The International Chamber of Commerce released its 2020 incoterms on Sept. 10, saying the newest version is easier to use and includes “explanatory notes with enhanced graphics to illustrate the responsibilities of importers and exporters." The new incoterms also include a more detailed explanation for traders on how to choose the right incoterms for their transactions or “how a sales contract interacts with ancillary contracts," the ICC said.
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
U.S. farmers and producers are lagging behind in agricultural production, impacting trade and exports, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said. Those same farmers and producers are suffering from “catastrophic” conditions from trade-war tariffs, leading to a potentially problematic increase in federal aid to the U.S. agriculture sector, trade experts said.
The Commerce Department is aiming to publish its advance notice of proposed rulemaking for foundational technologies before the end of September, said Rich Ashooh, the assistant secretary for export administration. “That’s kind of the goal,” Ashooh said, speaking during a Sept. 5 Materials Technical Advisory Committee meeting. “It’s really important for us to get there.”
A top U.S. Department of Agriculture official said he was “elated” to hear about the upcoming October meeting between top-level U.S. and China officials, but warned that a trade deal may still be far away. “I hope this is a very serious attempt to get going and to get back to the table and really bring this to fruition,” said Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney, speaking during a Sept. 5 conference call with reporters.
The Commerce Department has been receiving fewer questions and complaints on export controls as it proceeds with the government’s Export Control Reform initiative, said Hillary Hess, director of the regulatory policy division at the Bureau of Industry and Security. The reform process, which began under the Obama administration and continues as Commerce prepares to release proposed export controls on emerging and foundational technologies (see 1909030037), has proved largely “effective,” Hess said. Hess said she uses the number of complaints from U.S. industry as a measurement.
China said it will continue to push for Huawei to be included in any potential U.S.-China trade deal, despite President Donald Trump saying the U.S. does not want to discuss Huawei in negotiations. “China’s position is clear. It is hoped that the U.S. will stop using the national power to suppress the wrong practices of Chinese enterprises in the name of national security,” China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesman said Sept. 5, according to an unofficial translation of a transcript from a press conference.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on a shipping network that moves hundreds of millions of dollars of oil for Iran, Treasury said in a Sept. 4 press release. The network includes dozens of ship managers, ships and “facilitators” overseen by Rostam Qasemi, a senior Iranian military official and the country’s former minister of petroleum. The sanctions target 16 entities, 10 people and 11 ships.
U.S. export controls are confusing, burdensome and often place U.S. companies at a disadvantage compared with foreign competitors, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said in an Aug. 29 report.
A Bureau of Industry and Security official acknowledged a delay in the agency’s proposed rulemaking for foundational technologies, saying she and other top Commerce Department officials expected the notice to be published by now. “I personally thought foundational would be out faster than it is. It was not just higher-level people,” said Hillary Hess, BIS’s director of the regulatory policy division, speaking during a Sept. 3 panel hosted by the American Bar Association.
The State Department is removing certain “lower performing radars” from the U.S. Munitions List and is extending for two years a temporary modification to Category XI, the State Department said in a notice in the Federal Register.