The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 15 entities under 17 entries to the Entity List, under the destinations of China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, the agency said. BIS is also removing one entity under the destination Greece. The agency is also updating an entry under Hong Kong and an entry under Russia, BIS 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:
China Customs stopped more than 32,000 shipments related to intellectual property rights infringements during the first half of 2018, it said in a July 27 news release. The detained inbound and outbound shipments contained 7.1 million items, it said. "In the first half year, eastern coastal Customs Districts of Tianjin, Shanghai, Qingdao, Ningbo and Xiamen played the major role in cracking down on IPR infringement, but the inland Customs Districts of Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Changchun also posted rising data of IPR enforcement; along with the booming of cross-border e-commerce, China Customs seized more than 30,000 shipments of IPR-infringing goods contained in postal parcels and express couriers." China also recently worked with Russia customs on a special operation against infringed trademarks owned by FIFA, the international soccer federation, and its sponsors, China Customs said. "The two sides, by sharing IPR infringement information and strengthening bilateral enforcement cooperation, finally seized a total of more than 500,000 infringing articles."
After four months, only 266 product exclusion requests have been granted, 421 were denied, and more than 26,000 are yet to be decided, House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert, R-Wash., said at a hearing on the Section 232 exclusion process. He called for numerous changes to the process in his opening statement.
The Commerce Department on July 18 announced a Section 232 investigation into possible import restrictions on uranium. Requested by Ur-Energy USA and Energy Fuels Resources in January (see 1801190016), the investigation will determine whether “the present quantity and circumstances of uranium ore and product imports into the United States threaten to impair national security,” Commerce said.
Lawmakers, farmers and agriculture trade groups voiced worries about the effect of tariffs on rural communities during a July 18 House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing. "Most of our agriculture producers today rely heavily on export markets, and unfortunately, many of these farmers and producers are now facing the loss of not just one of their top international export markets, but their top 2, 3 and 4 export markets -- all at once," Chairman Dave Reichert, R-Wash., said in an opening statement. "They are facing severe and devastating uncertainty -- and that goes right to their profitability." In response to recent sections 232 and 301 tariffs, "U.S. agriculture is now facing retaliatory tariffs from the EU, China, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, Russia and India," he said. "Now, I know that the administration did not intend for U.S. agriculture to be hurt, but the damage is entirely predictable."
The retaliatory tariffs from the European Union, China, Canada, Mexico and Turkey in response to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are being challenged at the World Trade Organization by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. "The U.S. steel and aluminum duties imposed by President Trump earlier this year are justified under international agreements the United States and its trading partners have approved," the USTR said in a July 16 news release. "However, retaliatory duties on U.S. exports imposed by China, the EU, Canada, Mexico and Turkey are completely without justification under international rules.
Large-scale agriculture is one of America's competitive advantages, and farm exports are one of the top targets for tariffs in China, the European Union, Mexico and Canada. But Rob Johansson, chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said even though tariffs are high enough to disrupt sales, "at least in terms of short-run effects, you could see trade increasing." Johansson explained: "Markets will find a way." As China buys more soybeans from South American countries, such as Argentina and Brazil, U.S. soybeans will go to the markets Brazil and Argentina had been selling to. He said agriculture economists will be watching to see which tariffs are high enough to keep a product out of the market. Johansson was one of the experts discussing the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's 10-year agricultural outlook at a program in Washington on July 10.
Russia recently began a World Trade Organization challenge of U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products, the WTO said in a press release. Russia claims the tariffs violate the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the WTO safeguard agreement. The country had already announced plans to retaliate. Under WTO rules, Russia may request a panel to decide the case if consultations don’t resolve the dispute in 60 days.
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users updated its "comprehensive list of retaliatory tariffs" that now applies as of June 18. The list covers retaliatory tariffs, either currently in effect or proposed, from Canada, China, the European Union, India and Mexico. "Other countries including Japan, Russia and Turkey have warned of potential retaliation but have not announced formal tariffs," the group said. Turkey released a list of potential tariffs in May. Russia is reportedly close to issuing a list of retaliatory tariffs. The tariffs are in response to Section 232 tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum.
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users posted a "comprehensive list of retaliatory tariffs" as of June 11. The list covers retaliatory tariffs, either currently in effect or proposed, from Canada, China, the European Union, India and Mexico. "Other countries including Japan, Russia and Turkey have warned of potential retaliation but have not announced formal tariffs," the group said. The tariffs are in response to Section 232 tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum. The Mexican tariffs took effect on June 5 (see 1806050041), while Canada's take effect July 1 and the EU's on June 20 (see 1806010022). China's tariffs took effect April 2, and India's take effect on June 21.