The State Department approved a potential sale to South Korea of about $800 million worth of defense-related goods, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in an Aug. 7 press release. The sale includes MH-60R helicopters equipped with radars, sonar systems, targeting systems, GPS navigation systems, guns and more, the press release said. The sale also includes radios, transponders, personnel training and U.S. support services.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls changed identifying information for Hitachi Kokusai Yagi Solutions Inc. and Sogeti España, S.L.U. and is waiving the requirement for amendments to change approved license authorizations because of the “volume of authorizations requiring amendments to reflect this change,” in each instance, the DDTC said. Hitachi Kokusai Yagi Solutions Inc. is being changed to HYS Engineering Service Inc. with a new address of 32, Miyuki-cho, Kadaira-shi, Tokyo, 187-8511, Japan, the DDTC said. Sogeti España, S.L.U. is being changed to CapGemini España, S.L. The DDTC said the amendment waiver does not apply to approved or pending agreements. The DDTC will not accept license applications with the old name Hitachi Kokusai Yagi Solutions after Sep. 6 and will not accept applications with the old name Sogeti España after Aug. 19, the agency said.
The Trump administration has “done virtually nothing to support exports,” failing to open new foreign markets for U.S. sellers while also tightening export controls, according to an Aug. 2 report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. At the same time, U.S. export growth has “dropped sharply,” the report said. “Unless the president reverses course, his trade policy will continue to weaken rather than strengthen the US economy as well as undermine the global trading system,” the report said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 2018 U.S. Specialty Crops Trade Issues Report on July 31, detailing challenges and barriers faced by certain U.S. exports. Among the challenges, USDA said, are a rise in foreign “food safety measures” that “unfairly restrict market access” for U.S. exporters. USDA said the strict measures set “new, excessively low pesticide residue standards or maximum residue limits” for food exports, which are lower than U.S. requirements and are keeping U.S. crops from being imported into certain markets. “Such measures can be used as trade barriers designed to limit U.S. agricultural exports that compete with domestic production in foreign markets,” the report said.
The mayor of Chicago told the Chicago Sun Times July 22 that she asked Marriott if the CBP Trade Symposium could be moved out of Chicago. “When it became clear that Marriott was unable to accommodate our demand, I mobilized city resources to facilitate the peaceful protest against the conference, ensure the protection of First Amendment rights and to safeguard all guests and visitors on the McCormick Place campus," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. A rally staged by immigrant rights groups was held outside the conference hotel at 11:30 a.m. local time July 23, ahead of when Department of Homeland Security Acting Director Kevin McAleenan was scheduled to give a luncheon keynote address.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving $100 million to 48 trade associations and organizations in an effort to help U.S. agriculture exporters find new markets, the USDA said in a July 19 press release. Representatives from the U.S. agricultural industry have repeatedly told Congress that the U.S. trade war with China and the delay in ratifying the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement are significantly hurting U.S. exports. Some fear they will not be able to regain certain export markets in China. Others said trade mitigation programs are not the solution (see 1905290041).
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued a July 17 notice saying that Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES) certificates are required to “access the DTrade defense export licensing system.” The DDTC said all ACES certificates “must expire” before Aug. 1, 2020, and that the ACES provider, IdenTrust, will continue to issue certificates if they are “posted with an expiration date” of July 31, 2020, or earlier. “If you purchase an ACES certificate after July 31st, 2019, the validity period will be truncated to less than a full year,” the DDTC said. Questions about the ACES transition should be directed to IdenTrust at Support@IdenTrust.com or to the DDTC’s help desk at dtradehelpdesk@state.gov.
The Drug Enforcement Administration will temporarily list the synthetic cathinones N-ethylhexedrone, α-PHP, 4-MEAP, MPHP, PV8, and 4-chloro-α-PVP in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice. The chemical will be subject to import and export restrictions for schedule I substances. The agency can temporarily list controlled substances for up to three years before a permanent listing is required.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is changing the name of its Defense Trade Controls Compliance Registration division to the Registration Compliance & Analysis (RCA) division, the DDTC said in a July 15 notice. There will be no change to the registration organization’s structure, the DDTC said. The notice said all registration letters issued on or after July 15 will “reflect the RCA division” and all active letters issued before July 15 remain valid and no changes are needed. The DDTC also said it updated its website on July 15 to reflect the name change.
The president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation praised President Donald Trump’s recent decision to loosen restrictions on exports to Huawei, saying criticism of the announcement “misses the point.” In a blog post, Robert Atkinson said “it does not appear” that Trump agreed to permanently lift the Huawei ban, but only to temporarily allow Huawei to import U.S. products to ease trade tensions in the pursuit of a deal with China. “Presumably he has made it clear to [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping] that if China does not play ball, the ban could and would resume,” Atkinson said. “It is highly unlikely that Xi would have or could have agreed to reopen negotiations without this ‘concession.’” The statement followed Trump’s announcement at the G-20 Summit in Japan that he would be easing restrictions on Huawei, which includes allowing U.S. companies to sell “general merchandise” to the tech giant (see 1907010050).