China criticized a Nov. 14 U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report that called for more export controls against China and more support for Taiwan, saying the commission’s report is inaccurate. “The committee you mentioned is deeply entrenched in prejudice against China. Its reports are rarely based on facts,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Nov. 15. “I have no interest in commenting.” The report also provided details on “harassment” tactics employed by China against U.S. companies, including unannounced site investigations and unwarranted tax investigations (see 1911140050).
An Iranian businessman was sentenced to 46 months in prison for illegally exporting carbon fiber from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said Nov. 14. Behzad Pourghannad worked with two others between 2008 and 2013 to export the carbon fiber to Iran from third countries using falsified documents and front companies, the agency said.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., who leads the working group negotiating with the U.S. trade representative over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, said he anticipates that USTR Robert Lighthizer will send over text of the changes to the agreement next week. Neal said he spoke with Lighthizer Nov. 14, to tell him he'd be forwarding “a series of, we think, could be make-or-break issues, and that we hoped that he would digest them and then respond to us, fast."
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated its sanctions guidance for Venezuela with several amendments and changes to identifying information, OFSI said Nov. 13. The changes amend eight entries subject to asset freezes and correct identifying information for 16 additional entries, OFSI said.
China said it opposes sanctions against Iran days after a German official suggested Europe should consider reimposing sanctions against the country for its breaches of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “It is China's consistent position that wanton use or threat of sanctions is neither constructive nor helpful to solve any problem,” a China Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Nov. 14. “Dialogue and negotiation is the real way out.”
The Commerce Department officially revoked export privileges for AW-Tronics, a Miami-based company also known as Arrowtronic, for violations of the Export Administration Regulations, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a Nov. 15 notice. BIS previously revoked export privileges for Arrowtronic, manager Arash Caby and registered agent Ali Caby on Nov. 14 for illegally exporting aircraft parts to Syrian Arab Airlines (see 1911130043). BIS named AW-Tronics as part of the scheme, saying the business was referred to as the “same company” as Arrowtronic in company documents and emails, the notice said. BIS revoked export privileges for AW-Tronics for six years from Oct. 30, 2019.
A Rhode Island veterinary instrument supplier was fined $136,000 by the Commerce Department for 11 violations of the Export Administration Regulations, Commerce said in a charging letter signed Nov. 7. The company, Cotran Corp., illegally exported electric cattle prods to Venezuela, Mexico, South Africa and the Czech Republic without the required license, and did not comply with EAR record-keeping requirements, Commerce said.
The U.S. should expand export controls against China and study the country’s efforts to dominate emerging technology sectors, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said. In its 2019 annual report, the USCC painted a somewhat grim picture for the prospects of U.S technology competition with China, saying China is committed to maintaining a dominant economic role in trade negotiations and is focused on outpacing the U.S. in the artificial intelligence sector -- a key area of concern for upcoming U.S. export control regimes. To combat this, the commission made several recommendations to Congress to safeguard U.S. technologies, improve foreign market access for U.S. exporters and pre-empt Chinese attempts to undercut U.S. companies and sanctions.
A Miami-based company, its manager and its registered agent were denied export privileges for illegally exporting goods to Syria, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in Nov. 14 notices. Arash Caby, Ali Caby and their company, Arrowtronic, violated the Export Administration Regulations by illegally exporting aircraft parts and equipment to Syrian Arab Airlines, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, BIS said.
President Donald Trump, in a press conference with the president of Turkey on Nov. 13, said trade with Turkey “could be many times larger" than it is now, and that his administration has the goal of roughly quadrupling the volume of trade between the two countries, which would be $100 billion in two-way trade. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. goods exported to Turkey were valued at $10.2 billion, while goods imported totaled $10.3 billion.