The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a final rule, effective July 1, 2010, which amends Appendix A to 31 CFR Chapter V to reflect the addition to, or removal of persons with whom transactions and dealings are prohibited by various economic sanctions programs, and the addition of Somalia as a sanctions program, etc.
U.S. and Angolan trade and development officials met on June 28, 2010 to discuss means for strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties. The U.S. Trade Representative reports that the meeting was the first held under the United States-Angola Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which was signed in May 2009. The TIFA provides a high-level forum for advancing cooperation on the full spectrum of trade and investment issues between the United States and Angola.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a proposed rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations to add Export Control Classification Number 6A981 to the Commerce Control List, which would impose new foreign policy export and reexport controls on certain infrasound sensors.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is publishing the name of one individual in Congo whose property and interests in property have been blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13413, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo," effective June 24, 2010.
Two Taiwanese nationals were sentenced to prison for conspiracy to ship internationally protected black coral into the U.S. in violation of federal wildlife statutes, the Department of Justice announced. Ivan Chu of Taipei, Taiwan, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison and pay a $12,500 fine. Gloria Chu also of Taipei was sentenced to serve 20 months in prison and pay a $12,500 fine. These sentences, issued pursuant to the Endangered Species Act and Lacey Act, are the longest prison sentences for illegal trade in coral to date.
The Foreign Trade Zone Board is inviting public comment by July 12, 2010 on its staff's preliminary recommendation pertaining to the application by the Port of Moses Lake Public Corporation to establish a subzone at the REC Silicon facility in Moses Lake, Washington. Rebuttal comments are due by July 27, 2010.
The Justice Department reports that Guillermo O. Mondino, 47, of Miami, pleaded guilty of leading a scheme to defraud the U.S. Export-Import Bank of more than $24 million. According to plea documents, Mondino was the owner of Texon Inc., an exporting company located in Miami. From April 2003 to May 2009, Mondino and others conspired to defraud the Ex-Im Bank by submitting false and fraudulent information to obtain approximately $24 million in loans and to misappropriate certain loan proceeds.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has posted comments by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, Senator Max Baucus, the National Foreign Trade Council and others on the June 26, 2010 announcement that USTR Kirk would be initiating new discussions with Korea with the aim of resolving outstanding issues on the pending U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement by November.
The National Association of Manufacturers is urging the Export-Import Bank to reverse its recent decision to deny $600 million in loan guarantees for the sale of U.S.-manufacturing mining equipment to an Indian company, Reliance Power Ltd. Export-Import Bank officials say the bank has limited options because a Congressional mandate and past litigation require it to consider environmental factors.
The DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that trade using surface transportation between the U.S. and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 32.4 percent higher in April 2010 than in April 2009, reaching $65.8 billion. This June 29, 2010 release also states that the 32.4 percent increase is the third consecutive monthly increase of at least 24 percent from the previous year.