The State Department will implement a temporary waiver “of the policy of denial on the export, reexport, retransfer, and temporary import of non-lethal defense articles and defense services destined for or originating in the Republic of Cyprus,” the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said in a Sept. 2 notice. The DDTC will temporarily amend the International Traffic in Arms regulations on Oct. 1 to allow for the waiver, which is a result of a State Department determination under the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, it said. The U.S. policy won't change for “lethal defense articles and defense services destined for or originating” in Cyprus, it said.
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Sept. 1st (some may also be given separate headlines):
Illegal trade in plastic trash has sharply risen over the past two years, mostly driven by criminal organizations that use legitimate pollution management businesses as covers for their operations, Interpol said in an Aug. 27 report. Criminal groups are shipping waste primarily through “multiple transit countries” in Southeast Asia to hide the shipments' origin, Interpol said. The report details “emerging trafficking routes” for illegal trash trade and recommends that governments increase enforcement.
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Aug. 31 (some may also be given separate headlines):
A researcher at a California university is being investigated for trying to transfer sensitive U.S. software or technical data to a Chinese company on the U.S. Entity List, the Justice Department said Aug. 28. Guan Lei, a Chinese national and researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, was arrested for allegedly destroying evidence on a hard drive that may have implicated him in the illegal software transfer, the agency said. The Justice Department said it is investigating whether Guan, of Alhambra, California, tried to send the software to China’s National University of Defense Technology.
Taiwan plans to lift import restrictions on U.S. pork and beef, President Tsai Ing-wen said Aug. 28, adding that some Taiwanese restrictions, including in the agricultural sector, are blocking Taiwan from forming a “closer bond” with the U.S.
The Department of Justice unsealed two indictments charging four U.S. citizens and a Chinese citizen with conspiring to buy oil from Iran to be sold to a Chinese refinery. The indictments, outlined in court records filed Aug. 25, charge all five with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and trying to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran. Justice announced the charges in February (see 2002120031).
The Commerce Department’s recent restrictions against Huawei could “create substantial uncertainty and disruption” for the semiconductor supply chain, leading to lost sales and an eroding customer base for U.S.-origin goods, a semiconductor manufacturing industry group said Aug. 24. Semi asked Commerce to extend the deadline for the savings clause in its Aug. 17 rule and review licenses for non-5G items with “significant flexibility.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 25 sanctioned a Chinese national and his company for shipping fentanyl to the U.S., and removed sanctions from a Honduran money laundering ring. The Chinese sanctions target Taotao Zhang and his company, Hong Kong-based Allyrise Technology Group Co., Limited, for shipping fentanyl to the U.S. through freight forwarding services and other means to disguise their origin. OFAC also removed sanctions from Jaime Rolando Rosenthal Oliva, who is now deceased, and five associated companies and other entities involved in Rosenthal's money laundering scheme, which have been seized by Honduran authorities.
After the first high-level review of the phase one trade deal, the principals talked about progress and ensuring the success of the U.S.-China trade agreement, but some believe the happy talk can't obscure that China and the U.S. are disentangling their mutual dependency in tech goods and services. “There is a re-alignment that is happening in real time,” Rideau Potomac Strategy Group President Eric Miller said in an Aug. 25 phone interview, the day after the call. U.S. and Chinese trade officials reemphasized their commitment to the phase one agreement during the Aug. 24 call, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said.