The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control revoked Venezuela General License 13E, which authorized certain transactions involving Nynas AB, a joint venture between biofuel producer Neste and Petroleos de Venezuela, according to a May 12 notice. The license was scheduled to expire May 14 (see 2004030043). OFAC also updated General Licenses 3H and 9G to remove references to Nynas AB. The agency also made “conforming technical updates” to two frequently asked questions to reflect the revocation of the license.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 4-8 in case you missed them.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued a series of frequently asked questions on May 11 to clarify an International Traffic in Arms Regulations exemption that authorizes exports and other activities made by or for a U.S. government agency.
The Commerce and State Department should improve export control guidance for universities, which sometimes struggle to comply with U.S. export regulations because of unclear guidance that is usually tailored toward industry, the Government Accountability Office said May 12. The GAO also said Defense Department officials should better familiarize themselves with export control regulations in order to not hamper university research efforts.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of May 11 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will hold a virtual meeting May 21 to discuss with industry the terms of a potential agreement to produce personal protective equipment, FEMA said in a notice. The agreement would “maximize the effectiveness of the distribution of critical health and medical resources nationwide” to respond to pandemics, FEMA said, including establishing terms for coordination between the federal government and PPE manufacturers. “The agreement would establish the terms, conditions, and procedures under which participants agree voluntarily to contribute and facilitate health and medical resource production and distribution capacity as requested by FEMA,” the agency said. FEMA is currently overseeing export control decisions on U.S. shipments of PPE (see 2004210022).
The U.S. needs a clearer strategy for leading 5G and artificial intelligence standards-setting to counter China’s growing tech leadership, technology experts said. The Trump administration should define a strategy and work with allies to set global standards, the experts said, or risk forcing its companies out of global markets because of restrictions placed on China.
Plans to finalize a reorganization of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations have been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Mike Miller, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for defense trade. The reorganization -- which involves moving definitions and consolidating exemptions within the ITAR (see 1907120011) -- has been “de-emphasized as a priority,” Miller said during a May 8 conference call hosted by the Society for International Affairs. “In the current environment, with all the disruption and the difficulties everyone is facing, a rollout of that at this time would not be timely.”
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued several “administrative updates” to certain Specially Designated Nationals List records, according to a May 7 notice. The updates “reclassified certain aliases as weak.” The notice contains the unique identification numbers (UIDs) for each of the affected SDN entries.
Republican lawmakers urged the Commerce Department to be more transparent when imposing export restrictions on critical U.S. industries, saying they are concerned that Commerce did not consult with industry before imposing significant export regulations last week. In a May 6 letter, six senators asked President Donald Trump to more closely follow congressional intent as described in the 2018 Export Control Reform Act, which lists a preference for a public comment period and multilateral export controls over unilateral decisions.