The International Chamber of Commerce recently issued an addendum to its guidance on the use of sanctions clauses, urging banks to refrain from using or accepting sanctions clauses that impose extra restrictions on a deal. Broad sanctions clauses “defeat the independence principle in letters of credit and demand guarantees, the exclusively documentary nature of the instrument, and create uncertainty,” the ICC said in the May addendum.

China reportedly ordered its state-controlled companies to stop buying certain U.S. agricultural products after the U.S. certified last week that Hong Kong no longer qualifies for special trade treatment. The decision also came after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will sanction Chinese officials, increase export controls on dual-use technologies, and end the special customs territory in response to Beijing’s so-called national security law (see 2005290047), which the State Department said threatens Hong Kong’s autonomy (see 2005270026).

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 18-22 in case you missed them.

The top executive for customs policy at UPS said the consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic will be that companies “reassess everything” about supply chains. Norm Schenk, executive vice president for customs policy, was on a panel that included the director of corporate customs for a major logistics provider, the head of customs for a major automaker, and the executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority. The panelists, hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on May 19, agreed that even after the crisis is over, trading will not return to how it was.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is preparing to issue several additional export controls over emerging technologies and is finalizing a long-awaited advance notice of proposed rulemaking for foundational technologies, BIS officials said. The emerging technology controls will be released “within the next few weeks,” an official said, while the foundational technology ANPRM will soon be sent for interagency review and for feedback by technical advisory committee members before being publicly released.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs began an interagency review for a final rule from the Commerce Department that will implement certain export control decisions from the 2020 Australia Group meeting. The rule, received by OIRA May 5, will add certain “rigid-walled, single-use cultivation chambers and precursor chemicals” to the Commerce Control List. The rule would also amend the Export Administration Regulations by revising biological and chemical controls on the CCL.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in an updated list of its priorities for a U.S.-United Kingdom free trade agreement, said it wants a “single, comprehensive agreement,” not a phased approach that resolves just “a subset of issues.” The Chamber released its list the same day negotiations began (see 2005050014) May 5. It wants the U.S. and the U.K. to eliminate all tariffs on industrial goods, to address non-tariff barriers in industrial goods, and for the U.K. to end what the Chamber calls “non-science-based restrictions on agricultural trade.” The Chamber also is calling for the administration to promptly remove Section 232 tariffs on British steel and aluminum.

Exports to the European Union rose by 5.9% in 2019, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in its annual report on the business ties between Western Europe and the U.S. Exports to Belgium, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria and Denmark were all up by double digits, with the most growth in Austria, where exports were 60% above 2018 levels. However, the growth was about half the pace of 2018, when exports to the EU grew by 11%.

Canada, Australia and five other countries issued a joint statement saying they are committed to keeping trade lanes open and stressed the importance of refraining from imposing export controls during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trade should continue to “flow unimpeded” during the pandemic and should not hamper global air and sea ports, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Myanmar, New Zealand and Singapore said in a March 25 joint statement. “We recognise that it is in our mutual interest to ensure that trade lines remain open, including via air and sea freight, to facilitate the flow of goods including essential supplies,” the countries said.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the export restrictions on masks, respirators, medicines and other goods needed for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic is “a bad cycle,” and he urged the president and world leaders “to work together on a coordinated response on the epidemic.” Grassley, who was speaking with reporters on a conference call March 16, said restrictions reduce global supply and lead to higher prices. “I was encouraged to see the G7 leaders' statement today,” he said, which mentioned support for global trade.