The Biden administration’s closed briefing to lawmakers on Feb. 3 only underlined the need for strong U.S. sanctions against Russia, several senators said. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said administration officials gave a “factual assessment” of the dire situation at the Ukrainian border, which could soon see a Russian military invasion. “It's really hard to listen to all that and not conclude that we need to do more,” Coons told reporters on Capitol Hill. “Everything should be on the table in terms of sanctions.”
The Census Bureau won't follow through with a rule to eliminate some export reporting requirements for shipments to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 2009160033 and 2112140052), saying it couldn’t find an alternative data source to replace the information that would no longer have been submitted by exporters. The decision, released Feb. 3, came after months of both interagency and public discussions, including heavy lobbying from parts of the U.S. shipping industry, which argued the requirements were costly, burdensome and unfair.
The House will consider multiple sanctions and export control amendments submitted as part of its China competition bill (see 2201310064), including one that could adjust the Commerce Department's export control authority, several that could require more scrutiny on Chinese foreign investments and at least two that could lead to new China sanctions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a Feb. 3 final rule to reorganize, make corrections and clarify the scope of its foreign direct product rules. The changes, mentioned in the agency’s fall 2021 regulatory agenda (see 2112210044), help to clarify where and how the FDP rules apply and make some corrections to language in the Export Administration Regulations.
Senators said this week they are close to finalizing negotiations on a bill that would impose new sanctions on Russia both before and after it potentially invades Ukraine. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the Democratic chair of the chamber’s Foreign Relations Committee, said Feb. 1 that he plans to meet soon with Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the committee’s top Republican, to finalize the bill.
The State Department this week fined a U.S. electro-optics equipment manufacturer $840,000 after it illegally exported or tried to export defense items to several countries, including China and Lebanon. Torrey Pines Logic didn’t secure required export licenses before shipping its products, illegally participated in defense export activities while it was ineligible and didn’t maintain adequate export transaction records, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said in a charging letter released Jan. 31. TPL ultimately agreed to a series of remedial measures to improve its export compliance program, including hiring a DDTC-approved compliance officer.
The State Department this week proposed several changes to its defense export regulations, including one that would clarify definitions for “export” and “reexport,” another that would change language in its Canadian exemption and a third that would revise its exemption for certain transfers to dual or third-country nationals. The agency also proposed corrections that would fix administrative errors in the regulations. Comments on the proposed changes, which were released Feb. 1, are due April 4.
Lawmakers submitted a host of amendments to the House’s recently released China competition bill, including measures that would introduce new export controls and sanctions authorities and requirements. One submission, a 115-page amendment from Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, would create more congressional oversight of the Commerce Department’s emerging and foundational technology control effort and calls for expanded export restrictions against Chinese military companies.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is hoping to expand the number of officers it sends overseas and increase collaboration with other investigative agencies, partly to help with a larger workload and a rise in new export control evasion trends. Agents said BIS has seen a steady increase in work since the enactment of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, which has been made more complex by the rise in cryptocurrency schemes, increasingly sophisticated uses of front companies and ransomware attacks.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced Jan. 28. The ports originally planned to begin imposing the fee Nov. 15, but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until Feb. 4.