The Trump administration should be doing more to restrict sales of emerging technologies to China, lawmakers said in interviews earlier this month. Senators commended the administration for increasing foreign direct investment restrictions (see 2002260042) and going further than previous administrations in confronting China’s unfair trade practices, but said they will continue pushing for tighter restrictions.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of March 27 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Commerce Department extended the public comment period for feedback on future temporary general license extensions under the Export Administration Regulations (see 2003100070), the agency said in a notice. The comments, which were originally due March 25, are now due April 22. The comments will determine the “continuing need” and the scope for future extensions for the temporary general license for Huawei, Commerce said in a March 25 press release.
A U.S. court upheld a conviction for Global Metallurgy CEO Erdal Kuyumcu, affirming he violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by exporting specialty metals to Iran (see 1606150015), according to court records filed March 17. Kuyumcu, who was hired by a Turkish company to source the U.S.-origin metals, was “fully aware” that the exports would be shipped to a company in Iran, the court said. The court also said Kuyumcu, who originally pleaded guilty, “has failed to show that there is a reasonable probability that he would not have pleaded guilty,” which was necessary under the appeal.
A “Transfer of Non-Repairable Vehicle to a Demolisher” certificate issued by the District of Columbia, along with a bill of sale, is enough to prove eligibility for export of a used car through the Port of Baltimore, CBP said in a recent customs ruling. Though the exporter did not provide a title for the vehicle, the documents provided “are sufficient to show that the requestor has ownership of the subject vehicle,” CBP said in HQ H308498.
The Commerce Department is postponing its Asia Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy (EDGE) Business Development Mission, from March to September, due to the measures taken to curb the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said in a notice in the March 20 Federal Register. The mission, originally scheduled for March 16-24 and now set for Sept. 14-22, will feature stops in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand in a bid to increase U.S. energy diversification and trade in Asia. Commerce will accept applications for the mission through June 30; it plans to choose 20 firms and trade associations.
The European Union will allow exports of protective medical equipment to additional countries and territories less than a week after announcing it was restricting exports to countries outside the EU (see 2003160047). Export authorizations will be exempt for shipments to Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, the Vatican, Andorra, the Faroe Islands, San Marino and territories that have “special relations” with Denmark, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the EU said in a March 20 guidance. The EU released further guidance detailing the amendment, a “guideline” for the changes and an annex containing templates for export authorization applications and member state notifications. The change took effect March 21.
The European Commission published a draft legal text for a future agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom, detailing a range of trade issues including rules of origin, sanitary issues, technical barriers, customs facilitation and more, the commission said in a March 18 notice. Although negotiations scheduled in London this week were canceled due to the coronavirus response measures, both sides are “exploring alternative ways to continue discussions,” including video conferences, the commission said. It added that “substantive work on the legal texts” will continue in the coming weeks.
The language of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement says that in order for the treaty to take effect on June 1 -- as U.S. officials have told Congress they want -- the countries would have to agree that they're ready 12 days from now. Kenneth Smith Ramos, a former top negotiator of the NAFTA rewrite, said the three countries cannot say they've completed their internal procedures by then. “#NotHappening,” he wrote in English at the end of a tweet in Spanish.
Agricultural exporters and shippers are losing “hundreds of millions of dollars” due to shipping uncertainty and cargo detention penalties caused by the response to the coronavirus pandemic, said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition. Friedmann was critical of the Federal Maritime Commission, which has yet to finalize a proposed rule issued last year that would provide guidance about how the FMC assesses the fairness of demurrage and detention practices. The rule’s public comment period ended in October.