The Census Bureau is considering a new pilot program that could test the elimination of some export reporting requirements for shipments to Puerto Rico, said Omari Wooden, Census’ assistant division chief for trade outreach and regulations. Officials have so far crafted two proposals that are being discussed “internally,” Wooden said, and would first seek public comment before implementing a potential pilot.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has crafted a new proposal for an outbound investment screening mechanism that will ensure the U.S. is “not ceding its manufacturing power in industries critical to our economic and national security.” The “refined proposal,” negotiated during the congressional conference for the Bipartisan Innovation Act, will be “robust” but also will address industry concerns, said the lawmakers, including Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Bob Casey, D-Pa., who originally proposed a version of the bill last year (see 2201140038). “We look forward to meaningful engagement in writing from stakeholders as we work to secure this bill in the conference report,” the lawmakers said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is considering revising its voluntary self-disclosure review process to focus on “more serious” disclosures, said Matthew Axelrod, BIS’s top enforcement official. Axelrod, speaking during a June 14 Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee meeting, said the change could better dedicate the agency’s time to VSDs that warrant more attention.
The EU General Court in a June 1 judgment dismissed an application from sanctioned individual Yevgeniy Prigozhin to revoke the European Council acts including and maintaining his designation under the Libya sanctions regime. Prigozhin was originally listed due to his standing as a Russian businessman with links to the paramilitary Wagner Group. He filed his case to argue that the council relied on inadmissible evidence to make the sanctions decisions. The court rejected this claim, holding that the evidence, which includes UN reports and press articles, appears sound and reliable and thus contains "some probative value."
The Bureau of Industry and Security June 6 charged Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich with violating U.S. export controls by exporting U.S.-origin aircraft to Russia without the required licenses (see 2202240069). BIS said Abramovich’s planes flew to and from Russia in March, days after the agency announced new export controls on Russia-related aircraft.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Koji Tomita signed an agreement that will change the beef safeguard trigger under the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, USTR announced June 2, but the date the changes will come into force is still not known. "[B]oth countries will follow their respective domestic procedures in order for the updated agreement to enter into force," a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service release said.
China's General Administration of Customs imposed phytosanitary requirements for imports of fresh avocados from Kenya, the agency announced, according to an unofficial translation. The requirements say avocado orchards that ship their goods to China must be registered by the National Plant Health Supervision Bureau and approved for registration by the General Administration of Customs. Such registration information includes the orchard's name, address and identification code to allow for the accurate tracing of the goods' origin information.
The Bureau of Industry and Security made several changes, corrections and clarifications to its export regulations and added a host of new Russian and Belarusian entities to its Entity List, it said in notices. One change adds a license requirement for certain medicine and food shipments to the two countries, and another change allows BIS to publicize export enforcement charging letters before a case is resolved.
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%.