The Federal Maritime Commission will now require global ocean carrier groups 2M, Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance to provide “enhanced” pricing and capacity information, the FMC announced May 5. The new information requirement will give the FMC more data to assess the “behavior” of ocean carriers, including information on the pricing of individual trade lanes by container and service type. The FMC now also will receive more carrier data “regarding capacity management decisions,” the agency said.
President Joe Biden on May 4 announced several initiatives to “advance” U.S. innovation in quantum information science and ensure the U.S. remains a leader in quantum technologies. The announcements include an executive order meant to “enhance” the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee and a national security memorandum aimed at addressing the risks posed by quantum computers to America’s cybersecurity. The memorandum directs federal agencies to “develop comprehensive plans” to protect American intellectual property, research and development and other “sensitive” technology from being acquired by America’s “adversaries,” the White House said.
A lack of guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security on its recent Russia-related foreign direct product rules is creating compliance “chaos” for companies operating in the region (see 2203070039), Torres Trade Law said in an April alert. The firm said businesses have been “left to fend” for themselves “when it comes to compliance with the new FDP rules,” partly because BIS hasn’t yet published any enforcement actions or settlements for either rule.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 28 updated its list of Russian and Belarusian aircraft subject to export restrictions. The additions include six new planes operated by UTair. The agency in April issued temporary denial orders for Russian airlines Aeroflot, Azur Air and UTair because the airlines continued to fly without a license after their planes were added to the agency’s list of restricted aircraft last month (see 2204210043).
DOJ withdrew a proposed rule from interagency review April 27 that would have involved the Form 9 Notification for exports of firearms subject to the National Firearms Act. Exporters use the form to obtain approval to permanently export certain firearms and claim exemptions from transfer taxes. The agency, which had submitted the rule for review in February (see 2202020062), didn’t provide more information on the withdrawal.
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 29. 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 May 6.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that she and World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala talked about how to "break the deadlock" on intellectual property issues at the WTO so that as many people as possible can get effective vaccines "as fast as possible." The readout, which said Deputy USTR and Chief of Mission, Geneva, Maria Pagan, and Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard were also in the meeting, said that Tai is continuing to engage with members of Congress and stakeholders. Congress is divided on the question of relaxing IP for coronavirus, with many Republicans saying a permissive trade-related intellectual property rights [TRIPS] waiver would undermine the medical research that brought vaccines to market in record time.
The Energy Department this week issued liquefied natural gas export permits for two LNG plants under development. The authorizations will allow Golden Pass LNG in Texas and Magnolia LNG in Louisiana to export an additional 0.5 billion cubic feet of LNG per day to any country “not prohibited by U.S. law or policy.”
The U.S. is looking into whether Chinese semiconductor manufacturer Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. violated U.S. export controls by supplying chips to Huawei, the Financial Times reported April 27. The report said the Bureau of Industry and Security received a “credible” report by TechInsights, a semiconductor analysis firm, that Huawei is using YMTC memory chips in a new smartphone. The chips were reportedly made in February 2021, several months after the U.S. applied its foreign direct product rule to Huawei, which restricts its ability to import foreign-produced goods made with certain levels of U.S.-origin content or technology (see 2005150058).
The State Department approved a potential $165 million sale of military equipment to Ukraine, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said April 25. The sale includes “various rounds of non-standard ammunition.” The prime contractor hasn’t yet been selected.