The Treasury Department recently released its annual report to Congress on covered transactions by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States during 2016 and 2017. The report includes trend data on the transactions, CFIUS investigations, business sectors involved in CFIUS filings and a “detailed discussion” of the “perceived adverse effects of covered transactions on the national security” of the U.S. The report also contains a section assessing whether there is “credible evidence of a coordinated strategy” by foreign governments to acquire critical U.S. technology. The report said foreign governments are “extremely likely” to use a “range of collection methods to obtain critical U.S. technologies,” saying U.S. tech is targeted by foreign “intelligence services, private sector companies, academic and research institutions, and citizens of dozens of countries.”
The State Department approved four potential military sales -- to New Zealand, Australia, India and Morocco -- the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Nov. 20.
The Commerce Department is seeking comments on an information collection regarding 10 “miscellaneous activities” associated with exports of items controlled under the Export Administration Regulations, the agency said in a notice. The activities involve the exchange of documents among parties in an export transaction to “ensure that each party understands its obligations under U.S. law,” Commerce said. The activities also involve “writing certain export control statements on shipping documents or reporting unforeseen changes in shipping and disposition of exported commodities.” Comments are due Jan. 21, 2020.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget finished an interagency review of proposed regulations resulting from the information and communications technology and services supply chain executive order, according to a Nov. 19 notice. The review was concluded “consistent with change.” The regulations were due in October and have caused concern within the U.S. technology industry (see 1910310053).
The U.S. and South Korea reached a deal that will allow for $110 million worth of annual U.S. rice exports to South Korea, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Nov. 19. The agreement will give access to more than 130,000 tons of U.S. rice exports each year and will ensure South Korea is transparent and predictable “around the tendering and auctioning” for U.S. rice. The deal gives the U.S. the “largest volume of guaranteed market access for rice” that it has ever had in South Korea, USTR Robert Lighthizer said. “It will prove enormously beneficial for American producers and their customers in Korea.”
The U.S. and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding on energy mineral resources that partly aims to strengthen trade between the two countries, the State Department said Nov. 18. The agreement supports supply chains of energy materials “by facilitating trade and industry connectivity,” the agency said, part of an effort to increase industry collaboration on mineral-related goods and clean energy technologies. The two sides signed the deal because they “recognize that global demand for energy minerals will increase dramatically in the coming years, presenting complex challenges for countries endowed with these minerals,” the State Department said.
A top State Department official will advocate for U.S. aerospace technology companies at the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai Air Show Nov. 17-19, the State Department said in a Nov. 14 press release. R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, will hold meetings on “defense trade issues” with senior officials from the UAE and other countries, the State Department said. Cooper, along with senior representatives from the Defense and Commerce departments, also plans to meet with industry executives “to promote and advocate for more than 200 U.S. companies exhibiting the latest aerospace technologies.” Allowing allies to “more easily obtain” U.S. defense goods improves U.S. national security, the press release said.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security updated its International Import Certificate on Oct. 31 to reflect several changes, including an amendment that extends the validity of the certificate from six months to 24 months after the date of issue. The IIC certifies to the U.S. that the importer will only re-export their goods in compliance with U.S. export controls
The Trump administration applauded Brazil’s commitment to implement an annual duty-free tariff rate quota of 750,000 metric tons of wheat imports, saying the move signals a desire to deepen trade ties with the U.S. In a Nov. 14 statement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the TRQ will benefit U.S. wheat exporters. It “will allow our wheat exporters to compete on a level playing field,” Lighthizer said. “We look forward to increased exports of American wheat to Brazil.”
The State Department approved a potential military sale to the United Arab Emirates worth about $830 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a Nov. 7 press release. The sale includes 10 CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters, 26 engines, 24 navigation systems, 12 missile warning systems, 20 “mini guns” and 20 machine guns, the DSCA said. The principal contractors are Pennsylvania-based Boeing Helicopters Aircraft Company, Arizona-based Honeywell Engine Company and Alabama-based Science and Engineering Services.