A Justice Department settlement with Honda Aircraft Company after Honda allegedly discriminated against non-U.S. citizens to try to comply with U.S. export laws serves as a cautionary tale for U.S. employers, according to an April 3 report from Covington & Burling. The case, announced in a Feb. 1 press release, resulted in a nearly $45,000 settlement payment from Honda Aircraft after it wrote in job postings that candidates were required to have a “specific citizenship status,” the press release said. The postings were based on the company’s “misunderstanding” of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations, the Justice Department said. Honda Aircraft was ordered to remove all “specific citizenship requirements from current and future job postings.”
In the April 2 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Trump administration is considering increasing sanctions pressure on Venezuela by imposing sanctions on companies from third countries that do business with President Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan regime, according to a March 29 report by Reuters. The potential move was announced by John Bolton, White House national security adviser, who told Reuters the administration is moving in the “direction” of secondary sanctions.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 25-29 in case they were missed.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security would like to increase its funding by about $4 million for export administration (EA), the agency said in its Fiscal Year 2020 budget justification. That new money would be split between "Identifying and Reviewing Emerging Technologies" and "Addressing Increased Foreign Investment Reviews," it said. BIS is asking for funding for 21 new personnel, the agency said.
In the March 29 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is looking for candidates for its seven Technical Advisory Committees, the agency said in a notice. "Industry representatives are selected from firms producing a broad range of items currently controlled for national security, nonproliferation, foreign policy, and short supply reasons or that are proposed for such controls," BIS said. "Representation from the private sector is balanced to the extent possible among large and small firms." Six of the TACs advise the Commerce Department on the "technical parameters for export controls and the administration of those controls within specified areas." The other TAC "focuses on the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and procedures for implementing the EAR." TAC members can serve a term of up to four consecutive years and must obtain secret-level clearances prior to appointment, BIS said. Resumes should be sent to Yvette Springer at Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov.
Six Democratic senators introduced a bill that would place sanctions on any current or former employee or person associated with the Guatemalan government after the U.S. found evidence of widespread corruption in the country. The bill, called the Guatemala Rule of Law Accountability Act, would impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which allows for the imposition of sanctions on foreign people or governments who have committed human rights violations. The president has 90 days after being notified of the bill's enactment to impose the sanctions, according to the text of the bill, which was introduced March 7. The bill’s co-sponsors are Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has opened its Defense Export Control and Compliance System (DECCS) Commodity Jurisdiction Application for testing, it said in an update on its website. Industry participants may now begin testing the electronic form here, and can provide feedback by clicking a button in the application. The testing period will end April 3, DDTC said.
China overhauled its e-commerce regulations in recent months, upping its de minimis level and adding new responsibilities for logistics providers and foreign suppliers, and also adopted new regulations on foreign medical device facility inspections. Meanwhile, China's General Administration of Customs has recently set new requirements for bonded zones and set lower value-added tax rates for some products. The following is an update on recent customs and trade-related actions by China: