The European Union General Court annulled the sanctions listing of Sayed Shamsuddin Borborudi, the former deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, in a June 9 judgment. Borborudi was originally listed under the EU's Iranian nuclear sanctions regime for his position with AEOI and his work with Iran's nuclear program since 2002. The general court said he stopped working for AEOI in 2013, and the European Council failed to show evidence of his continued involvement in Iran's nuclear program. His prior work did not justify a continued listing, the court said.
The Commerce Department is working with a police agency in rural Texas to help investigate illegally exported goods, an unorthodox relationship that has sparked concern among industry lawyers and led to disputed seizures.
As President Joe Biden searches for a leader for the Bureau of Industry and Security, the agency should prioritize candidates who are familiar with export control regulations and who can effectively manage the agency’s licensing process, two technology experts said. But others said Biden should choose a candidate with strong knowledge of the challenges imposed by China to help lead U.S. technology policy through an era of intense competition.
The World Trade Organization received an updated petition from online activist group Avaaz, signed by more than 2.7 million people, calling for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, according to June 7 press release. Forty different organizations globally were involved in the petition, including Public Citizen, the People's Vaccine Alliance and Amnesty International. The petition was delivered the day before a meeting of the Council for Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, where discussions are ongoing on a proposal to waive TRIPS Agreement obligations for the vaccine. "The WTO is very appreciative of the time and dedication that Avaaz and others continue to give to this important issue," said Bernard Kuiten, the WTO's head of external relations. "The WTO needs to be aware of citizens' views and concerns with trade matters that could directly affect them. Avaaz and others are helping to raise awareness about access to vaccines and their vital role in ensuring a global solution to the COVID-19 crisis." An original version of the petition had more than 900,000 signatures and was dropped off at the WTO on Dec. 9, 2020.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule to reflect the United Arab Emirates formally ending its participation in the Arab League Boycott of Israel. Under the rule, effective June 8, certain “requests for information, action or agreement from the UAE” will not be “presumed to be boycott-related” -- and therefore not restricted or reportable under the Export Administration Regulations -- if they were made before Aug. 16, 2020, BIS said.
Current geopolitical issues, deteriorating relations and COVID-19 are making it “impossible” to continue relying on China, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, a new report from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry detailed. The group surveyed 189 Australian exporters and businesses, finding the difficulties with Chinese trade especially pronounced for small wine exporters. The problems stemming from the raising of tariff and non-tariff barriers by the Chinese government has made customer relationships incredibly difficult and “resulted in a complete cessation of trade.”
The European Union ambassadors to the European Council agreed to the terms of a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament to create an International Procurement Instrument, the council announced in a June 2 news release. The IPI will work to open third countries' procurement markets and “ensure access and a level playing field to EU businesses in those markets.” The IPI would allow the EU to block access to its public procurement markets case by case without affecting existing EU commitments via the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and free trade agreements.
The European Commission initiated an investigation into the alleged circumvention of the countervailing duty measures on imports of certain woven and/or stitched glass fiber fabrics originating in China and Egypt but consigned from Morocco, “whether declared as originating in Morocco or not,” the commission said in a May 31 notice. Under review for circumvention are “fabrics of woven, and/or stitched continuous filament glass fibre rovings and/or yarns with or without other elements, excluding products which are impregnated or preimpregnated (pre-preg), and excluding open mesh fabrics with cells with a size of more than 1,8 mm in both length and width and weighing more than 35 g/m.” Interested parties may make written submissions via TRON.tdi within 37 days from the date of the publication notice.
Trade and business relations between the European Union and China will likely grow more challenging in the wake of the EU’s decision to pause ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (see 2105240023), a European policy expert said. Even so, China will likely push the EU to move forward on the deal, another expert said, as it doesn’t want a series of escalating sanctions by the two sides to continue.
The U.S. and Iran will likely come to an agreement on the Iran nuclear deal as early as this summer, which could lift a range of economic sanctions on Iran, two foreign policy experts said. Although talks between the two sides have progressed over the past several weeks, the experts say it remains unclear how the sanctions will be lifted and whether a more comprehensive, revised deal will follow.