Hapag-Lloyd was ordered to pay $822,220 by a U.S. administrative law judge after a Federal Maritime Commission investigation determined the carrier imposed unfair detention fees, according to an April 22 decision. Hapag-Lloyd “acted unreasonably” by charging detention fees on a drayage provider that was unable to make appointments to return empty containers, the FMC’s Bureau of Enforcement said, and continued to impose the charges after they were disputed alongside “corroborating evidence.”
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed by a week a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced April 22. The ports had planned to begin imposing the fee in November 2021 but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until April 29.
Aviastar, the Russian cargo airline made subject to a temporary denial order last week (see 2204210043), continued to illegally fly multiple U.S.-origin aircraft after the U.S. in March announced restrictions on those flights (see 2203020072), including to China, the Bureau of Industry and Security said in its April 21 order. Flights included trips from the Russian cities of Novosibirsk and Abakan to the Chinese cities of Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhengzhou. All the trips, which took place April 5 to April 12, required approved license applications.
Although the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council is helping to foster important cooperation, it may be unintentionally leaving out other vital trade partners on a range of key issues, including export controls, said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. She said the TTC may be emphasizing the U.S.-EU relationship too much when the two sides should be doing more to convince other countries to adopt similar sanctions and export restrictions against Russia.
The Biden administration should “employ all tools necessary” to stop Chinese-owned Nexperia’s acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab (NWF), a U.K.-based chip facility, the Republican-led China Task Force said in a letter to the White House released April 21. If the acquisition is completed, the U.S. should remove the U.K. from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. white list and impose strict export controls on shipments to NWF, the House members said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 21 suspended the export privileges of another Russian airline for violating U.S. export controls against Russia. The agency issued a 180-day temporary denial order for Moscow-based cargo aircraft carrier Aviastar, which will limit the airline’s ability to deliver goods to Russia’s military, BIS said. Aviastar will be barred from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations.
The House’s ocean shipping bill contains some “troubling” export provisions and could place unfair burdens on carriers to meet exporter needs, said John Butler, a carrier industry official. But exporters view the provisions differently and think they could ensure carriers are treating both import and export shipments equitably, said Karyn Booth, a transportation lawyer.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 20 sanctioned more than 40 people and entities -- including Russian commercial bank Transkapitalbank -- for operating a sanctions evasion network. The agency also issued two new general licenses authorizing certain transactions with the bank and sanctioned a range of companies for operating in Russia’s virtual currency mining industry.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls was able to close significantly more end-use checks in 2021 compared with 2020 despite some continued travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In its annual Blue Lantern report released this month -- which details the agency’s end-use monitoring efforts on controlled defense articles and services -- DDTC said it closed checks on 256 export licenses or applications during fiscal year 2021, an increase of more than 38% from FY 2020.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed by a week a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced April 15. The ports had planned to begin imposing the fee in November 2021 but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until April 22.