Members of the House Ways and Means Committee are united in their desire to renew the expired Generalized System of Preferences program, but differences over reforms continue to stand in the way of action. Ranking Democrat Earl Blumenauer (Ore) called for action on GSP reform and renewal legislation proposed by Democrats in the previous Congress, saying that since there is strong bipartisan report for renewal, the committee should report out that measure. But Trade Subcommittee Chair. Adrian Smith (R-Neb) indicated that he sees some language in that bill as being ambiguous and hard to enforce and includes standards for beneficiary countries that go beyond what is required in the US- Mexico-Canada Agreement. He expressed hope that with “open minds” members can come together on a GSP/MTB package.

On 15 September 2023, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation updating the EU dual-use export control list in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/821. The update brings the list in line with decisions taken in the multilateral Export Control Regime's Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), and Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) in 2022. The decisions taken in the Australia Group (AG) in 2022 have been introduced in the control list in Annex I by means of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/996 of 23 February 2023.

Chief engineer Denys Korotkiy of the Dry Cargo vessel Donald was sentenced on Sept. 15 to serve twelve months and a day in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and failure to maintain an accurate oil record book. Vessel operating company Interunity Management (Deutschland) GMBH previously pleaded guilty for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge water and was ordered to pay a total of $1.25 million, including more than $312,000 to benefit marine and coastal natural resources in or near the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve.

A Russian citizen who has resided in Hong Kong, was charged in connection with conspiring to defraud the United States and with smuggling, wire fraud, and money laundering offenses based on his alleged participation in a scheme to unlawfully procure U.S.-sourced, dual-use microelectronics with military applications on behalf of end users in Russia. According to the complaint, Maxim Marchenko, 51, employed a web of shell companies as part of an overseas smuggling ring to ship dual-use U.S. technology with military applications to Russia in contravention of U.S. law. …

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) participated in the fifth in-person negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Bangkok, Thailand, from September 10-16, 2023. Building on the discussions that took place during the fourth negotiating round in Busan, South Korea, in July 2023, the IPEF partners "continued to make progress on negotiations" towards high-standard outcomes under Pillars I (Trade), III (Clean Economy), and IV (Fair Economy). Officials also "continued discussions on the next steps" for the proposed IPEF Supply Chain Agreement (Pillar II) following the substantial conclusion of negotiations in May and public release of the text on September 7.

U.S. government announced the establishment of a humanitarian channel in Qatar (HC) to further facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Iran consistent with the U.S. government’s longstanding support for humanitarian trade. Similar to humanitarian channels established under previous administrations, the HC is designed to support the Iranian people’s access to food, agricultural goods, medicine, and medical devices under stringent due diligence measures that guard against money laundering, misuse, and evasion of U.S. sanctions

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a Small Entity Compliance Guide to assist the small business community in complying with the beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule.  Foreign companies that register in U.S. states after Jan. 1 may need to report beneficial ownership information to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act. Starting in 2024, many entities created in, or registered to do business in, the United States will be required to report to FinCEN information about their beneficial owners—the individuals who ultimately own or control a company. 

This collection of information addresses three activities: (1) Import Certificates/End Use Certificates, (2) Delivery Verification, and (3) Firearms Entry Clearance Requirements. This collection of information addresses three activities: (1) Import Certificates/End Use Certificates, (2) Delivery Verification, and (3) Firearms Entry Clearance Requirements. Soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau to: Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary; accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden; evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity ; and minimize the reporting burden. …

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will hold the 2023 Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy from Tuesday, November 28 through Thursday, November 30 at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Washington, D.C. This 36th annual conference will be offered in in-person only, for two and a half days, with an evening reception. Sessions will include keynote speakers, plenaries, breakout sessions, and live Q&A with BIS and other agency experts.

On September 18, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updated the Withhold Release Order (WRO) issued against Supermax Corporation Bhd. and its subsidiaries following the remediation of forced …

Tuesday, at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting chaired by Petter Ølberg of Norway, several pronouncements were made regarding ongoing disputes between member nations and concerns about the functioning and reform of the Appellate Body.

Reacting to news reports of espionage activities linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on American soil, Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), along with other members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, have called for an urgent classified briefing from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

In a stern letter, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) warned Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that regulations must be immediately issued to prevent taxpayer funded subsidies for electric vehicles and batteries in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) from flowing to adversarial nations such as China.

Registration is open for a Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in-person seminar in Southern California.  This is the last BIS Complying with U.S. Export Controls seminar in 2023!  …

Chairman Mike Gallagher of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party urged U.S. officials to enforce sanctions against certain Chinese officials and entities. In a letter addressed …

The Commerce Department yesterday released the text of the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity Supply Chain Agreement. The proposed Supply Chain Agreement is designed to enable IPEF partners to work together collaboratively to make supply chains more resilient, efficient, transparent, diversified, secure and inclusive, including through information exchange, sharing of best practices, business matchmaking, collective response to disruptions and supporting labor rights.

Anti-Dumping, Countervailing Duty, and Customs Enforcement Orders and Decisions.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $15 million civil money penalty against Bancrédito International Bank and Trust Corporation for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations. Julio Martin Herrera Velutini, the founder of Bancredito International Bank & Trust Corp.has been indicted for a long list of financial crimes, precipitated by his ofer to finance the election campaign of Governor Wanda Vazquez if she would fire the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico, which she did.  

Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee announces addition of a new working group to the Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee which will provide proposed recommendations for COAC's consideration at the September 20, 2023 meeting of the Committee.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration, designated key Hizballah operatives and financial facilitators in South America and Lebanon. This action includes the senior Hizballah operative, who carried out the terrorist attack against the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Argentina in 1994 that killed 85 people. Amer Mohamed Akil Rada and his associates manage a commercial enterprise for Hizballah, including charcoal exports to Lebanon.