The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated two frequently asked questions related to its Cuba restrictions. One FAQ outlines the circumstances under which the U.S. dollar can be used to conduct transactions in Cuba or with Cuban nationals, and another explains that U.S. banks are allowed to process “U-turn” transactions involving Cuba. OFAC issued a final rule in May to authorize those transactions -- which allow people to transfer funds if those transfers originate in the U.S. and terminate outside the U.S. and “where neither the originator nor beneficiary is subject to U.S. jurisdiction” -- along with other measures to loosen its Cuba restrictions (see 2405280033).
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Some companies are struggling to meet a due diligence threshold set by the U.S. government for sales to foreign suppliers accused of illegal sales to Russia, said Anne van de Heetkamp, vice president of product management for global trade intelligence at Descartes Systems Group.
Canada plans to require Canadian steel importers to provide information on the country of melt and pour (COM) for imported steel at the time of importation, which will “improve the data quality” of its Steel Import Monitoring Program, it said in a recent notice. The proposal would specifically revise provisions of Canada’s General Import Permit No. 80 for Carbon Steel and the General Import Permit No. 81 for Specialty Steel Products to “require importers to provide COM information” to the Canada Border Services Agency “at the time of importation as terms and conditions of using” the permits.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., urged the Biden administration last week to take action against Chinese companies that form U.S.-based subsidiaries to evade sanctions and other restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.
Canada will soon impose a 100% import tariff on all Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on certain Chinese steel and aluminum products, moves that will protect its auto industry from what it said are Beijing’s “unfair, non-market policies and practices.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security reached a $44,750 settlement with Streamlight, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of portable lighting products, after BIS said the firm violated the Export Administration Regulations’ antiboycott provisions. Streamlight committed the antiboycott violations by certifying to a freight forwarder -- as it prepared for a Bahrain trade show -- that its goods didn’t come from Israel.
Nearly a quarter of the 123 new entries the Bureau of Industry and Security will add to its Entity List this week are Chinese suppliers that the agency named in private red-flag letters to U.S. companies earlier this year.
China renewed its antidumping duties on imports of halogenated butyl rubber from the U.S., the EU, the U.K. and Singapore, the country’s commerce ministry announced Aug. 20, according to an unofficial translation. The duties, originally imposed in 2018, range from 23.1% to 75.5%. The rubber is mainly used in tubeless tires, heat-resistant inner tubes, medicinal bottle stoppers, shockproof pads, adhesives and sealing materials, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said.
The Treasury Department should make sure its investment screening regulations don’t unfairly discriminate against foreigners and should do more to curb a rise in “xenophobic” U.S. state and federal land laws, nonprofits told the agency and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. They criticized several bills that could place new investment restrictions on people from “countries of concern,” including China and Iran, and said they’re concerned CFIUS may not have the resources to manage its expanding jurisdiction.
Data recently published by S&P Global shows which countries are supplying Russia with computer numerically controlled machine tools and components, which the U.S. and its allies have identified as a “common high priority” good that Russia is seeking to buy to support its military in violation of Western export controls and sanctions.