The Office of the United States Trade Representative has released the Fifteenth Biennial Report on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA). On a biennial basis, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is required to submit a report to Congress regarding the results of the general review of CBI beneficiary countries and their performance under the CBI eligibility criteria.
The leaders of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party kicked off the new year by writing to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, asking for a Chinese wireless company to be blacklisted. Shenzhen-based Quectel manufactures "Internet of Things (IoT)" modules which connect equipment to central control and monitoring systems. Markets include Transportation, Industrial Telematics, and Smart Metering of utilities.
December 29, the Bureau of Industry & Security published a series of updates to the Frequently Asked Question (FAQs) associated with the October 7th, 2022 and October 17, 2023 Semiconductor Rules. The Interim Final Rules (IFRs) amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement more effective export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME), advanced computing items, and supercomputers, addressing national security concerns.
European Union steel and aluminum quota “Hold” status has been released effective January 2, 2024. As reported last week, the White House published two documents on December 28, 2023 extending current EU Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) programs: 2024 EU steel and aluminum quota limits will remain at previous years’ limits. For detailed filing instructions please choose the appropriate link below.
The Department of Commerce and Microchip Technology Inc. have reached a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide approximately $162 million in federal incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act to support the onshoring of the company’s semiconductor supply chain. Microchip’s microcontroller units and mature-node semiconductors are critical components in the production and manufacturing of electric vehicles and other automotives, washing machines, cell phones, airplanes, and the defense-industrial base. Shortages of microcontrollers during the pandemic affected over 1% of global GDP.
The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. Board of Directors approved a $90 million guarantee under EXIM’s Supply Chain Finance Guarantee Program to Dutch Financier ING Capital to finance U.S. Natural Gas processor Freeport LNG Marketing. In 2020 Exim approved a deal with Freeport LNG, "with the first-ever use of a funder guarantee structure" for $50 million. That deal was a "tripartite agreement" between EXIM, Private Export Funding Corporation (PEFCO) , and the scandal-plagued, now insolvent Greensill Capital. In June 2022 a blast attributed to safety failures caused approximately $275 million in damages and took the plant offline for 18 months.
The White House announced year-end amendments to its trade relations under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Mauritania has been reinstated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country following its compliance with the eligibility requirements of the AGOA and the Trade Act. The designations for the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries have been terminated.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are accepting applications for new members to serve on agricultural trade advisory committees. Members of the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee provide advice to the administration on the implementation and enforcement of existing U.S. trade agreements, negotiation of new agreements, and other trade policy matters. Members of the six Agricultural Technical Advisory Committees, or ATACs, provide technical advice and recommendations on international trade issues that affect specific agricultural commodity sectors.
A Virginia lobbyist and a New Jersey political consultant each have entered into Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) to resolve allegations that they failed to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and committed related offenses while representing the government of Qatar. Barry P. Bennett, 60, of Alexandria, Va., owned and operated Avenue Strategies, LLC and Avenue Strategies Global, LLC, a pair of consulting firms in Washington D.C. Douglas Watts, 73, of Jersey City, N.J., is a former presidential campaign consultant who also founded and ran a lobbying and public relations company. In 2017, Bennett signed a contract for Avenue Strategies to perform lobbying services for the embassy of Qatar. As part of his lobbying strategy on behalf of, and for and in the interest of Qatar, Bennett covertly operated Yemen Crisis Watch, a Limited Liability Company (LLC) founded by Watts at Bennett’s direction. As directed by Bennett and managed by Watts, Yemen Crisis Watch ran a public relations campaign designed to cast Qatar’s rivals, Saudia Arabia and the U.A.E., in a negative light, and thereby to improve Qatar's standing with the U.S. government relative to these rivals.
January 1st, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) began accepting beneficial ownership information reports. Reporting companies created or registered to do business in the United States before January 1, 2024 must file by January 1, 2025. Newly created or registered companies: Reporting companies created or registered to do business in the United States in 2024 have 90 calendar days to file after receiving actual or public notice that their company’s creation or registration is effective.
We wish our readers and their families joy and good health this Holiday Season, and the best for the coming year. We will be publishing a skeleton issue the year's last week, though we will keep an eye out for developments our readers may miss on their break. 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
A New Hampshire charity delivering humanitarian aid to Syria was sentenced in federal court for export offenses. NuDay was sentenced December 28 by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante to five years of probation, the maximum penalty for an organizational defendant. NuDay was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. On September 8, 2023, NuDay pleaded guilty to three counts of Failure to File Export Information.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated one individual and three entities responsible for facilitating the flow of Iranian financial assistance to Houthi forces in Yemen. Among those designated today is the head of the Currency Exchangers Association in Sana’a, and three exchange houses in Yemen and Türkiye.
The Commerce Department's October 27 "pause" in the issuance of new export licenses involving firearms under its jurisdiction is expected to end this month, and industry and its friends in Congress are girding for battle. The Protect American Gun Exporter Act introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) seeks to forbid the Secretary from similar actions in the future and bar "unilateral' policy changes, while a leaked Commerce document proposes quite a few. In a draft Federal Register Notice obtained by the website "The Reload" marked "predecisional" Commerce proposes the addition of two new ECCNs, enhanced documentation requirements and other changes to improve traceability and control of the civilian arms trade.
President Joe Biden announced the extension of the suspension of tariffs on European Union steel and aluminum for an additional two years. This move continues the agreement initially set in January 2022, aiming to foster ongoing negotiations focusing on global overcapacity and the promotion of low-carbon production in these industries. The original suspension replaced the tariffs implemented by former President Donald Trump, which included a 25% tariff on EU steel and 10% on EU aluminum, with a tariff rate quota (TRQ) system
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced an extension of reinstated and COVID-related exclusions from the China Section 301 tariffs until May 31, 2024. Originally set to expire on December 31, 2023, this extension allows for public comments and aligns with the ongoing four-year review. “The extension will enable the orderly sunsetting of the exclusions,” the USTR said. Additional time could be granted to “enable shifts in sourcing to the United States or third countries.”
China announced it will impose sanctions on a United States company and two individuals in reaction to similar measures taken by the U.S. against Chinese officials and entities. The December 26 sanctions target Kharon, a U.S. intelligence data firm, its director of investigations Edmund Xu, and former researcher Nicole Morgret. These sanctions are a response to allegations and measures concerning the situation in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
The planned acquisition by Nippon Steel of what used to be America's preeminent steelmaker has stirred up a hornet's nest of jingoism and grandstanding in Washington and the Rust Belt, promising for a contentious review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS). "President Biden welcomes foreign investment that creates new US manufacturing jobs," National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard said. “However, he also believes the purchase of this iconic American-owned company by a foreign entity – even one from a close ally – appears to deserve serious scrutiny in terms of its potential impact on national security and supply chain reliability,”
Members of the World Trade Organization Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce announced Wednesday that they have reached “the substantial conclusion on a number of global digital trade rules.” But the three countries leading the negotiations – Singapore, Australia and Japan – admitted that “challenging proposals” like data flows and localization and source code will require more time for discussion as “divergent approaches and sensitivities remained.” In a press release issued by the three co-convenors from their respective capitals, they said that “as of 20 December 2023, participants have substantially concluded negotiations on 13 articles.”
The United States and other countries participating in the Price Cap Coalition announced new rules aimed at making it harder to Russia to circumvent the price cap imposed on Russian oil in response to its invasion of Ukraine. “These changes will further complicate efforts by Russian exporters to circumvent the price cap while deceiving Coalition service providers, and further raise costs for any Russian exporters that need premier services but are unwilling to sell oil under the cap,” according to the coalition's announcement December 21.. The changes include requiring that relevant Coalition service providers receive attestations from their counterparties each time they lift or load Russian oil. The coalition also is introducing changes that will require supply chain participants with access to itemized ancillary costs (e.g., insurance and freight) to share these upon request with entities further down the supply chain.
