The U.K. Department for Business and Trade Nov. 21 released its approach to negotiating a free trade agreement with South Korea, outlining the results of the government's call for input on the trade negotiations and details covering goods market access, rules of origin and customs and trade facilitation. Responding to input on trade remedies, the government said it will make sure the U.K. is able to impose trade remedies "as appropriate" along with maintaining trade remedy provisions that "support market access" in line with World Trade Organization commitments.
The World Trade Organization's Committee on Trade in Civil Aircraft on Nov. 17 agreed to Brazil's terms of accession to the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, the WTO announced. Brazil will submit the agreement along with its commitments to the nation's National Congress for approval. Brazil originally submitted its application to accede to the deal in June 2022. Marcio Elias Rosa, Brazil's deputy minister and executive secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, highlighted Brazil's "unwavering commitment to the principles of the WTO and the enhancement of international supply chain," WTO said.
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The Bureau of Industry and Security added four entities to the Entity List last week after the agency said they illegally supplied U.S. items and parts to Russia or Venezuela. The companies, which have locations in Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Panama, Spain, Russia and Venezuela, either supplied U.S.-origin integrated circuits to Russia’s defense sector or helped the Nicolas Maduro-led regime in Venezuela illegally acquire export-controlled aircraft parts.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued two updated Venezuela-related general licenses, including one that renews the current authorization for certain transactions with the country’s state-owned energy company and another that updated the authorization for certain transactions with the country’s flagship airline.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week removed a Chinese scientific institute from the Entity List that the agency had originally added in 2020 for ties to human rights abuses in Xinjiang (see 2005220058). The move, outlined in a final rule effective Nov. 16, removed the Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science of China from the list.
Members of the European Parliament are pushing member states to more strictly enforce sanctions against Russia, saying “loopholes” are still allowing Russia to reap revenue from its oil sales and import export-controlled electronics. In a resolution adopted by the parliament last week, the body called for a lower price cap on Russian oil and petroleum products and a new mechanism to oversee member states’ sanctions enforcement.
As the Bureau of Industry and Security adds new export controls on emerging technologies, it should also remove outdated restrictions on items that may no longer warrant licensing requirements, such as life jackets and fire extinguishers, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report. The think tank also urged BIS to shrink the Entity List to only entities that pose the most serious national security threats and consider giving preferential licensing treatment to a broader set of countries, including Vietnam and Moldova.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is pushing its annual update conference until next year, the agency announced on its website. The conference was originally scheduled for Nov. 28-30 in Washington but now will be held March 27-29, 2024, BIS said. Existing registrations will remain valid for the new conference dates, but attendees and exhibitors may request refunds.
The Census Bureau upgraded the severity of response message 26C in the Automated Export System to alert exporters when the U.S. Principal Party in Interest fields for the address state and the state of origin don't match, the agency said in a Nov. 9 email to industry. The agency previewed the message last year (see 2212220023) as "informational" (see 2302070055) but last week upgraded it to a "Compliance Alert." Compliance Alerts are sent in AES "when a reporting compliance violation has or has likely occurred," according to the agency's website. "The filer is required to review filing practices and take steps to conform with export reporting compliance." The change takes effect Nov. 14.