U.S. and Ukraine recently held discussions on “strategic trade control issues,” including best practices to restrict trade of dual-use goods and technology related to weapons proliferation, the State Department said Feb. 5. Both sides committed to “nonproliferation goals” and agreed to cooperate on trade controls, the agency said. Ukraine said it is reforming its trade controls to align them with “international best practices.” The discussions, held in Kyiv earlier this week, included officials from the State, Energy, Commerce, Justice and Defense departments, along with top Ukrainian trade officials.
The Commerce Department is accepting nominations for its Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, Commerce said. The agency is particularly encouraging nominations of representatives from the trucking, air transport, energy, logistics, supply chain financing, warehousing, terminal operators, retailers, and supply chain compliance sectors, it said. Applications will be accepted until Feb. 28. Commerce is seeking members for the current term, which ends in November 2021.
The U.S. and Kenya amended the U.S.-Kenya Air Transport Agreement to expand the commercial partnership between the two countries and create “new opportunities” for all-cargo airlines and exporters, the State Department said Feb. 5. The amendment will allow U.S. all-cargo airlines to fly between Kenya and a third nation without needing to stop in the U.S., and will give Kenya all-cargo carriers “reciprocal rights to serve” the U.S., the agency said. The changes will “fully open the Kenyan air cargo services market to U.S. carriers,” the State Department said.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will launch the registration and licensing applications for its Defense Export Control and Compliance System on Feb. 18, the DDTC said Feb. 3. Until then, DDTC said users should “continue to process requests as normal.” Users can enroll on the DDTC website. DDTC recently released a recording of its Jan. 14 DECCS webinar (see 2001230011).
Hong Kong lifted its ban on imports of romaine lettuce from Salinas, California, effective Jan. 24, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Feb. 3. Hong Kong agreed to lift the ban once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention affirmed that there was no longer a risk of E. coli from an outbreak in 2019. Hong Kong initially announced the ban in November (see 1911290001).
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on a proposal for an information collection that BIS will submit to the Office of Management and Budget, BIS said in a notice. The information collection involves 10 “miscellaneous” activities described in the Export Administration Regulations relating to the exchange of documents among parties in Commerce Department-controlled export transactions. Comments are due Feb. 28.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking applicants for its trade mission to the Philippines, part of an effort to expand market access for U.S. agricultural exports, the USDA said Jan. 23. The mission to Manila, which will take place April 20-23, will include meetings with local importers and “in-depth briefings and site visits” to provide “additional on-the-ground insights” about exporting to the Philippines. Applicants should apply to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service by Feb. 6. The trade mission is one of seven planned for 2020 (see 1912060027).
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls released a recording of its Jan. 14 webinar about its Defense Export Control and Compliance System (see 2001210025 and 2001090014), DDTC said in a Jan. 23 notice. The webinar covers the “major features of the DECCS release,” including enrollment steps. DDTC plans to release the registration and licensing applications to the DECCS platform in February.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to “expand its capacity to assess civil penalties and pursue criminal prosecutions against U.S. importers for violations of forced labor authorities,” it said in a recently released strategy document aiming at fighting forced labor imports and human trafficking. “DHS will consider streamlining regulatory frameworks guiding the process for forced labor enforcement actions,” it said. “DHS will also coordinate, consolidate, and publicize allegation and intake reporting channels and other information to ensure quality, actionable leads, gain information for ongoing cases, and verify forced labor allegations.“
The State Department approved a potential $1.5 billion military sale to Australia, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a Jan. 15 press release. The sale will include “long lead items, engineering development activities, and other defense services,” including the modernization of Hobart Class Destroyers and various weapons systems. The DSCA said there are a “significant number of companies under contract with the U.S. Navy” that will provide components, systems and services to complete the sale, but “a significant portion of the effort” will be completed by Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems.