The Bureau of Industry and Security extended the public comment period by an additional 30 days for an information collection related to its export license application process. BIS originally requested comments by May 24 (see 2203240002).
Indonesia ended its export ban on palm oil less than four weeks after it began, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 1. The ban was originally put in place to reduce the domestic price of bulk cooking oil and ensure supply (see 2205110014), but the country now has more than enough cooking oil despite some still high prices, the report said. The ban had applied to crude palm oil and certain derivative products, the report said, and had caused global palm oil prices to jump by more than 200%.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 71 entities to its Entity List for supporting Russia’s military or for trying to illegally acquire U.S.-origin goods. The additions include 70 entities based in Russia and one based in Belarus, BIS said, and 66 of them are now subject to BIS’ Russia/Belarus foreign direct product rule. All the entities will require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. No license exceptions will be available, and BIS will review applications under a policy of denial. Exports of certain food and medicine will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, the agency said. The additions, which will be published in the Federal Register June 6, take effect June 2.
An aggressive timeline that aims to file a conference report by June 21 for the House and Senate China packages has lobbyists speculating that none of the proposals in the trade titles will be in the final bill because the two chambers are too far apart. The two chambers have relatively similar renewals of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and a big difference in their renewals of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. Each chamber has proposals the other doesn't, such as directing the administration to reopen Section 301 exclusions (Senate only); changing antidumping and countervailing duty laws (House only); removing China's eligibility for de minimis benefits (House only); and renewing and expanding Trade Adjustment Assistance (House only).
Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina recently announced antidumping duty and countervailing duty actions and decisions on certain products from mainland China, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported May 26.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week extended the comment period for an information collection relating to offset agreements worth more than $5 million for sales of weapons systems or defense articles to foreign countries or companies (see 2201130008). Comments on the information collection, originally due March 15, have been extended for an additional 30 days to June 27.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recently posted two new frequently-asked-questions under its licensing and registration guidance pages.
The EU this week adopted new trade measures to support Ukraine during its war with Russia, including a one-year suspension of certain import duties. The measures, announced May 24, will suspend duties on certain industrial products, fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products. The EU also will stop collection of antidumping duties on Ukrainian imports and suspend the application of the bloc’s common rules for imports for goods originating in the country. The measures will take effect one day after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a new general license authorizing certain activities, including purchases of tickets for flights or “rail journeys” originating in Russia. The license, issued May 23, authorizes those activities with sanctioned Russian entities PJSC Aeroflot, JSC Rossiya Airlines, JSC Ural Airlines, Russian Railways or any of their subsidiaries.
A group of tech industry associations released a statement May 16 to voice their support for an expansion of the Information Technology Agreement at the World Trade Organization. An expansion would see emerging technologies covered by the tariff-elimination elements of the pact and extend to areas of the globe not currently covered by the ITA, the statement said. Citing a study from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the trade associations said that expanding the ITA would add almost $800 billion to global GDP over the next decade.