The Department of Commerce published its spring 2019 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security. The agenda continues to mention an upcoming a long-awaited proposed rulemaking involving parties’ responsibilities under the Export Administration Regulations in a routed export transaction, saying the proposal will be published in May 2019. Sharron Cook, a senior policy export analyst for BIS, said in April the rule change will help solve some of the bigger frustrations with the current regulations faced by export forwarders (see 1904170064). BIS is aiming to issue the proposal in May, it said.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will continue trade in swine products "in the event African swine fever (ASF) is reported in either country," the chief veterinary officers from both countries said in a joint statement. "For business continuity, Canada and the United States have worked to modify their export certificates to allow trade of live swine, swine semen, pet food and animal by-products and meat to continue trade in approved disease-free zones in the event of an ASF outbreak," the CVOs said. The two countries previously set out principles for trade and zoning to help slow the spread of diseases.
The United Kingdom published its 2019 Cyber Attacks (Asset Freezing) Regulations, which will impose new European Union sanctions announced May 17. The sanctions regime, established by the EU Council, allows the EU to “impose targeted restrictive measures to deter and respond to cyber-attacks” that “constitute an external threat” to the EU, according to the announcement. The regime also allows the EU to sanction people or entities who provide “financial, technical or material” support for cyber-attacks or “who are involved in other ways.” Sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes.
Foreign manufacturers need to be aware that their products may be covered by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security's listing of telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei on the Entity List, even if they aren't manufactured in the U.S., according to an alert by law firm Sheppard Mullin. U.S. export controls on Huawei and its affiliates may apply to a substantial scope of foreign goods that contain more than 25 percent U.S.-origin content. Under the BIS de minimis rule, products are subject to the Export Administration Regulations -- and consequently new license requirements for Huawei -- if more than one-fourth of the product is composed of U.S.-origin content that is also controlled under the EAR, except for “EAR99 items” or products that do not require a license, the alert said.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is adding five new national security-related technologies to the Export Administration Regulations’ Commerce Control List, according to a notice in the Federal Register. The additions stem from changes made to the Wassenaar Arrangement’s List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies agreed to during the 2018 Plenary meeting, the notice said. The changes add “recently developed or developing technologies” that are “essential” to U.S. national security: “discrete microwave transistors,” “continuity of operation software,” “post-quantum cryptography,” “underwater transducers designed to operate as hydrophones” and “air-launch platforms.” The notice is scheduled for publication and the changes take effect on May 23.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove Venezuela from Country Group B and add it to Country Groups D:1-4, which “lists countries of national security concern” and adds new licensing requirements while restricting the use of certain license exceptions for exports. The changes take effect May 24.
In the May 21 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said Congress will soon pass a bill placing sanctions on Nord Stream 2, the Russian gas pipeline to Germany, Reuters reported May 21. The bill would likely place significant restrictions on companies involved in the project. Perry said the bill will appear in the “not too distant future,” according to Reuters. “The United States Senate is going to pass a bill, the House is going to approve it, and it’s going to go to the President and he’s going to sign it, that is going to put sanctions on Nord Stream 2.”
The State Department designated 22 people, entities or their subsidiaries under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act for trading goods that may be used for weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missile systems, the department said in a Federal Register notice to be published May 22. The additions include people and entities associated or located in China, Iran, Russia and Syria.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 13-17 in case they were missed.