While Vietnam, Taiwan, and Switzerland exceeded thresholds established by the Treasury Department to identify potentially unfair currency practices, a report from the department released April 16 said there is no evidence that they manipulated their currency to gain unfair trade advantage. The report noted that in early 2021, Treasury offices began “enhanced bilateral engagement with Vietnam and is working with the Vietnamese authorities to develop a plan with specific actions to address the underlying causes of Vietnam’s currency undervaluation.” It was already engaged with Switzerland on the topic, and will continue those discussions. It said similar talks should be done with Taiwan. The report noted that the Taiwanese currency appreciated in 2020, but given the strength of Taiwan's economy that year, it did not rise as much as would be expected.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ Defense Export Control and Compliance System will undergo scheduled system maintenance April 19, DDTC said April 15. The system’s registration and licensing applications will be unavailable to industry from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. EDT. DDTC said users should make sure their work in progress is saved before the downtime.
G. Nagesh Rao is now the permanent chief information officer for the Bureau of Industry and Security after previously serving in an acting capacity (see 2101290059), a BIS spokesperson said April 12. Rao works as an information officer to help support BIS’s information technology modernization efforts, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The White House announced it has selected Chris Magnus, the police chief of Tucson, Arizona, and former police chief of Fargo, North Dakota, and Richmond, California, to lead CBP. The April 12 announcement said, “In each of these cities Magnus developed a reputation as a progressive police leader who focused on relationship-building between the police and community, implementing evidence-based best practices, promoting reform, and insisting on police accountability.” It also said that because Tucson is close to the Mexican border, he has extensive experience in addressing immigration issues.”
The White House plans to hold a summit with the semiconductor industry today, April 12, to address the global semiconductor shortage and other supply chain issues. The meeting will include representatives from 20 major companies, including carmakers General Motors and Ford, chip companies GlobalFoundries and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, and several major technology companies, including Alphabet, Dell Technologies and Intel, the White House said April 9. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo also will participate.
The Treasury Department on April 8 removed the United Arab Emirates from its list of countries that require or may require participation in, or cooperation with, an international boycott. The UAE announced a decree last year that repealed its boycott of Israel (see 2010130015), and Treasury said the country has taken “subsequent actions” to “implement the new policy.” Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen remain on the list.
The Federal Maritime Commission met this week with lawmakers and held a separate closed session to discuss its investigation into maritime port issues and reports of carriers declining to accept U.S. exports (see 2011200024). The meetings were the first held under the FMC’s new chairman, Daniel Maffei (see 2103310004), and included an update on the “challenges to the freight delivery system,” the FMC said April 7. Trade groups have complained of unfair detention and demurrage fees and other port issues for months (see 2011170041).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is seeking comments on the agency’s information collection requirements in its Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations, OFAC said in a notice released April 7. The information collection covers reports required by OFAC that are reviewed by the Department of the Treasury and may be used for compliance, civil penalty and enforcement purposes by the agency. Comments are due June 7.
The current year for U.S. agricultural exporters will be a “difficult year to forecast” because of the uncertainty surrounding how quickly global economies will recover from the COVD-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said. Despite the many unknowns, “strong demand” from China is expected to continue for many U.S. agricultural exporters, USDA said in its 2020 Agricultural Export Yearbook released April 5. U.S. soybean and corn exporters will continue to see gains, the agency predicted, especially as China continues to implement the phase one trade deal. Exporters can also expect increases in demand from Canada, Mexico and Japan due to recently signed trade deals (see 2103290042 and 1912050058). The report also provides statistics for U.S. agricultural exports to a range of U.S. trading partners in 2020, and breaks down the exports by commodity. Total U.S. agricultural exports rose 7% from 2019 to 2020, mostly due to increased shipments of soybeans, corn and pork to China, USDA said. Agricultural exports reached $146 billion last year.
U.S. liquefied natural gas exports to China, Japan and South Korea have risen to “record highs” in recent months as the region continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported April 2. Some U.S. exports are “running neck and neck” with Qatar, one of the region’s largest LNG suppliers, and gas flows to U.S. export terminals are expected to continue to rise, the report said. Record cold temperatures this winter translated into higher demand for heating, which partly contributed to the increased LNG demand, the report said.