The International Trade Administration said it will lead a June 2013 trade mission to Russia for exporters of healthcare products. The mission will include one-on-one business appointments with pre-screened potential partners, market briefings, and networking events, it said. Up to 20 companies will be selected to participate. The ITA will begin to review applications Dec. 28. Applications received after March 15 will only be considered if space permits, the ITA said.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
On Dec. 22-25 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the disposition of a petition on pinch-seal plastic bags that were accepted in the 2011 GSP Annual Product Review. It also said those petitions submitted in connection with the 2012 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Product Review which have been accepted for further review and set the schedule for submitting comments and for public hearings associated with the 2012 review of petitions and products.
In the Dec. 20-21 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:
On Dec. 20 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The following individuals have been added to OFAC's SDN List:
Eli Lilly agreed to pay over $29 million without admitting or denying allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) through improper payments to foreign government officials to win millions of dollars of business in Russia, Brazil, China, and Poland, said the Securities and Exchange Commission in a press release. Eli Lilly used a Russian subsidiary to pay millions of dollars to third parties chosen by government customers or distributors that rarely provided any services and in some cases funneled money to government officials, according to the SEC complaint against the pharmaceutical company. Transactions with offshore or government-affiliated entities did not receive specialized or closer review for possible FCPA violations, said the SEC. Paperwork was accepted at face value and little was done to assess whether the terms or circumstances surrounding a transaction suggested the possibility of foreign bribery, it said.
In the Dec. 17-19 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:
New foreign markets have been deemed detrimental to U.S. intellectual property, the U.S.Trade Representative said in its annual Notorious Markets List . The list "identifies selected markets, including ones on the Internet, that are reportedly engaged in substantial piracy and counterfeiting" and "have been the subject of enforcement actions or that may merit further investigation for possible [intellectual property rights] infringements," the USTR said in the report. The report outlined the "most prominent examples ... of notorious markets," including China-based Xunlei, which offers pirated content through deep-linking, cyberlocker services and peer-to-peer networking.
President Barack Obama signed into law HR-6156 Dec. 14, giving Russia and Moldova Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status. The bill repeals the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which limits U.S. trade with communist countries.