The European Commission this week proposed new rules that would restrict imports to “deforestation-free” goods in a bid to combat global deforestation, global warming and biodiversity loss. The rules would set “mandatory” due diligence requirements and add to the compliance responsibilities for importers of goods associated with deforestation, such as soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee and leather.
Port congestion and container issues are crippling U.S. exports of pork, dairy and other agricultural products, which could permanently lose ground to competitors in foreign markets if U.S. port problems aren’t quickly resolved, industry officials said. Speaking to a House Agriculture subcommittee this week, officials urged Congress to pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (see 2108100011) and do more to penalize carriers for leaving the U.S. with empty containers.
A bipartisan congressional commission called on the U.S. to take more aggressive steps to stop China from acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies, including through more export controls and sanctions. The recommendations, released Nov. 17 by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission as part of its annual report to Congress, could make sweeping changes to how the Commerce Department imposes certain export controls and how U.S. agencies coordinate trade restrictions.
The trade imbalance at U.S. ports has widened in recent months, as heavy congestion from record imports has continued to cause issues for U.S. exporters, the Federal Maritime Commission’s Bureau of Trade Analysis said this week. As U.S. consumer demand picks up for the holidays, the BTA suggested exporters are seeing more delays and less opportunities to ship their goods.
The United Kingdom’s new foreign investment screening law may draw more industry filings than first expected, Baker McKenzie lawyer Sunny Mann said. Although the U.K.’s new National Security and Investment Act doesn’t officially take effect until Jan. 4, Mann said many companies are already showing signs they plan to be careful and notify the U.K. before closing investment deals, rather than waiting for the government to intervene.
The Bureau of Industry and Security needs to better enforce its foreign direct product (FDP) rule, which is not adequately stopping Huawei and other Chinese companies from acquiring certain sensitive U.S.-produced technology, eight Republican senators said in a Nov. 15 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The senators said Commerce’s “lax enforcement” of the rule has encouraged other technology firms to sell to companies on the Entity List, said the lawmakers, who all serve on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach postponed until next week consideration of a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers, the two California ports announced Nov. 15. The ports originally said they would begin imposing the fee Nov. 15 (see 2111030027) but pushed the start date to Nov. 22 because of the “significant improvement in clearing import containers from our docks in recent weeks,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said.
The Senate is “likely” to vote on the annual defense policy bill this week, which could include the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. In a Nov. 14 letter to lawmakers, Schumer said “there seems to be fairly broad” bipartisan support for adding USICA to the National Defense Authorization Act, which would allow a USICA negotiation with the House “to be completed alongside” the NDAA before the end of the year. The House plans to write its own version of USICA.
The U.S. should closely review the planned acquisition of Ports America by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which would cede U.S. control over the largest terminal operator in North America, the Federal Maritime Commission said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The acquisition would allow minority investor CPP Investments to hold “exclusive interest in a strategic United States enterprise,” the FMC said, and could allow Canada to increase diversion of U.S.-bound cargo through Canadian ports.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week issued the first designations under the recently established Ethiopian and Eritrean sanctions regime (see 2109170036), targeting four entities and two people for contributing to the two countries' ongoing conflict. OFAC also issued a general license authorizing certain transactions with two of the sanctioned entities and published two new frequently asked questions.