The European Union will replace its COVID-19 vaccine export controls after they expire on Dec. 31 with a new tool that monitors vaccine shipments, the European Commission said. The current export control mechanism requires would-be exporters to apply for authorization to ship their vaccines outside the EU -- a system that led the union to block some vaccine shipments. The system taking its place is meant to feed the commission "timely, company-specific vaccine export data" and bolster an emphasis on transparency in vaccine exports. The data will be collected by EU member states' customs authorities. “The EU has been at the forefront of the global vaccination effort," EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said. "We have exported over half our vaccines production and we have supported and funded initiatives such as COVAX, which help to ensure vaccine access to those parts of the world most in need. Mindful of our global responsibilities, I am pleased that we will now replace our current authorisation system with a new monitoring mechanism to get precise data on our exports. There is still important work to be done in the drive to vaccinate the world, therefore we will redouble our efforts on all fronts at the upcoming WTO Ministerial meeting to ensure a holistic global response to the pandemic.” The release said this means that, "as of 1 January 2022, vaccine producers will no longer have to request an authorisation for the export of vaccines outside the EU."
A group of countries aligned themselves with the European Council's decision to renew for another 12 months, until Nov. 14, 2022, sanctions measures against Venezuelan officials and entities, the EC said Nov. 26 (see 2011120009). Amendments to the statement of reasons for 26 persons on their entity list also were made. The countries are North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Georgia.
Trade was barely touched on during the virtual meeting of President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Anna Ashton, vice president of government affairs for the U.S.-China Business Council. Ashton, who was speaking on a Nov. 23 Twitter panel hosted by Neysun Mahboubi, a research scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Study of Contemporary China, said that follows a pattern in the administration. She said that "they are unabashedly reframing the relationship… as a competitive one," which makes her wonder where the commercial relationship fits in. The recent panel was reacting to the earlier video call (see 2111160004).
The Bureau of Industry and Security should clarify that certain hospitals affiliated with entries on the Entity List are not subject to Entity list restrictions, said Tory Tibor, global head of trade compliance for medical device company Olympus. Tibor said the clarification would help address confusion among third parties, including forwarders, about what types of entities are captured by Entity List controls.
The European Union released reports this week on its export control and foreign direct investment screening regimes, including statistics on investment clearances and export denials. The report is the first official, sweeping look into the EU’s new dual-use export control regime since it took effect in September (see 2109090007) and its FDI screening mechanism since it launched an updated FDI regime last year (see 1903210049).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended the Syrian Sanctions Regulations to expand an authorization for certain activities of nongovernmental organizations in Syria, OFAC said in final rule released Nov. 24. The rule, effective Nov. 26, expands a general license to allow NGOs to conduct certain “assistance-related investment activities in support of certain not-for-profit activities in Syria.” OFAC also amended the license to specify that it doesn’t apply to foreign people or entities that have been designated as a foreign terrorist organization or “otherwise designated as a terrorist organization by the Secretary of State.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 27 entities to the Entity List for illegally selling technology to China, North Korea and other sanctioned countries, for supporting China’s military modernization efforts or for contributing to Pakistan’s nuclear and missile programs, the agency said Nov. 24. The Entity List additions include a range of laboratories and companies operating in the semiconductor, microelectronics and machinery sectors in China, Japan, Pakistan and Singapore, including several major Chinese chip companies.
China issued new regulations on the administration of filing customs declarations that will take effect Jan. 1, the General Administration of Customs said in a Nov. 19 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The measures include requiring consignees of import and export goods to file customs declarations with the appropriate customs declaration unit, along with more specific rules, including mandating certain entities that engage in non-trade import and export activities to make temporary filings. These entities include state agencies, schools, scientific research institutes and permanent representative offices in China established by overseas news, economic and trade organizations.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal agreed to continue working to resolve outstanding trade issues "to reach convergence in the near future," according to a joint statement released Nov. 23 at the conclusion of the India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in New Delhi. Both countries discussed wanting better treatment of their exports. "India highlighted its interest in restoration of its beneficiary status under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program; the United States noted that this could be considered, as warranted, in relation to the eligibility criteria determined by the U.S. Congress."
The U.S. this week announced new sanctions against a shipping company and its vessel for their involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The State Department designated the vessel Marlin and Transadria Ltd., which it called a “Russia-linked entity,” under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019. The agency also said it "listed" another vessel in a report to Congress pursuant to PEESA, but it didn't name the vessel and didn't say whether it would be sanctioned.