The House of Representatives passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act 364-60, though the text of the bill changed from its introduction in August. The bill prohibits ocean carriers from unreasonably reducing "shipper accessibility to equipment necessary for the loading or unloading of cargo," and tells them they must furnish containers needed and allocate "vessel space accommodations, in consideration of reasonably foreseeable import and export demands." They cannot "unreasonably decline export cargo bookings if such cargo can be loaded safely and timely, as determined by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and carried on a vessel scheduled for the immediate destination of such cargo."

The U.S this week imposed an arms embargo and new, broad export restrictions on Cambodia in response to government corruption and human rights abuses. The restrictions, released Dec. 8 by the Commerce and the State departments and effective Dec. 9, will apply more stringent controls on a range of dual-use and military-related exports to the country (see 2112020015).

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John Butler, CEO of the World Shipping Council, said ocean carriers are getting mixed messages from the White House, which is encouraging carriers and ports to rev up their leverage on buyers and freight forwarders so that they pick up their cargo promptly, and from Congress. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on an Ocean Shipping Reform Act that would give the Federal Maritime Commission more authority to punish players for unreasonable demurrage charges -- the same fees used as leverage.

The U.S.’s new anti-corruption strategy, coupled with its democracy summit later this week, could convince more allies to adopt Global Magnitsky sanctions regimes, former U.S. officials said. They said the administration’s plans to pursue more multilateral sanctions and trade restrictions at the summit could build a more united front to address global corruption and human rights abuses.

The Biden administration unveiled a new strategy to counter corruption, and officials said they are planning new sanctions in the coming days to target corrupt actors and other international criminals. As part of the strategy, which came after a 200-day review by federal agencies to determine how the U.S. can better curb illicit finance, the administration will increase anti-corruption work at the Treasury, State and Commerce departments, according to a Dec. 6 White House fact sheet. The U.S. also will take “meaningful steps” to stop corrupt actors from using the U.S. and the international financial systems.

FDA is recommending that exporters of certain food products to China provide the agency with facility information by Dec. 17 to avoid a potential trade disruption from the entry into effect of Chinese food facility requirements on Jan. 1, it said. While FDA continues to engage China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) on the potential for self-registration of U.S. exporters to China, FDA says it still has yet to receive a satisfactory response and may be required to submit exporter registration data to China at the beginning of the new year.

The Commerce Department will soon launch a new feature to automatically warn filers if they are exporting a controlled item without a license, an improvement the agency hopes leads to better due diligence among exporters. The agency will deploy the Automated Export System feature Jan. 13, 2022, the Census Bureau said in a Dec. 6 email to industry. The announcement has been expected since October (see 2110180027). The new feature will alert exporters that incorrectly list License Requirement NLR (No License Required) for shipments that require a license under the Export Administration Regulations. The message will appear with the response code 66Q and will serve as a warning message to filers for the first six months after the Jan. 13 effective date, Census said. After the six-month period, the agency will upgrade the warning to a “fatal” error, which will block the exporter from moving forward with the filing. Exporters having difficulties with the error message or reporting their information correctly but still receiving the message should email the Bureau of Industry and Security at ECDOEXS@bis.doc.gov, Census said. Exporters should ask about the Export Control Classification Number associated with their export and any other “additional licensing authorization that may be required,” Census said.

A European Union proposal to restrict imports of goods that contribute to deforestation could place broad and “onerous” due diligence requirements on EU importers and their foreign suppliers, law firms said. Although the rules aren’t yet final and may be loosened, they will inevitably increase enforcement risks for companies that trade a range of products, the firms said, including soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned an additional 20 people, 12 entities and three aircraft for aiding the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus. The agency also imposed new restrictions on dealings in Belarusian sovereign debt, and issued a new general license and 10 new frequently asked questions to provide guidance on the new sanctions.