Commerce Acts on Firearms "Pause"

Private sales to countries like Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mali and Yemen will be declined.

Friday the Department of Commerce released an interim final rule amending the Department’s licensing policy for exports of firearms, ammunition, and related components under its jurisdiction. Coming on the six-month anniversary of a controversial "90 day pause" in firearms export license approval, the new rule proposes significant changes.

Aid Bill Includes Ten Year Sanctions Lookback

Included among the munitions and TikTok drama, the foreign aid package signed last week has material changes for the sanctions compliance practitioner. Front and center for sanctions practitioners is the extension of the statute of limitations for sanctions (SOL) violations.

CFIUS Volume Growth Calls for Reforms: GAO Report

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has seen explosive caseload in recent years, though a performance audit finds the committee organization and management has struggled to keep up, according to a report released by the General Accounting Office (GAO).

Biden Goes Big on Tariff Talk

Wednesday the White House took bold actions to shore up the president's standing with the rapidly shrinking pool of voters in American steel manufacturing and shipbuilding. "I’m proud to be the most pro-union president in American history, for real,"he told an audience in Pittsburgh. "Where I was raised, it ain’t labor; it’s unions,"

Welcome to Your WTTL

The Washington Tariff and Trade Letter introduces a web-based format for easier review, research and sharing. Clicking on a story in the newsletter will now bring you to the full text on our new web site. A .pdf version of the newsletter is available below. For any questions about website access and your subscription, please contact us at Info@TradeRegs.com – Or call the Editor, Frank Ruffing, at +1.703.283.5220

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Vol 44 No. 18 April 29, 2024

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Census AES Revision to Type C33 (No License Required) FOR AUKUS

REVISION TO LICENSE TYPE C33 No License Required (NLR) to reflect “600 series” items are eligible for this license type when exported to Australia and the United Kingdom. An update has been made to AES to reflect that NLR shipments of 600-series and 9x515 ECCNs (except .y paragraph) can be shipped only to Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

More trade & tariff news

Justice filed forfeiture complaint for landing gear seized while being transshipped via Kyrgyzstan

More Russian Sanctions Announced

May 1 the Treasury Department issued sanctions targeting Russia’s military-industrial base and chemical and biological weapons programs, as well as companies and individuals in third countries that help Russia acquire key inputs for weapons or defense-related production. The action includes nearly 60 targets located in Azerbaijan, Belgium, the PRC, Russia, Slovakia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Canada Plastic Registry Announced

On April 22, 2024, Canada announced the implementation of a Federal Plastic Registry to monitor the types and volumes of plastic products, including plastic packaging used in agriculture and food manufacturing, through their life cycle on the Canadian market. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced the establishment of Federal Plastics Registry to require plastic resin manufacturers, producers of plastic products (including importers), and service providers to report each year, starting in 2025, on the quantity and types of plastic they place on the market and how that plastic moves through the economy.

On the calendar

New China Committee Chair Launches

The New Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) promises to continue the Committee's role as a spotlight, though perhaps with less candlepower than his predecessor, retiring Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI)

DoD Funding of Chinese Research Targeted

Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is continuing her campaign to keep U.S. defense dollars from being spent in Chinese research laboratories. The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General is formally investigating the funding to Chinese research labs or other nations “designed to enhance pathogens of pandemic potential,"

EU Money Laundering Rules Update

The European Parliament has adopted a package of laws strengthening the EU’s toolkit to fight money-laundering and terrorist financing. The new laws ensure that people with a legitimate interest, including journalists, media professionals, civil society organisations, competent authorities, and supervisory bodies, will have immediate, unfiltered, direct and free access to beneficial ownership information held in national registries and interconnected at EU level. In addition to current information, the registries will also include data going back at least five years.

US, Taipei Schedule Trade Talks

The United States and Taiwan, will hold another in-person negotiating round for the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade in Taipei, Taiwan, beginning April 29, 2024. The U.S. …

Solar AD/CVD Case Initiated to Block Solar Workaround

US International Trade Commission announced the institution of investigations and commencement of a preliminary phase antidumping and countervailing duty investigation imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, alleged to be sold in the United States at less than fair value and alleged to be subsidized by the named governments. Unless the Department of Commerce extends the time for initiation, the Commission must reach a preliminary determination in antidumping and countervailing duty investigations in 45 days, or in this case by June 10, 2024.

Treasury Sanctions More Iran UAV Suppliers

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning over one dozen entities, individuals, and vessels that have played a central role in facilitating and financing the clandestine sale …

Medical Device Exception to Russian Sanctions

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) makes changes to the Russia and Belarus sanctions under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to add a new license exception for EAR99 medical devices and related parts, components, accessories, and attachments for use in or with medical devices that are destined for both countries and the temporarily occupied Crimea region of Ukraine, or the covered regions of Ukraine. The purpose of this final rule is to authorize under a license exception certain exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) of “medical devices” that are being regularly approved and that advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. In addition, this final rule makes two corrections to the EAR related to Russia-related rules published in January, and March, 2024 by correcting an end-user control and adding a cross-reference correction.

Ecuador Official Convicted in Odebrecht Bribery Case

A federal jury in Miami has convicted the former Comptroller General of Ecuador for his role in a multimillion-dollar international bribery and money laundering scheme. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2010 to 2015, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni, 73, solicited and received over $10 million in bribe payments from Odebrecht S.A., the Brazil-based construction conglomerate.