FedEx issued a December alert on its services and policies for shipping to Hong Kong and China items that are controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The company said its policies reflect changes the Donald Trump administration made in July to increase licensing restrictions and end preferential treatment for controlled shipments to Hong Kong (see 2007150019). FedEx said exporters that obtained a State Department license before the July restrictions were announced cannot use its International Controlled Export service option to ship certain controlled goods to Hong Kong because the restrictions suspended all license exceptions. The company also said it “cannot accept ITAR items” that are prohibited by its “service guides,” including firearms, weaponry and certain parts. “Even if the customer has properly obtained the required license/permit for exporting the weapons, these cannot be transported on FedEx Express International Services and service options,” the company said.

The State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved a potential military sale to Kazakhstan worth about $128 million, the DSCA said Dec. 23. The sale includes “King Air B300ER Scorpion Aircraft with Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) Mission Systems” and related equipment. The principal contractor will be Sierra Nevada Corporation.

U.S. exporters of plastic waste should be prepared for disruption Jan. 1, when new multilateral plastic trade restrictions take effect, according to a Dec. 21 post on the Sidley Austin website. Beginning in 2021, new restrictions agreed to by the Basel Convention will be put in place, expanding the type of plastic wastes subject to import and export requirements. The new measures will require traders to “receive consent” from the governments of the importing and exporting countries, including “countries of transit,” for more types of plastic waste, the law firm said. “These amendments will substantially change transboundary shipments of plastic waste and the waste and recycling industries overall,” the firm said, adding that the U.S. will not be able to ship “regulated plastic waste” to other Basel parties. The law firm said the amendment will have “serious effects” on the U.S., which shipped more than 1 billion pounds of plastic waste to nearly 100 countries in 2019.

The Federal Maritime Commission is seeking tips from industry on ocean carriers and terminal operators that are violating regulations on detention and demurrage fees, the FMC said Dec. 17. The information will be used to aid the commission’s investigation into the unfair charges (see 2011200024) that began after industry complained FMC’s May rule on detention and demurrage was being ignored (see 2009140045 and 2011170041).

The Census Bureau published a blog post Dec. 15 on submissions of “suppression requests” related to an “unresolved fatal error” in the Automated Export System. AES users can submit suppression requests to manually remove the fatal error for a specific Shipment Reference Number “that appears in an AES Fatal or Compliance Report,” Census said. The blog post details how and when users can submit the requests.

The U.S. and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding that will extend trade financing and investment support to companies in both countries, the Commerce Department said Dec. 15. The MOU, which was signed by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, will help Singapore importers “finance the purchase” of U.S. exports, Ross said. He said it will also help draw more Singapore investment to the U.S. Commerce said the MOU will be in place for two years and is renewable.

The State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved a potential sale to Italy worth about $500 million, the DSCA said Dec. 15. The sale includes Gulfstream G550 Aircraft and “Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Electronic Warfare (AISREW) Mission Systems.” The principal contractor will be L3Harris.

The U.S. should work more closely with Japan on international standards setting to counter Chinese attempts to dominate a range of technology sectors, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a December report. Increasing U.S.-Japan technological cooperation is “fundamental to the alliance,” CSIS said, calling on the U.S. to more proactively partner with Japan to engage with standard bodies. “The United States needs to up its game in international standards setting, working with Japan and others to foster more effective public-private partnerships,” the report said. Both countries have “a critical interest in collaborating to ensure that the technical standards and rules governing new technologies are open, inclusive, and promote interoperability.” A congressional commission on China said this month the U.S should dedicate more resources to its participation in standards bodies (see 2012010043).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service released an exporter guide on trading with Hong Kong, and called the region an “attractive market” for U.S. food and beverage exporters. The guide, released Dec. 8, includes “business tips” or exporters, an overview of Hong Kong food import regulations, recent market trends and details about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Hong Kong's agricultural imports.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Dec. 11 began reviewing a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that will implement more export controls agreed to at the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement plenary. BIS published the first set of controls from the plenary in October (see 2010020042) but has since experienced rulemaking delays (see 2012080046).