The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of State has released a redacted report detailing its review of end-use monitoring (EUM) for U.S. security assistance in Ukraine. This follows the U.S. commitment of approximately $30 billion in aid since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Findings indicate that Embassy Kyiv conducted limited in-person EUM activities, supplemented by secondary procedures involving Ukrainian government assistance. No misuse of equipment was identified, and commitments from recipients remained unchanged post-invasion. However, challenges like security restrictions and ad-hoc reporting of battlefield losses were noted.

The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai, …

The Justice Department prepared an Opinion Procedure Release for an unnamed U.S. company permitting payments to foreign officials despite potential conflict with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act's anti-bribery provisions.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is rescheduling the Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy from November 28–30, 2023 to March 27-29, 2024.

Britian's National Crime Agency has issued an alert warning that Russia is using gold as a means to undermine the impact of the UK sanctions regime. Given the importance of the UK to the gold market, the NCA is warning of deliberate attempts are being made to launder sanctioned gold to mask its origin so that it can be hidden in supply chains and sold in the UK and around the world.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized a shipment of China-bound deuterium cylinders in Norfolk on October 18 for violating nuclear nonproliferation licensing laws. On August 22, CBP’s National Targeting Center (NTC) identified the deuterium on the manifest of a shipping container destined to China. CBP officers detained the deuterium, and the following day requested a licensing determination from the Bureau of Industry and Security. 

President Biden has continued for one year the investment restrictions placed on Chinese securities associated with the PRC's Civil-Military Fusion (CMF) industrial policy. The restrictions include tradeing is securities of Chinese firms in the defense sector, as well as entities deemed controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

On November 7, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule that specifies the circumstances in which a reporting company may report an entity’s FinCEN identifier in lieu of information about individual beneficial owners. In response to commenter concerns that the reporting of entity FinCEN identifiers could obscure the identities of beneficial owners in a manner that might result in greater secrecy or incomplete or misleading disclosures, the final rule provides clear criteria that must be met in order for a reporting company to report an entity’s FinCEN identifier.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will convene the 2024 Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security (TFCS) Summit in Philadelphia, PA, on March 26-28, 2024. The 2024 TFCS Summit will be open for the …

Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the imposition of a civil penalty of $44,750 against Forta LLC (Forta), a manufacturer of synthetic reinforcement fibers, located in Grove City, Pennsylvania, to resolve three violations of the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR, 15 C.F.R. parts 730-774) (antiboycott regulations). Forta voluntarily disclosed the conduct to BIS, cooperated with the investigation by BIS’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance (OAC), and took remedial measures after discovering the conduct at issue, all of which resulted in a significant reduction in penalty.

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are issuing a new SAR key term to support financial institutions in reporting potential efforts to evade U.S. export controls beyond the Russia-related circumstances that were the focus of prior alerts.

Starting November 7, CBP will be offering free webinars every quarter on how anyone can report suspected trade violations online using the Trade Violations Reporting tool, as well as how to file EAPA allegations. Registration is free and available to anyone

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

The United States on November 3 placed sanctions on a Russian national for allegedly helping Russian elites launder and transfer money using virtual currency in contravention of sanctions …

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

The GAO released a report Oct. 31 stating that current USDA restrictions on imports of sugar are both a boon to producers and a burden to consumers.

The U.S. State Department designated two former ministers and one current vice minister from Guatemala due to their involvement in "significant corruption," an Oct. 31 statement reads.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been heralded as a way to disrupt the workforce–to the chagrin of many human workers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was hopeful about the future of AI in a meeting this week with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a US steel importers challenge to tariffs imposed by former President Trump on some steel derivative products, like nails. Texas-based PrimeSource Building Products had appealed the 25 percent tariffs on the grounds that the former President exceeded his authority is imposing the tariffs. President Biden has kept the tariffs in place.

Just days before the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum convenes in South Africa, President Biden announced he is removing four beneficiary countries from the program for their failure to comply with AGOA’s criteria. The countries losing their duty-free access to the US market under AGOA are Gabon, Niger, the Central African Republic and Uganda. Mauritania, on the other hand, is being reinstated into AGOA after losing its eligibility in 2019 because of worker rights concerns.