Jacob Kopnick

A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas declined to allow the state of Texas to voluntarily drop a civil forfeiture lawsuit over goods seized by a local law enforcement group that aims to stop illegal exports. The state will continue litigation in a similar case in front of the same court. The federal government isn't a party in either case.

International law firm Akin Gump has partnered with Palantir Technologies to create RegSpot, a digital services platform intended to help Akin Gump's clients address their legal needs and compliance issues, a Feb. 18 news release said. The platform's first module is designed to help with due diligence concerns involving U.S. export restrictions on transactions involving military end-use or end-users (MEU) in designated countries. Dubbed the “MEU Tool, powered by Palantir,” the module is intended to streamline the due diligence process of collecting and reviewing the relevant information while incorporating Akin Gump's assessment capabilities to respond to the legal risks posed by certain transactions, the release said. “With the increasing complexities of U.S. export controls, companies face the daunting task of conducting sufficient due diligence to identify and respond to red flags,” Tom McCarthy, Akin Gump’s head of international trade practice, said. “The MEU Tool helps provide an auditable process that promotes consistency, reduces human errors, and serves as a recordkeeping tool to demonstrate a company’s compliance efforts. This function is critical as companies face increasing scrutiny from regulators in an ever-changing legal landscape.”

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced the addition of three senior generals in the Myanmar military to its sanctions list following the military coup in the country. In a Feb. 18 release, Britain added Soe Htut, Than Hlaing and Mya Tun Oo to the list, barring any U.K. entities from dealing with these members of the military. The U.K. is just one of many countries to enact sanctions on Myanmar and high-ranking military officials following the coup, with the U.S. enacting similar sanctions on Feb. 10 (see 2102100060). “We, alongside our international allies, will hold the Myanmar military to account for their violations of human rights and pursue justice for the Myanmar people,” British Foreign Secretary Dominc Raab said in a statement.

Dubai Customs issued a notice exempting a new list of goods in the free trade agreement between the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf countries and the European Free Trade Association states. EFTA comprises EU member states Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Pursuant to the FTA, the list of goods falling under “Category B” were subject to duties for the first five years of the agreement but made exempt on the first day of the sixth year, July 1, 2021. The list of goods includes food items (pasta, macaroni, and French fries), cereal products, bakery products, coffee and tea products, sauces including ketchup, soy sauce and mayonnaise, food supplements, mineral water and beverages, bamboo, softening agents and glue.

The European Commission opened an antidumping investigation of certain graphite electrode systems originating in China. The investigation is based on a complaint from Graphite Cova, Showa Denko Carbon Holding and Tokai ErftCarbon on graphite electrodes of a kind used for electric furnaces, with an apparent density of 1.5 g/cm3 or more and an electrical resistance of 7 micro ohm meters or less, and nipples used for such electrodes. Complainants “provided sufficient evidence that there are raw material distortions in the country concerned regarding the product under investigation,” and that compared with prices in other international markets, are significantly lower, the EC notice said. “[T]he investigation will examine the alleged distortions to assess whether, if relevant, a duty lower than the margin of dumping would be sufficient to remove injury.”

China will allow imports of cattle from Laos, the country’s General Administration of Customs said in a Feb. 10 notice, according to an unofficial translation. In particular, farmers in Laos will now be able to export cattle under 4 years old to be slaughtered for human consumption within seven days of entering China, and slaughtered cattle for beef is also allowed. The notice includes quarantine and sanitation requirements for the imports.

Singapore Customs published a notification of tariff rate changes to gasoline on Feb. 16. Rates for various forms of gasoline rise from $6.40 to $7.90, or from $5.60 to $6.60 (all Singapore dollars). The new rates took effect Feb. 16.

India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Feb. 15 introduced an online e-Certificate Management System for imports. Effective Feb. 22, it will require electronic submissions for four types of import applications: I Card, Free Sale and Commerce Certificate, End-User Certificate and Status Holder Certificate. All certificates granted electronically will be given a QR code with a unique document identification number (UDIN).

China is looking into the prospect of placing export controls on rare earth minerals crucial for the manufacture of U.S. F-35 fighter jets and other crucial weaponry, according to a report in The Financial Times. The details of the proposed controls come a month after China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposed draft controls on the production and export of 17 rare earth minerals in China -- the country that controls about 80% of global supply. “The government wants to know if the US may have trouble making F-35 fighter jets if China imposes an export ban,” said a Chinese government adviser who asked not to be identified.

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies says federal prosecutors are withholding key evidence that could help exonerate the company from charges of bank fraud, sanctions violations, racketeering and trade secret theft. In a letter filed Feb. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Huawei argues that the government must turn over the exculpatory information that undermines allegations that Huawei and its CFO Meng Wanzhou defrauded numerous global financial institutions by lying about its relationship with its Iranian affiliate Skycom. In the letter, Huawei's defense team said it needs more of the government's information about Huawei's communications with these financial institutions, particularly London-based HSBC. The defense team claims that Huawei was transparent about its relationship with Skycom and that currently withheld government information could prove that.