The Administration is being slow in carrying out enforcement activities to prevent goods made with forced labor from entering the US market, Congressional lawmakers and witnesses at a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing. Customs and Border Protection needs to take a more proactive approach to enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Homeland Security oversight, accountability and enforcement subcommittee Chairman Dan Bishop (R-NC) commented.

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating two individuals and four entities that form a core part of Specially Designated National (SDN) and Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik’s patronage network. Members of this network, which include Dodik’s adult children, facilitate Dodik’s ongoing corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) RS entity, allowing him to siphon public funds from the RS and enrich himself and his family at the expense of BiH citizens and functional governance in the country.

During its October 2023 virtual meeting, the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) agreed to suspend Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s FIU, from membership with the group due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This official suspension comes on top of previous Egmont Group measures to revoke Rosfinmonitoring’s formal group leadership, advisory, and representative positions, ability to host meetings, ability to physically attend meetings, and in-kind agreements.

In response to the signing of an electoral roadmap agreement between Venezuela’s Unitary Platform and representatives of Maduro,  Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued 4 General Licenses suspending select sanctions.  The G/Ls permit limited trading in Oil, Gold and certain Venezuelan sovereign bonds and PdVSA debt and equity.

FinCEN has identified the following red flag indicators to help detect, prevent, and report potential suspicious activity related to Hamas’s terrorist financing activity. As no single red …

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul issued an announcement applauding his committee's  "passage of significant legislation on various measures addressing Iran and its terrorist proxies" at Thursday's markup. Readers will note the House of Representatives has not passed a single piece of legislation since October 3rd's H.R. 757, Declaring the office of Speaker of the House to be vacant.

The OECD Released its Phase 4 Report on Brazil's implementtion of the Anit-Bribery Convention October 17.  This report details Brazil's achievements and challenges in respect to implementation and enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, as well as progress made since the Phase 3 evaluation in 2014.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate (TRLED) confirmed that chassis imported by Pitts Enterprises, Inc. from Vietnam were primarily composed of Chinese components. These components fell within the scope of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders against China. Pitts requested an administrative review to contest this determination. The company presented multiple arguments, including procedural and interpretative claims. Upon de novo review, CBP affirmed its earlier decision that Pitts had indeed evaded AD/CVD duties. This final determination is subject to judicial review.

A U.S. citizen residing in the Principality of Monaco pleaded guilty to tax evasion for concealing from the IRS over $5,130,000 in income derived from a real estate transaction and securities investments in offshore bank accounts.

A Florida husband and wife, Noel and Kelsy Hernandez Quintana, pleaded guilty to conspiring to import plywood contrary to the Lacey Act and customs laws, and to selling plywood products that were …

The US. State Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with partners from the Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Police Agency, and National Intelligence Service are releasing a joint public service announcement (PSA)  with updated guidance on red flag indicators and due diligence measures to help companies avoid hiring Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) information technology (IT) workers posing as non-DPRK nationals. This update identifies new tradecraft used by DPRK IT workers since the release of the 2022 advisories, including new indicators of potential DPRK IT worker activity and additional due diligence measures the international community, private sector, and public can take to prevent the hiring of DPRK IT workers.

The Commerce Department appears to be considering a fast-track system, posting on their website: "Submit your Israel licensing requests here: IsraelEmergencyLicense@bis.doc.gov". There is no further guidance, including whether the application must be submitted through the electronic export license application, known as SNAP, and the time limit for issuing ”emergency” export licenses.

Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson  shared an update on his teams efforts to revamp money laundering enforcement at Deloitte's 15th Annual Anti-Money Laundering Conference.     Mr. Nelson’s talk focused on the financing of terrorism, specifically targeting Hamas and Treasury's efforts to disrupt these networks in collaboration with international partners.

The US Commercial Service is assembling a delegation of tech-focussed US firms as delegation to the 2024 Tech X Singapore show in May 2024.   Application deadline is January 31, 2024 …

In a move aimed at curbing Iran's ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on 11 individuals, eight entities, and one vessel spread across Iran, Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Venezuela. These entities have allegedly supported Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), or their subordinates in the development and proliferation of missiles and UAVs.

Meetings: Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee Nov 1st 9AM Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee Oct 31, 1PM Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee Nov 8 and 9, at 9AM Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee Nov. 16, 10:00 AM Transportation and Related Equipment Technical Advisory Committee, November 15,, 9:30 AM.,

On Tuesday 17 October, the Commerce Department tightened controls over exports of AI-specific semiconductors. This move makes it more challenging for U.S. firms like Nvidia and Intel to market their current products in China or to launch new products as workarounds. Addressing oversights: This step is designed to mend potential oversights in the export regulations declared last year. Those regulations had been met with notable resistance from the international semiconductor sector and increased strains with Beijing.

Stainmaster carpet, omelet pans and dental floss have a long regulatory tail, importers are finding. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing reporting and recordkeeping requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).EPA is requiring persons that manufacture (including import) or have manufactured these chemical substances in any year since January 1, 2011, to submit information to EPA

World Trade Organization (WTO) members convened to discuss the array of issues laid out by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM). Despite the discussions, doubts persist among those familiar with the matter regarding the potential for meaningful outcomes from this high-profile event. The SOM, scheduled for October 23-24, has been specifically organized to prepare deliverables and provide guidance for the negotiations leading up to the WTO's 13th ministerial conference in February 2024. During an informal heads of delegations meeting, the Director-General emphasized that the SOM should be structured to ensure full participation, inclusiveness, and transparency.

The individual overseeing the informal talks about reforming the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute resolution system has shared a confidential preliminary draft. This draft appears to significantly weaken the enforcement capacity of the WTO, seemingly in alignment with the preferences of the United States, according to those privy to the document. The initial draft, as viewed by our correspondent, includes a footnote suggesting that the document may eventually take the form of a “Ministerial Decision.” Yet, the final format will be determined by the plenary based on the document's substantive content.