On August 16, 2023 the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published orders denying export privileges to the following four individuals:
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) yesterday urged Commere Secretary Gina Raimondo to continue guarding against political and foreign interference in the trade enforcement process. He also called on …
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding additional nuclear nonproliferation controls on China and Macau, effective August 11, 2023. This change specifically applies to items controlled for Nuclear Nonproliferation (NP) column 2 reasons for control. These controls enhance U.S. Government efforts to monitor the export of these items and to ensure they are only being used in peaceful activities such as commercial nuclear power generation, medical developments, production of or use in medicine, and non-military industries.
he Departments of Commerce, State and Labor have issued a Business Advisory highlighting the growing reputational and financial risks to American businesses and individuals conducting business with companies that have significant ties to South Sudan’s extended transitional government or are controlled by family members of government officials.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks together with 10 Minority Representatives of the Committee, sent a letter to Secretary Blinken calling on the Biden Administration not to certify the human rights conditioned portion of foreign military financing (FMF) for Egypt this year given Egypt’s failure to meet the criteria as outlined in law.
The government’s Trade Advisory Committees are unfairly skewed toward big business, giving short shrift to labor and environmental concerns, according to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash). “Allowing corporate interests to continue to dominate the trade advisory committee system clearly harms workers, consumers, and small businesses, the lawmakers wrote in a letter to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
A bad penny always turns up. Odebrecht S.A, the perennial source of corruption settlements under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) delivered again, snaring a banking subsidiary of Grupo Aval, the holding company of the second richest man in Colombia. Corporación Financiera Colombiana S.A. (Corficolombiana), a Colombian financial services institution, has agreed to pay over $80 million to resolve parallel bribery investigations by criminal, civil, and administrative authorities in the United States and Colombia stemming from the company’s involvement in a scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to high-ranking government officials in Colombia.
All transactions with two sanctioned Burmese banks must have been wound down by August 5, according to the State Department. In June, the United States designated two of Burma’s military regime-controlled banks, Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank.
President Biden signed into law a measure implementing the initial deal negotiated under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement, even while raising concerns about the constitutionality of the law. The President cautioned Congress that he does not intend to follow all of the requirements of the new law relating to the sharing of negotiating texts.
When trade ministers of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries convene a two-day meeting at the end of this month, India will seek to insert strong language in the final declaration on preserving and safeguarding the World Trade Organization’s two-tier dispute settlement system, our correspondent writes. G20 trade ministers are slated to meet August 25-26 in Jaipur, the pink city of India.
US lamb producers are seeking relief from imported lamb and mutton through a phase-in tariff rate quota. Protect American Lamb, a project under the auspices of the R-CALF USA, has filed a petition with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The 33-page petition shows that imported lamb and mutton, primarily from Australia and New Zealand, have increased 2,363 percent in dollar value and 543 percent in quantity since the early 1990s.
Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party continued his quest with a letter calling for the Federal Communications Commisssion to answer questions about the role of the Chinese in the market for "Cellular IoT Modules," the radio devices which connect industrial equipment and home appliances to each other and central stations through the internet. Later in the week, Mr. Gallagher led a fact-finding mission to Australia to deliver a speech on "United States and Australia's rich history united by freedom, security imperatives, economic interests, and common values," according to a statement.
The United States and Mexico announced yesterday they have agreed on steps to address worker rights violations at a Mexican denim factory that is one of Levi’s largest suppliers. The course of remediation will address denials of rights at the Industrias del Interior facility in the state of Aguascalientes.
On August 9 President Biden issued an Executive Order focused on national security threats stemming from U.S. investments in the People's Republic of China (PRC), specifically those related to technologies critical for military and intelligence capabilities. The E.O. aims to protect U.S. national security while maintaining open investment. It sets forth a new program, focusing on prohibiting certain U.S. transactions and requiring notifications to Treasury regarding others, specifically related to the following technology areas: Semiconductors and microelectronics Quantum information technologies Certain artificial intelligence systems
Departing Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Kenneth Polite told Reuters the department’s enforcement pipeline has several more “global resolutions,” or large corporate settlements pending in coming months. Mr. Polite, who will be joining Sidley Austin in October after overseeing corporate resolutions such as Glencore, ABB, Danske, and Stericycle attributed the backlog to COVID related- delays. Polite said to expect "much larger schemes and activities."
In remarks last week in Lexington, Kentucky, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson spoke to common concerns about the implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) which requires certain U.S. and foreign companies to report to FinCEN information about their beneficial owners: "FinCEN is working around the clock to stand up this program in a way that allows you to understand your obligations, provides you the resources to meet them, and ensures the smallest possible burden on you.
The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative have announced that a U.S. delegation will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, from September 10-16 for the fifth negotiating round of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). In Bangkok, the IPEF partners will continue to make progress on negotiations towards high-standard outcomes under Pillars I (Trade), III (Clean Economy), and IV (Fair Economy).
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a combined award exceeding $104 million to seven whistleblowers, marking the fourth largest sum in the SEC’s whistleblower program's history. Several of the whistleblowers are reported to be foreign nationals, reporting misconduct in "multiple territories".
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic analysis announced Tuesday that the goods and services deficit was $65.5 billion in June, down $2.8 billion from $68.3 billion in May, revised. June exports were $247.5 billion, $0.3 billion less than May exports. June imports were $313.0 billion, $3.1 billion less than May imports. June's decrease in the goods and services deficit reflected a decrease in the goods deficit of $2.8 billion to $88.2 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of less than $0.1 billion to $22.7 billion. Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit decreased $117.7 billion, or 22.3 percent, from the same period in 2022. Exports increased $37.6 billion or 2.5 percent. Imports decreased $80.1 billion or 4.0 percent. The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic analysis announced Tuesday that the goods and services deficit was $65.5 billion in June, …
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated Riad Salameh, the former governor of Lebanon's central bank, and four of his close associates for corrupt and unlawful activities. Salameh allegedly used his position to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars through shell companies for personal enrichment, investing in European real estate. The sanctions do not extend to the Banque du Liban (BdL) or its U.S. correspondent bank relationships.
