In the Oct. 25 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Commerce Department revoked export privileges for Alexis Vlachos, who was convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act in 2018 after illegally exporting firearms controlled on the U.S. Munitions List to Canada, Commerce said in an Oct. 23 notice. Vlachos was sentenced to 51 months in prison, and a $200 fine, the notice said. Commerce revoked Vlachos’ export privileges for seven years dating from her Sept. 4, 2018, conviction.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for eight chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemicals for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemicals will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Dec. 27.
The Treasury Department announced a mechanism to help companies ensure their humanitarian exports to Iran will not be diverted to the government and other sanctioned Iranian entities, Treasury said in an Oct. 25 press release. The mechanism will require participating foreign governments and financial institutions to “conduct enhanced due diligence” -- including the reporting of “a substantial and unprecedented amount of information” -- on a monthly basis. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also issued a guidance outlining the requirements.
China recently announced plans for 20 national pilot zones to promote the development and manufacturing of artificial intelligence, according to an Oct. 24 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The pilot zones aim to make China an internationally recognized AI innovation hub, the report said. The sites will be located across the country, including in the “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta,” the report said. China’s plans come as the U.S. Commerce Department considers export controls on emerging technologies -- including artificial intelligence -- to limit China and other countries from gaining access to sensitive technology (see 1910040045).
An Ohio man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for illegally exporting gas and oil pipeline parts to Iran for more than a decade, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 24 press release. Behrooz Behroozian used an intermediary company, Sumar Industrial Equipment, to hide the exports, which violated U.S. sanctions on Iran and the Emergency Economic Powers Act, the press release said. Behroozian allegedly exported “manifolds, valves and connectors” used in the pipelines and oil industry, earning about $40,000 per year. Behroozian also owned Dublin-based Comtech International, a self-proclaimed computer parts supplier that instead of computer parts shipped industrial equipment to Behroozian’s company in the United Arab Emirates before it was then exported to Iran.
The Drug Enforcement Administration permanently placed the synthetic opioids cyclopropyl fentanyl, methoxyacetyl fentanyl, ortho-fluorofentanyl, and para-fluorobutyryl fentanyl into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, in a final order. These substances had already been temporarily listed in Schedule I, so are already subject to import and export restrictions applicable to Schedule I controlled substances. The final order takes effect Oct. 25.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control amended a Venezuela-related general license, OFAC said in an Oct. 24 notice. General License No. 5A, replacing No. 5, authorizes certain transactions with certain bonds related to Petróleos de Venezuela, the country’s state-run oil company. OFAC also issued a Frequently Asked Question (No. 595) explaining that the license contains “a delay in effectiveness until January 22, 2020.”
South Korea and Japan are still far apart in consultations over their trade dispute and don’t expect the U.S. to meditate negotiations, South Korea said.
A continued, prolonged power struggle between Nicolas Maduro and the Juan Guaido-led opposition party in Venezuela may leave the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions in doubt, said Elizabeth Rosenberg, a former senior sanctions adviser at the Treasury Department.