China has approved certain export license applications submitted by Chinese companies for shipments of controlled rare earths, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Dec. 18.
Although China agreed to temporarily suspend its sweeping rare earth export restrictions, the threat of those controls returning appears likely, said Jude Blanchette, director of the Rand China Research Center.
The U.S. will drop tariffs on Chinese goods by 10 percentage points on Nov. 10, and also will stop collecting ship-docking fees under the Section 301 action on shipbuilding on that date, the administration announced over the weekend. The fees are suspended for one year.
China is looking to shorten its export license application review times, and potentially issue exemptions, as it approaches the Dec. 1 effective date of its new rules to restrict overseas exports that contain certain levels of Chinese-origin material (see 2510090021), a Commerce Ministry spokesperson said Oct. 16 during a press conference.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is renewing a general license that authorizes certain imports of Russian non-industrial, unsorted diamonds that were substantially transformed outside of Russia. General License 104A, which replaces 104, authorizes those imports as long as the diamonds were located outside of Russia on March 1, 2024, for diamonds weighing 1 carat or more, and Sept. 1, 2024, if they weigh more than 0.5 carats but less than 1 carat. The license was set to expire Sept. 1 (see 2408230043), but it now expires on that date in 2026.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two new general licenses Aug. 23 that authorize imports of Russian diamonds and diamond jewelry that were located outside the country when a current ban on imports of such goods took effect.
The Treasury Department announced on April 12 that it will add Russian-origin aluminum, copper and nickel to existing import bans on Russian goods, which already cover Russian jewelry and seafood. The ban applies to all aluminum, copper and nickel of Russian origin produced on or after April 13.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Treasury Department this week renewed a general license that authorizes certain transactions involving imports of fish and other seafood from Russia. New General License 83A, which replaces GL 83, is now valid through 12:01 a.m. EDT, May 31. The license was scheduled to expire Feb. 21.