A now-defunct Thai trading company will pay $20 million to settle charges that it violated Iran sanctions by selling high density polyethylene resin made in Iran to East Asian customers in U.S. dollars, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said April 19 in an enforcement release.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is “significantly reducing licensing requirements” for Australia and the U.K. “to foster defense trade and technological innovation” under the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) Enhanced Trilateral Security Partnership, it said in an April 18 news release.
After October's deadline passed without an agreement between the U.S. and the EU on a global trade deal for steel and aluminum (see 2404040034), talks are still ongoing, the European Commission’s top trade official said during a news conference April 18.
The U.S. announced on April 18 a new package of export controls and sanctions against Iran and its activities that support Russia’s war effort, in retaliation for Iran’s attack five days earlier on Israel.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai gave testimony April 17 to the Senate Finance Committee regarding President Joe Biden’s 2024 trade policy agenda. She touched mainly on trade deal enforcement, U.S. exporters’ access to new markets and the USTR’s new stance on digital trade, though she also discussed issues such as forced labor and the upcoming legislation on the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Congress should approve tougher sanctions and import restrictions to stem the deadly and illegal flow of fentanyl into the U.S., the House Select Committee on China said in a new report April 16.
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently met with a group of industry and university officials to hear about challenges plaguing export compliance professionals, including problems doing due diligence on foreign parties, lengthy timelines for export license applications and more.
U.S. companies should expect more retaliation from China if the Bureau of Industry and Security adds more major Chinese technology firms to its Entity List this year, Paul Trulio, a China and technology policy expert, said during an event last week hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Trulio and other panelists also said it’s unclear exactly how a possible second Trump administration may tweak U.S. export control policy toward Beijing, but they said it’s possible former President Donald Trump, if reelected, could significantly increase restrictions on Chinese firms through potential financial sanctions and may pressure allies to do the same.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is encouraging industry and foreign countries to do more to ensure American high-tech products don't end up in Russian weapon systems, a Commerce Department official said April 10.