The Bureau of Industry and Security posted the presentation materials from panels during its annual update conference last week. The panels included update sessions on export enforcement (see 2207010010, 2207010025 and 2206300069), recently implemented export controls (see 2207010015), the foreign direct product rule (see 2206300005) and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ regulations (see 2206300029).
The Biden administration should urge West Coast ports and their dockworkers’ union to extend their current contract until a new one is reached, more than 150 trade groups said in a July 1 letter to the White House. The administration also should make sure both parties “agree to not engage in any kind of activity that leads to further disruption at the ports.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security made an editorial correction to its rule this week that added 36 companies to the Entity List (see 2206280056). The correction is “non-substantive” and is “intended only to aid in codification.”
The Group of Seven leading industrial countries this week agreed to a range of trade-related objectives to help achieve a “rules-based multilateral order” and “universal human rights,” including a commitment to the World Trade Organization and further sanctions against Russia. The G-7 countries -- joined by leaders from Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal, South Africa and Ukraine -- said they will stand against Russia for “as long as it takes.”
The Federal Maritime Commission on June 27 completed its “server maintenance” on several of its systems, which began experiencing problems earlier this month (see 2206140012). The FMC said its e-monitoring system, electronic reading room and certain forms are now available for use.
GlobalWafers plans to build a new semiconductor factory in Texas, with construction starting later this year, the Taiwan-based company said June 27. It expects the 3.2 million square-foot factory, the largest of its kind in the U.S., to eventually produce 1.2 million wafers per month in what will be the first new such facility built in the U.S. in over two decades.
The State Department is seeking public comments on an information collection related to Part 130 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which deals with political contributions, fees and commissions relating to sales of defense articles and defense services. Under the ITAR, defense exporters shipping certain goods worth more than $500,000 to a foreign armed service, international organization or others must notify the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls about certain political contributions or fees associated with the sale, the agency said. Comments are due July 28. DDTC last year saw an uptick in Part 130 violations (see 2109290056).
The recently revised outbound investment screening bill, proposed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers this month (see 2206140048), makes it “more likely” that new investment-related export control procedures will become law, Sidley Austin said in an alert. The firm expects new outbound investment controls to be passed as part of the expansive, bipartisan China legislation, as part of a future bill or potentially as an executive order by the White House.
The State Department last week approved up to $450 million in additional emergency military assistance to Ukraine. The move will authorize the U.S.’s 13th drawdown of defense articles, services and military training from DOD, the State Department said.
The Federal Maritime Commission on June 24 alerted industry that certain provisions of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act took immediate effect when the bill became law on June 16 (see 2206160064). Some of the provisions that already took effect involve demurrage and detention invoices, which apply to “all charges and invoices over which the Commission has existing jurisdiction,” the FMC’s general counsel said in a memo. The FMC said “parties with questions related to their obligations should consult with their legal counsel.”