The Bureau of Industry and Security will ease export controls on Syria Sept. 2 by creating a new license exception for the country, making it eligible for a broader set of existing exceptions and revising current BIS license review policies for Syria to “be more favorable.”
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China requested dispute consultations at the World Trade Organization regarding Canada's tariff rate quotas on certain steel goods from non-free trade agreement partners, including China, and Canada's surtax on certain steel and aluminum goods that contain China-origin steel or aluminum.
Delisting decisions at the Office of Foreign Assets Control are increasingly being driven by outside voices, leading to removals that lack transparency and interagency discussion, a former OFAC official said.
Three House Democrats introduced a bill Aug. 22 that would require Congress, not just the executive branch, to approve the sale of certain advanced AI chips to China.
Switzerland is asking exporters to strengthen their compliance procedures to protect against sanctions evaders that are increasingly looking to buy Swiss-origin machine tools, the country said in new guidance published this week.
President Donald Trump signed into law Aug. 19 a bill that will require an annual report to Congress on certain dual-use license applications, the White House announced.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed sanctions that had been placed on Claudia Mercedes Vargas Giraldo, who originally was sanctioned in 2017 for counter-narcotics reasons. OFAC had sanctioned her for ties to Juan Santiago Gallon Henao, a Colombian drug trafficker associated with the criminal group La Oficina de Envigado. OFAC didn't provide a reason for the delisting.
The Census Bureau is updating certain field names in the Automated Export System related to the U.S. Principal Party in Interest address and state of origin, it said in an Aug. 15 email to industry. The agency is changing the name of the “Address of the USPPI” to “Address of Origin” to clarify that the USPPI address “represents the origin of movement, not the address associated with the USPPI [Employer ID Number] or headquarters address,” it said. The change was previewed in a final rule issued by the agency on Aug. 13 (see 2508130022).
Malaysia's July export license mandate for shipments of U.S.-origin advanced AI semiconductors could be a precursor to the U.S. carving out Malaysia from upcoming rules on advanced chip exports, a former Bureau of Industry and Security official said.