With the announcement of a phase one deal, Flexport chief economist Phil Levy said the promise is for stability in tariff levels -- even if the large majority of goods facing Section 301 tariffs will retain the 25 percent hike. But, he noted in a Dec. 16 webinar, many times over the last eight months, “a deal was announced, and it didn't last. That should sort of serve as a precautionary tale.” Levy, like many observers, doesn't believe that a phase two deal, that could lead to rolling back more tariffs, is likely in the next year.
Automated Export System and Electronic Export Information filings are not yet considered proof of exportation for drawback purposes, according to a Dec. 9 alert from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. NCBFAA said it received the “advice” from CBP after “many inquiries and some confusion” about proof of export rules.
The growing complexity of international trade and the increasing use of front companies have made it more difficult to identify end-users and more challenging for enforcement authorities to prosecute illegal exports, according to a December report by The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In response, the European Union, and other multistate export regimes, should push for more transparency in penalties for export violations, create a forum for information sharing on national enforcement measures and improve reporting on those measures, the report said. The EU should also adopt “clearer” language on complex export concepts and make “detection, investigation and prosecution” a “key focus” of its industry outreach efforts.
The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade issued new and amended open general export licenses and open general trade control licenses to stop new registrations for certain licenses to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, according to a Dec. 5 notice. The DIT is also no longer approving export licenses to Turkey for goods that may have military uses in Syria, the notice said. The changes are in effect “until further notice.”
An Iranian businessman was sentenced to 46 months in prison for illegally exporting carbon fiber from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said Nov. 14. Behzad Pourghannad worked with two others between 2008 and 2013 to export the carbon fiber to Iran from third countries using falsified documents and front companies, the agency said.
Apple was fined about $465,000 for violations of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations after it hosted, sold and “facilitated the transfer” of software applications and content belonging to a sanctioned company, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Nov. 25 notice. Apple allegedly dealt in “the property and interests” of SIS d.o.o., a Slovenian software company added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals List in 2015.
Six European countries will become “shareholders” of Instex in an attempt to “facilitate legitimate trade” between Europe and Iran, according to a Nov. 29 notice from Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Finland, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden hope Instex -- the European payment system designed to allow countries to trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions (see 1907010057) -- convinces Iran to stop breaching the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (see 1908050036). “It is crucial for the Islamic Republic of Iran to return without delay to full compliance with the terms and provisions of the nuclear agreement,” Finland said. Trade lawyers have said Instex is largely symbolic and unlikely to broker significant trade in its current form (see 1907030047), while the State Department said the system has no corporate demand within the EU (see 1908260035).
As the European Union prepares revised regulations of its dual-use export controls (see 1906050039), EU industries are “divided” over whether human rights violations should be an “explicit justification” for export controls, according to a briefing of the EU review released Nov. 26. The 11-page briefing, released by the European Parliament, details how the controls would be changed, including impacts on export controls of surveillance technology, a revamp of the EU’s “licensing architecture” and a focus on terrorism and human rights.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America will use lobbying firm Whitmer & Worrall as Washington counsel, the association said in a Nov. 21 email. “Whitmer & Worrall is honored to support NCBFAA in representing the business of customs brokers, forwarders and OTI's, as transportation facilitators and logistics professionals," said Gabe Pellathy, partner at Whitmer & Worrall. "We look forward to achieving results for NCBFAA members through our collaboration including strategic planning, issues management and stakeholder engagement." Jon Kent, who previously lobbied for the NCBFAA, is retiring (see 1909030030).
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent penalty against a U.S. company’s sanctions and anti-corruption violations may be an indication of the SEC’s intent to begin penalizing sanctions violators, according to a Nov. 18 post by Squire Patton Boggs. The penalty marked a “rare foray” by the SEC into sanctions enforcement, the post said, and may signal its aim to explore new ways of policing companies.