U.S. adds to Export Administration Regulations (EAR) entity list
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 49 entities under 52 entries to the Entity List. These entries are under the destinations of the People’s Republic of China (China) (42), Estonia (1), Finland (1), Germany (1), India (3), Turkey (2), United Arab Emirates (1), and the United Kingdom (1). Some entities may have multiple entries, accounting for the difference in the total number of entities and entries. These 49 entities have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.
Source: https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-22536.pdf
United States renews temporary denial of export privileges of two Russian airlines
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce today released for publication in the Federal Register two orders renewing the temporary denial of export privileges of two Russian airlines.
- Aviastar-TU, 5 b. 7 Leningradsky prospekt, g. Moskva, 125040, Moscow, Russia
- URAL Airlines JSC, Utrenniy Lane 1-g, Yekaterinburg, Russia, 620025
Source: https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-22614.pdf
https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-22604.pdf
U.S. sanctions for violation of Russian oil price cap; advisory for maritime oil industry
The Price Cap Coalition published a coalition advisory for the maritime oil industry and related sectors. The advisory provides recommendations concerning specific best practices and reflects a commitment to promoting responsible practices in the industry, preventing and disrupting sanctioned trade, and enhancing compliance with the price cap.
The advisory recommends the following:
- Require appropriately capitalized Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance
- Receive classification from an International Association of Classification Societies member society
- Best-practice use of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS)
- Monitor high-risk ship-to-ship transfers
- Request associated shipping and ancillary costs
- Undertake appropriate due diligence
- Report ships that trigger concerns
Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1797
Additional customs duties on certain lighters from United States annulled (CJEU General Court judgment)
The United States in January 2020 increased the custom duties on imports of certain aluminum and steel products. The European Commission (EC) imposed from 8 May 2020 until 31 December 2021 additional custom duties (of up to 20%) on imports into the EU of certain products originating in the United States. In particular, only lighters of a certain type were subject to an increase in customs duties of 20%.
The lighter manufacturer claimed to be the only known manufacturer of metal mechanical windproof lighters in the United States. A significant part of its lighters was imported into the EU. Positing that the increase in customs duties on its lighters had breached the principle of good administration and its right to be heard beforehand, the lighter company sought the annulment of that increase before the General Court of the CJEU.
The General Court agreed with the lighter company and annulled the increase in customs duties on the type of lighters at issue. The court emphasized that even though the increase in customs duties was carried out by means of an act of general application (i.e., it applied to all lighters of the type at issue originating in the United States), it could be challenged by the lighter company because it was of individual and direct concern to the company as the only exporting producer of the type of lighters at issue from the United States to the EU.
Source: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2023-10/cp230157en.pdf
U.S. sanctions on Hamas members, operatives, financial facilitators
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on ten key Hamas terrorist group members, operatives, and financial facilitators in Gaza and elsewhere including Sudan, Türkiye, Algeria, and Qatar. This action targets members managing assets in a secret Hamas investment portfolio, a Qatar-based financial facilitator with close ties to the Iranian regime, a key Hamas commander, and a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange and its operator. Today’s designations are part of a continuous effort by the United States to root out Hamas’s sources of revenue in the West Bank and Gaza and across the region and is taken in close coordination with regional partners and allies. To date, Treasury has targeted nearly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and its proxies, including Hamas, Hizballah, and other Iran-aligned terrorist groups in the region.
“The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. “The U.S. Treasury has a long history of effectively disrupting terror finance and we will not hesitate to use our tools against Hamas. We will continue to take all steps necessary to deny Hamas terrorists the ability to raise and use funds to carry out atrocities and terrorize the people of Israel. That includes by imposing sanctions and coordinating with allies and partners to track, freeze, and seize any Hamas-related assets in their jurisdictions.”
Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1816
FY 2023 textile enforcement stats show CBP’s efforts to protect American industry
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released fiscal year 2023 textile enforcement statistics today. The data reflects robust enforcement efforts that protect American workers and legitimate importers by taking action against unlawful textile imports that attempt to circumvent U.S. trade laws, including those related to U.S. trade agreements.
In FY 2023, CBP seized more than 5,000 textile shipments valued at more than $129 million, issued approximately $19.3 million in commercial fraud penalties, and conducted audits that identified over $2 million in additional duty owed to CBP. Additionally, CBP conducted laboratory analysis on 323 shipments, 42% of which were found to be mis-declared or mis-described when arriving to the United States. CBP also conducts verification visits internationally to factories that export textiles and apparel to the United States to verify origin and ensure compliance with preferential duty treatment claimed on imports. In FY 2023, CBP conducted 57 factory verification visits through its Textile Production Verification Team program resulting in approximately $340,000 in duties recovered and potential additional enforcement actions.
