The Food Safety and Inspection Service will soon issue its new regulations on voluntary “Product of USA” or “Made in USA” labeling for meat, poultry and egg products, USDA said in a March 11 news release. Under the final rule, establishments using U.S.-origin claims will need to comply with the new requirements by Jan. 1, 2026.
Members of the European Parliament this week disagreed on the best path forward for new EU-wide supply chain due diligence rules, although an official with the Belgian presidency said it believes the EU can reach a compromise before the end of the current parliament’s term in April.
DOJ officials said they have seen a rise in voluntary self-disclosures in recent months, including for possible violations of export controls and sanctions. They also stressed that the agency is continuing to double down on its enforcement resources, including by hiring more prosecutors and starting a new whistleblower initiative to better incentivize tips about corporate wrongdoing.
Governments could eventually require companies to monitor their sensitive semiconductor equipment shipments by using location tracking features, which could help industry better conduct due diligence and improve government export enforcement, said Chris Miller, an expert on semiconductor technology policy and history.
Brazil, Mexico and Canada recently announced antidumping and countervailing duty actions and decisions on certain products from mainland China, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported March 7.
Preparations continue for a jury trial set for April 1 in a criminal arms smuggling case involving the constitutionality of "specially designed" provisions in U.S. export controls (U.S. v. Quadrant Magnetics, LLC, W.D. Ky. # 3:22-CR-88-DJH).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed Dominican businessman Angel Rondon Rijo from its Specially Designated Nationals List after Rondon applied to be delisted, his attorney Erich Ferrari, whose firm represented Rondon, said on Linkedin. Rondon was originally sanctioned in 2017 after OFAC said he funneled money to government officials in the Dominican Republic to help secure a contract for a Brazilian construction company.
The U.S. this week sanctioned two ship owners in Hong Kong and the Marshall Islands, along with their two vessels, for helping to ship Iranian “commodities” on behalf of sanctioned Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal. The designations target Hongkong Unitop Group Ltd., Reneez Shipping Limited and their ships, the Panama-flagged Eternal Fortune and the Palau-flagged Reneez, respectively.
The U.K. this week removed sanctions from Igor Viktorovich Makarov, who was originally designated for his ties to companies in Russia’s energy sector. The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said Makarov was a director or involved with Reywood Holdings Limited (formerly ARETI International Group), Vikay Industrial Limited and Selaco Limited, all of which do business “in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia.” OFSI didn’t say why it delisted Makarov.
The European Council and Parliament reached a deal on a new set of rules to ban imports suspected of being made with forced labor, including how the ban will be enforced and how the bloc will investigate and penalize violations.