by the military and Border Guard Police in Myanmar, and equipment for monitoring communications. The guidance details who must comply with the provisions, what the terms of the provisions stipulate, how to determine ownership of sanctioned activity and exceptions to the sanctions.
A group of Republican senators urged U.S. businesses to continue to stay out of the Iranian market even if the U.S. reenters the Iranian nuclear deal, saying any sanctions relief will be short-lived. The lawmakers said that relief will be “severely limited” if Republicans win back majorities in the House and Senate and if the U.S. elects a Republican president in 2024. They also criticized the Biden administration’s plan to reenter the deal, calling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action a “deeply flawed” agreement.