The rise of export-credit agencies around the world is threatening U.S. exporters and pushing them out of certain marketplaces, Paul Shmotolokha, the nominee for vice president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, said in his pitch to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on June 5.

U.S. companies that sell defense products to foreign countries or entities must report all offsets agreements greater than $5 million to the Commerce Department by June 15, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register June 6. Companies must also report any offsets transactions completed within an existing commitment “for which offsets credit of $250,000 or more has been claimed from the foreign representative,” the notice said. Commerce is asking for reports of offsets agreements that took place during the 2018 calendar year.

All U.S. cargo and air transportation to and from any airport in Venezuela is suspended, effective May 15, the Department of Homeland Security said in a notice. "The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that conditions in Venezuela threaten the safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew, and that the public interest requires an immediate suspension of air transportation," DHS said. The decision involved multiple factors, including the limited access of Transportation Security Administration employees to perform assessments in the airports and "the risk of Maduro regime actions against U.S. citizens and U.S. interests located in Venezuela," DHS said. Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan made the decision, with input from the secretaries of Transportation and State. "If and when the conditions in Venezuela change and if in the public interest, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, will revisit this determination," DHS said.

The U.S. and United Kingdom announced the Financial Innovation Partnership, a collaboration between the two countries to boost “bilateral engagement” in financial services innovation and expand trade, the Treasury Department said in a May 29 press release. Along with “encouraging collaboration in the private sector,” Treasury said the goal is to generally promote “growth and innovation.”

The Treasury Department submitted to Congress its semiannual Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the U.S., finding that “no major U.S. trading partner met the relevant … criteria” for unfair trading practices. Treasury did find, however, that nine “major trading partners” warrant “close attention to their currency practices:” China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, according to a May 28 press release. Of the nine, all but China “met two of the three criteria for enhanced analysis under” the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, Treasury said. In its report, Treasury said China “has met one of the three criteria in every” report since 2016 and “constitutes a disproportionate share of the overall U.S. trade deficit.”

Information technology exports from the U.S. increased by 2.5 percent to an estimated $338 billion from 2017 to 2018, but export growth in that sector slowed, according to a 2019 technology trade report from the Computing Technology Industry Association. The report said growth slowed “slightly” compared to the 2017 rate of 4.5 percent. Since 2010, the report said, exports in the information technology sector experienced a 23 percent “aggregate growth” and added about “$65 billion in new earnings.”

Egypt recently changed its U.S. beef import requirements when the country “delisted” all but one of U.S. halal certifiers and announced that it is now accepting shipments from U.S. beef facilities that have been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service, according to a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service notice published May 17. With the change, Egypt approved “only one of the eight U.S. halal certifiers” to certify shipments to Egypt, and “suspended or rejected” the remaining seven “without explanation,” USDA said. The new halal certifying organization is IS EG Halal Certified, based in New Jersey, the report said. "The firm is not known to have a preexisting relationship with the U.S. beef industry or Islamic organizations in the United States," according to the notice. Therefore, USDA said, exporters who ship beef to Egypt should contact the new certifier “directly to clarify certification procedures.” The changes are believed among those in the industry to have taken effect May 1, though the official date was not indicated, according to the report.

The U.S. and Japan agreed to eliminate restrictions on U.S. beef exports, allowing U.S. cattle of all ages to be sold in Japan for the first time since 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a May 17 press release. Japan previously banned and then later imposed age restrictions on U.S. beef imports, USDA said, eventually lifting the age restriction in January for beef from the U.S., Canada and Ireland. The decision came after a meeting between Japanese government officials and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and after consultations between the two countries on revising Japan’s import requirements. USDA estimated the change could increase U.S. beef exports to Japan “by up to $200 million annually.” USDA said the new rules and conditions will be posted May 20. “This is great news for American ranchers and exporters who now have full access to the Japanese market for their high-quality, safe, wholesome, and delicious U.S. beef,” Perdue said in a statement.

The Senate on May 8 confirmed Judith DelZoppo Pryor, Spencer Bachus and Kimberly Reed to the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Pryor and Bachus will serve as board members and Reed will serve as the bank’s president. Pryor and Reed serve terms through Jan. 20, 2021; Bachus' term is through Jan. 20, 2023. The confirmations gave the bank enough directors for a quorum to approve transactions of more than $10 million (see 1905070009). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce praised the confirmations in a May 8 statement: “Their confirmation restores Ex-Im to full functionality and will allow the Bank to get back to its critical mission of supporting U.S. exporters.”

The Department of Justice issued an updated guidance for corporate compliance programs, describing how “well-designed” programs should work and detailing what Justice expects from those programs, the department said in an April 30 press release. The 19-page guide aims to “harmonize” compliance guidance with standards from other departments, DOJ said, while “providing additional context to the multifactor analysis of a company’s compliance program.”