Ambassadors from the United Kingdom, Brazil, the European Union and Australia discussed on a Feb. 8 panel how to improve trading relationships with the U.S. and deal with the challenge China poses to the international trading system but had no insights into how to make breakthroughs on either.
After taking charge of its own financial sanctions regime after leaving the European Union, the United Kingdom will look to deepen engagement with the U.S., the EU and other close allies to bolster the effectiveness of its now-autonomous sanctions authorities. In a Feb. 4 blog post, the new head of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Giles Thomson, discussed how greater collaboration with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors will be key to ensure improved compliance. In the spirit of this renewed sense of public-private camaraderie, Thomson announced a targeted outreach on licensing in the spring to focus on the additions and applications OFSI is making.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Feb. 1-5 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Fourteen senators from both sides of the aisle urged the State Department to increase sanctions pressure on Myanmar by targeting all senior officials, military officials and companies affiliated with the military-led coup last week. The U.S. not only should target leaders, the senators said in a Feb. 5 letter, but also consider sanctioning “companies and conglomerates” controlled by the military. “There is no reason to believe Burma’s military leaders will return the country to democratic rule without strong and sustained international pressure,” the senators said, led by Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top members. Coordinate sanctions with allies “as soon as possible” and convince the United Nations to investigate human rights violations related to the coup, the letter said. “Only strong, sustained, and multilateral pressure is likely to change the behavior” of Myanmar’s military, the senators wrote.
The State Department will look to “immediately and robustly” reengage with the United Nations’ Human Rights Council after the Trump administration withdrew from the body in 2018, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a Feb. 8 statement. The council is “flawed,” but the U.S. can better push for change from within, he said. The UNHRC, which can make international sanctions recommendations, can help promote freedom and human rights around the world, Blinken said, and lead to more effective multilateral measures. He said the U.S. will return to the council in the “immediate term” as an observer with the ability to speak during negotiations and partner with other members to introduce resolutions. “The best way to improve the Council is to engage with it and its members in a principled fashion,” he said. “We strongly believe that when the United States engages constructively with the Council, in concert with our allies and friends, positive change is within reach.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Feb. 4 posted a new video providing guidance on applying for a license to export biological items. The roughly 10-minute video illustrates how to determine license requirements, use licensing exceptions and apply for licenses for biological items subject to the Export Administration Regulations.
A panel of scholars and a former general consul in Hong Kong agreed that the Biden administration is likely to place more emphasis on export controls and industrial policy to support domestic semiconductor production, and less on the trade deficit and tariffs, even as the new president has to decide what to do about Section 301 tariffs at some point. They were speaking on a virtual panel about U.S.-China relations hosted by the Washington International Trade Association on Feb. 8.
Industry should expect the Biden administration’s review of Trump-era China policies -- including export controls and licensing decisions -- to take two to three months, trade lawyer Peter Lichtenbaum said. He also said the Bureau of Industry and Security will continue to adhere to the Trump administration's strict Huawei licensing policy until it’s changed by incoming political appointees, which has not yet happened.
Germany’s economics and export control authority will stop issuing paper permits and notifications for most documents beginning March 1, a Jan. 29 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. The agency said it will issue electronic permits and notices for all trade-related documents except for certain temporary export and repeated export permits, transit permits, reexport approvals and rejections, and notices of opposition, which will continue to be issued in paper form. The agency will also issue a second copy on paper for permits if a foreign customs office will not accept an electronic version.
The European Commission sent its 2020 report on export controls of dual-use items to the European Parliament and Council on Feb. 2, detailing the changes made to the export control regime, export control contingency plans for Brexit, activities of the Dual-Use Coordination Group and EU export controls data. The report covers implementation of the regulation during 2019. Of note, the report laid out the changes to the 2019 EU control list, including new controls on dual-use items such as discrete microwave transistors, signal generators with specified “Radio Frequency modulation bandwidths,” and software designed to restore operation of microcomputers after Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) or Electrostatic Discharge Disruption (ESD); for masks and reticles designed for optical sensors; and air-launch platforms for space launch vehicles.