The European Council and the European Parliament agreed to new export control regulations for dual-use goods and sensitive technologies, paving the way for the European Union to soon implement a host of updated export control policies, licensing procedures and enforcement methods. The regulations, which have been discussed for years (see 1911290006 and 1906050039), will lead to more “accountable, competitive and transparent” trade in dual-use items, the council said Nov. 9.
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
The Federal Maritime Commission plans to discuss a rise in non-compliance with its May rule (see 2004290037) on detention and demurrage charges after industry complained that the rule is being ignored, Rebecca Dye, an FMC commissioner, said during a Nov. 10 session at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade virtual conference. She said she will soon make “recommendations” to other commissioners to address the rule and other issues, including problems surrounding container returns.
The Bureau of Industry and Security had planned to submit several export control proposals for the 2020 Wassenaar Arrangement but will have to wait another year due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 (see 2004290044). Matt Borman, the Commerce Department's deputy assistant secretary for export administration, said Wassenaar has been unable to meet this year and could not gather recommendations for dual-use controls from member states.
The European Union will officially increase tariffs Nov. 10 on about $4 billion in U.S. goods due to past tax breaks for Boeing, the European Commission said Nov. 9. The World Trade Organization in October granted the EU permission (see 2010130029) to levy the tariffs, which were also endorsed by WTO members (see 2010280047).
The European Union is increasingly losing out in technology competition with the U.S. and China, technology and trade experts said during a Nov. 6 event hosted by Chatham House. While they suggested more EU cooperation with the U.S., they also said Europe needs a different approach to technology regulation to keep from falling further behind.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is considering export controls on certain “software” that can be exploited to develop biological weapons (see 2010010003) and requested feedback from industry about the impact of the controls, the agency said in a Nov. 5 notice. The controls would target software “for the operation of nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers” that can design and build “functional genetic elements from digital sequence data.” The controls would fall under BIS’s emerging technology effort, and comments are due Dec. 21.
Two Iranian businessmen sanctioned by the U.S. said they were illegally targeted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and asked the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to vacate their designations. Behzad Ferdows and Mehrzad Ferdows, residents of Germany and Iran, said in a Nov. 5 lawsuit that OFAC violated “constitutional norms,” statutory requirements and failed to follow due process when the agency sanctioned both men in September.
Three U.S. companies said they may have violated U.S. sanctions or export controls related to overseas sales and illegally processed payments, according to their most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The potential violations include disclosures of dealings with sanctioned businesses, including sales to Iran.
China’s new export control law (see 2010190033 and 2010220024) is expected to significantly impact trade and may include “very broad” catch-all controls, leading to compliance burdens for companies doing business in China, law firms said. Businesses should review their compliance programs to make sure they are prepared for the regulations and to avoid potential Chinese penalties, firms said, which could be severe.
U.S. export controls on foundational technologies would impede U.S. innovation and do little to reduce national security concerns, the Computer and Communications Industry Association said in a letter to the Bureau of Industry and Security. The group urged BIS to construct a “narrowly tailored” export regime or risk stymieing U.S. leadership in a range of technologies.