The Environmental Protection Agency released a final rule Dec. 4 setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for six chemical substances subject to premanufacture notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Feb. 5. The SNURs cover the following chemical substances:
The Census Bureau received a mixed bag of feedback as it considers whether to eliminate certain filing requirements for exports to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 2009160033). Many of the U.S. industry groups that submitted comments, released by Census Dec. 2, said the Automated Export System filings are a burden for their members and their elimination is long overdue. But government officials from both the U.S. and Puerto Rico cautioned Census about removing the requirements, saying it could lead to an absence of a vital source of data collection and damage the islands’ economies.
The United Kingdom on Dec. 1 published its report on the country’s “strategic export controls work” during 2019, detailing export licensing data, relevant legislation, industry outreach activities, enforcement information and case studies. The annual report is normally published by summer but was delayed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.K. said.
China will require import and export licenses for certain commercial encryption products beginning Jan. 1, its Commerce Ministry said in a Dec. 2 notice. The license requirements, to be overseen by the Commerce Ministry and China’s customs authority, are aimed at monitoring and restricting the trade of dual-use encryption technologies, the notice said, according to an unofficial translation. The export requirements could capture equipment that uses commercial encryption for electric utilities and finance, Nikkei reported Dec. 3, while import controls could capture phone and fax machines with encryption features. Violators could face penalties outlined under China’s new export control law, which took effect Dec. 1 (see 2010190033).
The Bureau of Industry and Security corrected its September revision of the Export Administration Regulations, which implemented export control changes made by the 2018 Wassenaar Arrangement plenary (see 2009100027). The corrections, issued in a notice released Dec. 3, address errors that were “unintentionally introduced” in Export Control Classification Numbers 3A001, 3A002, 3A991, 5A002, 7A005 and 9E003, BIS said. It said the corrections do not change BIS policy or affect licensing requirements.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Shahid Meisami Group and its director, Mehran Babri, for their involvement in Iranian chemical weapons research, OFAC said Dec. 3. The agency said Shahid Meisami Group works under the U.S.-sanctioned Iranian Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known as SPND, and is responsible for “numerous” government projects, including the production of chemical agents. The U.S. says SPND works on the Iranian regime’s proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Justice Department plans to announce more indictments involving cases of Chinese technology theft before the Joe Biden administration takes over in January, top U.S. security officials said. Under the agency’s China initiative (see 2008130036), the U.S. has targeted and arrested Chinese nationals for trying to steal export-controlled technology, an effort that has resulted in more than 1,000 Chinese researchers leaving the country since July, said John Demers, the U.S. assistant attorney general for national security.
The United Kingdom Dec. 2 published guidance for European Union companies importing from or exporting to the U.K. after Brexit. The U.K. also issued guidance on how tariffs and taxes will apply to EU businesses. The guidance has information on trading animal products, plant products, energy-related goods, manufactured goods, chemicals, controlled goods and other items. The U.K. stressed EU companies should review import procedures with their country’s customs authority before importing U.K. products next year, and said EU exporters will need to follow “new traffic management processes at ports to avoid delays.”
The European Parliament released a November report on extraterritorial sanctions and their “legality under general international law.” The report includes an overview of U.S. sanctions and their impacts on the EU and member states -- including U.S. designations on Iran, Cuba and the Nord Stream 2 project (see 2007150021) -- and how the EU can protect itself against those impacts. The report recommends that the EU help European companies find “recourse” through arbitration and national courts and to consider challenging the legality of some U.S. sanctions through the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement system. The EU should also consider countermeasures to U.S. sanctions, the EP said, but stopped short of asking the EU to follow through with those measures. “At this stage, the application of such measures could hardly be recommended,” the report said. “However, it might be helpful to clearly state that the EU is aware of this option and will consider it.”
The European Union's equivalent of secretary of state is calling for coordination with the U.S. on regulatory conformity, choosing a new director-general at the World Trade Organization and restoring the appellate body there, in a policy paper released Dec. 2. High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles said they need to intensify trilateral work between the EU, Japan and the U.S. on how to address market-distorting practices that WTO rules aren't effective in addressing. “We should also work together to bring forward the WTO e-commerce negotiations,” he said.