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International Trade Law News 
News, analysis and commentary on export controls, customs law, antidumping law and other international trade issues.
Post Frequency: 41.9/day Last Entry: November 17, 2009 at 10:10:17 Recent Entries: 671
By Douglas Jacobson
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Transparency International Releases 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index; Calls Overall Results a "Great Concern"
Posted on November 17, 2009Transparency International today released its annual 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) that measures the perceived levels of public-sector corruption in countries. The 2009 CPI scores 180 countries on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to ten (highly clean) using 13 sources from 10...
Census Bureau Now Providing Exporters With AES Data Associated With Routed Export Transactions
Posted on November 12, 2009The Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division (FTD) recently started providing U.S. Principal Parties in Interest (USPPIs) and other filers requesting their Electronic Export Information filed in the Automated Export System (AES) with the 10 data elements required in routed export...
Registration Now Open for Webcast of CBP's Sold-Out 2009 Trade Symposium
Posted on November 10, 2009U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today that it is offering for the first time a webcast of the sold-out 2009 Trade Symposium that will be held in Washington, DC from December 8 ? 10, 2009. All general sessions of the Trade Symposium will be shown as part of the live webcast and...
Women In International Trade to Hold FCPA Program in Washington, DC on November 17th
Posted on November 09, 2009Women In International Trade will be holding a Brown Bag discussion from noon to 1:30 in Washington, DC on November 17, 2009 entitled "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Recent Updates?. The program will feature Kathleen Hamann, Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division, U...
U.N. Agencies Launch 2009 Anti-Corruption Campaign
Posted on November 06, 2009The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today launched a joint 2009 campaign to raise awareness on how corruption adversely impacts development. The launch of this anti-corruption campaign was timed to coincide with the third session...
Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Nomination of Undersecretary of Commerce for Export Administration
Posted on November 06, 2009The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing today on the nomination of Eric Hirschhorn to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, the most senior position in the Bureau of Industry and Security. Mr...
Director of Singapore Firm Sentenced for Illegally Exporting Controlled Aircraft Components to Iran
Posted on November 06, 2009A U.S. citizen who served as a director of a Singapore-based importer and exporter of aircraft parts was sentenced today in federal court in Brooklyn to 46 months in prison for conspiring to export aircraft parts to Iran. The defendant was also ordered to forfeit $500,000 to the U...
Sentencing of Atmospheric Glow Technologies, Inc. Now Set for November 23rd
Posted on November 05, 2009The often delayed sentencing of Atmospheric Glow Technologies, Inc. (AGT), the company alleged to be Professor John Reece Roth's co-conspirator in the criminal case involving unlawful exports of ITAR controlled technology, has now been set for November 23, 2009 before U...
Congratulation to Winners of 2009 Presidential "E" and "E Star" Awards for Export Excellence
Posted on November 05, 2009Congratulations to the 21 companies and organizations that received the prestigious 2009 Presidential ?E? and ?E Star? Awards for export excellence today during a ceremony at the National District Export Council Conference at the Department of Commerce...
Next NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers from OFAC, CBP and Census
Posted on November 03, 2009The next meeting of the National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD) will take place on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 in Washington, DC and will feature the following speakers: David J. Brummond, Senior Sanctions Adviser ? Insurance, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of...
Next NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers from Center for International Trade and Security and State Department
Posted on October 09, 2009The next meeting of the National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD) will take place on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 in Washington, DC and will feature the following speakers: Ryan Cathie, Jay P. Nash and Clarence Smith, Center for International Trade and Security, University of...
News from BIS Update Conference Posted on Twitter
Posted on October 01, 2009Just posted some news from the export enforcement panel at BIS Update on our Twitter feed at twitter.com/tradelawnews. This is a summary of the article. Click on the above link or visit www.tradelawnews.com to read the entire article.
DDTC Issues Two Important Notices on its Website
Posted on October 01, 2009The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has issued the following two notices on its website that should be reviewed by manufacturers and exporters of defense articles and services: Updated version of Licensing of Foreign Persons Employed by a U...
Secretary Locke Proposes Reforms to Export Controls System During Speech at BIS Update Conference
Posted on October 01, 2009In a speech today during the the Bureau of Industry and Security?s Update Conference on Export Controls, Commerce Secretary Locke announced that he has proposed that the Commerce Department, working with other government agencies, immediately explore pursuing two reforms that will "provide...
OFAC to Hold Financial Sector Symposium in New York City
Posted on September 30, 2009The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced today that it will be holding its first-ever Financial Sector Symposium in New York City on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. According to OFAC, the Financial Sector Symposium is designed to provide the financial sector with...
BIS Issues Third Version of Commodity Classification Information Table
Posted on September 29, 2009The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) recently released the third version of its Commodity Classification Information Table that contains information submitted by companies regarding where to locate commodity classification and export controls information on company websites...
DDTC Requesting Comments on New Commodity Jurisdiction Form
Posted on September 29, 2009The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) published a Federal Register notice announcing that the 30 day comment period has begun for the revised DS-4076 Commodity Jurisdiction Determination Form. This form is in a fillable PDF format. DDTC is encouraging manufacturers to review the form...
AEI to Present Export Control Reform Program on October 5th in Washington, DC
Posted on September 29, 2009While there have been a large number of export control events scheduled lately, here is another good one to add to your calendar. The American Enterprise Institute is holding a program during the afternoon of Monday, October 5, 2009 in Washington, DC entitled "Export Control Reform 2009: Enhancing...
Update on Revisions to Incoterms 2000
Posted on September 28, 2009Frank Reynolds, the U.S. Delegate to the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) Incoterms drafting committee, has provided the editor of International Trade Law News with an update on the status of the revisions currently underway to Incoterms 2000, the standardized trade terms commonly used...
Dutch Company and Two Dutch Citizens Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Export Aircraft Components and Other Goods to Iran
Posted on September 24, 2009A series of guilty pleas in a criminal export enforcement case announced today by the Justice Department is a good reminder of the need for U.S. exporters to be extra vigilant when trying to comply with U.S. export control laws, particularly when buyers are determined to circumvent U...
Council on Foreign Relations: The Lengthening List of Iran Sanctions
Posted on September 23, 2009The Council on Foreign Relations published an article today entitled "The Lengthening List of Iran Sanctions" that discusses the various efforts by the U.S. and the international community to impose sanctions on Iran. The article contains a list of the various sanctions imposed by the U...
Alan Bersin Nominated to Serve as Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Posted on September 22, 2009Today President Obama nominated Alan Bersin to serve as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner. Mr. Berson is currently serving as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security...
Members of Congress Displeased by Report of Saudi Arabia's Increased Boycotting Activity
Posted on September 22, 2009As a follow-up to the recent Jerusalem Post story regarding the increase in boycott requests from Saudi Arabia, a follow-up story in that newspaper described the Congressional reaction to the report. The story, entitled "'Post' report sparks congressional anger" notes that "leading Democratic and...
Secretaries of Commerce and Defense Meet to Discuss Export Control and Business Visa Reform
Posted on September 22, 2009Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke met yesterday with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at the Pentagon to discuss export controls and business visa reform. (Photo courtesy of Department of Commerce). Locke and Gates met for approximately one hour and agreed to continue to work together with their...
Iran Gains U.S. Military Technology Through Malaysia Middlemen
Posted on September 15, 2009Bloomberg.com reported today that "Iran increasingly is obtaining U.S. military equipment and technology through shipments to Malaysian middlemen that illegally circumvent trade restrictions, according to American officials and analysts." Among other things, the article notes: Middlemen also...
Registration Now Open for U.S.-China High Technology Working Group Meeting in Washington, DC
Posted on September 15, 2009Registration is now open for the U.S.-China High Technology Working Group public-private sector dialogue that will be held in the Reagan Building in Washington, DC on September 29, 2009. The one-day event will feature a number of speakers on U.S.-China high technology trade-related issues,...
Saudi Arabia Steps Up Boycott of Israel
Posted on September 15, 2009Today's Jerusalem Post reports that "despite efforts by Washington in recent years to bring about a normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab world, Saudi Arabia has been steadily intensifying its enforcement of the Arab League boycott of Israel...
LA Film Executives Found Guilty of Violating FCPA in Connection With Contracts in Thailand
Posted on September 15, 2009The Justice Department issued a press release today regarding Friday's conviction of two Los Angeles-area film executives in a closely watched criminal case involving the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). After a two and a half week jury trial in the Central District of California...
President Nominates Eric Hirschorn as Nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration and Head of BIS
Posted on September 11, 2009Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Washington, DC attorney Eric Hirschorn as Nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration and head of the Bureau of Industry and Security. As indicated by his biography from the formal announcement below, Mr...
DDTC Issues Announcement Regarding Use of USML Category XXI
Posted on September 09, 2009The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) issued an announcement (doc) today that could impact many exporters of products and technical data subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). As noted below, DDTC will all require all license submissions for...
OFAC Issues General License Authorizing Sales of Medicine, Medical Devices and Agricultural Commodities to Certain Areas in Sudan
Posted on September 09, 2009Today the Treasury Department?s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule in the Federal Register amending the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR Part 538) by adding a general license authorizing the export and reexport of medical devices, medicine and agricultural commodities...
U.S. State Department Designates North Korean Nuclear and Missile Entities
Posted on September 08, 2009The U.S. Department of State today designated two entities in North Korea under Executive Order 13382, which authorizes the blocking of property of persons engaged in proliferation activities and their support networks. The following is a brief a summary of these entities: General Bureau of...
BIS Publishes Final Rule Regarding In-Country Transfers to Parties on Entity List
Posted on September 08, 2009The Bureau of Industry (BIS) published a final rule (PDF) in today's Federal Register amending several sections of Part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to specify that in-country transfers of items subject to the EAR to parties on the Entity List are now subject to the Entity's...
Changes to Cuba Embargo Published in Today's Federal Register
Posted on September 08, 2009Today's edition of the Federal Register contains the final rules making the changes to the U.S. embargo on Cuba announced last week by the Departments of Treasury and Commerce. The PDF version of the changes made to OFAC's Cuban Assets Control Regulations can be found here...
Census Modifies AES to Implement Cuba License Exception Consumer Communication Devices
Posted on September 04, 2009In order to implement yesterday's changes in certain aspects of the U.S. embargo on Cuba, the Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division has issued Foreign Trade Letter No. 5 explaining the requirements for filing electronic export information (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES) for...
BIS Amends Export Adminstration Regulations Governing Travel and Gifts to Cuba
Posted on September 03, 2009In addition to the changes made in the U.S. embargo on Cuba made today by OFAC (see previous post) the U.S. Department of Commerce?s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the President?s April 13, 2009 directive to make it...
OFAC Issues Regulations Making Changes to Cuban Embargo
Posted on September 03, 2009Today the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the long-awaited final rule to amend the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to implement changes to the U.S. embargo on Cuba passed by Congress in March of this year. The advance version of the final rule that will be...
Freight Forwarder Fined For Export Violation May be Forced to Shut Down
Posted on September 02, 2009American Metal Market (www.amm.com) recently ran the following story containing additional details on our recent post describing the recent Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) enforcement case involving Eastways Shipping Corporation, a New York City-based freight forwarder...
U.S.-China High Technology Working Group to Hold Public-Private Sector Dialogue on September 29, 2009
Posted on September 02, 2009The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced today that the next session of the U.S.-China High Technology Working Group (HTWG), which will be held in Washington, DC at the end of September 2009 will include a public-private dialogue on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 (the day before Update 2009...
International Arms Dealer Arrested for Conspiracy to Supply U.S. Fighter Jet Engines to Iran
Posted on September 02, 2009The Justice Department announced today that a Belgian national and resident of France suspected of international arms dealing for decades, has been arrested in New York on charges alleging that he conspired to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the United States to Iran...
Sentencing of Atmospheric Glow Technologies, Inc. Set for October 28, 2009
Posted on September 01, 2009The sentencing of Atmospheric Glow Technologies, Inc. (AGT), the company alleged to be Professor John Reece Roth's co-conspirator in the criminal case involving unlawful exports of ITAR controlled technology, has been moved to 10 a.m. on October 28, 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee...
OFAC Makes "Large Scale" Changes to SDN List
Posted on September 01, 2009The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control today announced that it released an updated version of its list of Specially Designated Nationals ("SDN List"). While OFAC's update did not include any substantive changes to the parties included on the SDN List, the new version of the SDN...
OFAC Issues August 2009 Monthly Civil Penalties Report
Posted on September 01, 2009The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued its August 2009 monthly civil penalty report. Given the very large civil penalties announced by OFAC earlier in August on ANZ Bank and DHL this penalty report is very short...
BIS Imposes $70,000 Civil Penalty on NY Freight Forwarder for Entity List Violation
Posted on August 25, 2009Yet another company has been fined by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for an export-related violation involving a party on the Entity List. Today BIS posted the settlement documents involving Eastways Shipping Corporation, a New York City-based freight forwarder...
DDTC Publishes Statutory Debarment List
Posted on August 25, 2009The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) published a notice in today's Federal Register (pdf) listing the 53 companies and individuals that have been statutorily debarred from participating in ITAR-related transactions as a result of being convicted of violating or...
OFAC Imposes $5.75 Million Penalty on Bank for Violating U.S. Embargoes on Sudan and Cuba
Posted on August 24, 2009The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced that the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Ltd. of Melbourne, Australia (ANZ), remitted $5,750,000 to settle allegations that it violated the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations and the Cuban Assets Control...
Cracking Down on Iran's Illicit Trade
Posted on August 19, 2009Michael Jacobson, a senior fellow in The Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, today published a policy paper entitled "Cracking Down on Iran's Illicit Trade." The policy paper recommends that "strengthening the export control regime to...
Despite Reports U.S. Export Control Policy on Syria Remains Unchanged
Posted on August 18, 2009The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) recently posted an updated version of it guidance and frequently asked questions involving U.S. exports to Syria. The bottom line: Despite many news reports to the contrary, U.S. export controls involving Syria remains unchanged...
Latest Posts on Recent BIS Export Enforcement Cases Updated
Posted on August 18, 2009Yesterday's blog posts on the BIS export control enforcement cases involving RFMD and FMC have been updated to include additional information contained in the proposed charging letter and settlement agreements that were posted yesterday afternoon (see posts below)...
BIS Imposes $610,000 Penalty on Houston Company for Unlicensed Exports of Controlled Valves
Posted on August 17, 2009In yet another export enforcement case involving controlled valves, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced late last week that FMC Technologies, Inc., a Houston-based provider of specialty products and services to the oil and gas sector, agreed to pay a $610,000...
BIS Imposes Civil Penalties on U.S. Exporter and Export Controls Compliance Employee
Posted on August 17, 2009The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a civil penalty on a U.S. manufacturer and an employee with export control compliance responsibilities for unlicensed exports of high performance semiconductor components to China...
President Obama Orders Export Control Review Initiative
Posted on August 14, 2009Be sure to follow the International Trade Law News Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/tradelawnews for more regular news updates, including yesterday's announcement that President Obama has directed the National Economic Council and National Security Council to conduct a broad review of the U...
Professor Roth Released on Bond Pending Appeal; Roth's Co-Conspirators to be Sentenced Later This Month
Posted on August 03, 2009Here is the latest update on the criminal export controls case involving Professor John Reece Roth and his alleged co-conspirators. Dr. Roth Released on Bond Pending Appeal Following Professor Roth's sentencing to 48 months in prison for violating the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and being...
CBP Selects Four Customs Brokers to Participate in Self-Assessment Pilot Program
Posted on July 30, 2009U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has selected four customs brokers to to participate in the Broker Self-Assessment Outreach Pilot program that was announced in April 2009. CBP plans to use the pilot program to assist the agency in determining whether to formally implement the BSA program...
U.S. Tells Syria That it Will Process Eligible Export License Applications as Quickly as Possible
Posted on July 28, 2009There were various news reports today, including some from Syria, indicating that the U.S. Government had advised Syria that it was lifting sanctions or issuing waivers on the export of U.S.-origin parts and components for civil aircraft "as well as the embargo on exporting communications and...
BIS Annual Report Outlining 2008 Export Licensing and Enforcement Initiatives
Posted on July 28, 2009Reprinted from Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg's WorldTrade Interactive daily newsletter: The Bureau of Industry and Security has posted to its Web site a report summarizing its activities during fiscal year 2008. Highlights of this report include the following...
Several Important Trade-Related Issues Discussed at First U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue
Posted on July 28, 2009Today marked the conclusion of the first U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Washington, DC. At the conclusion of the meetings, the U.S. and China issued a Joint Fact Sheet summarizing the issues and action items agreed to during the two days of discussions...
Importing and Exporting For Executives Program to be Held in Miami and Tampa on August 27 and 28, 2009
Posted on July 28, 2009This is a summary of the article. Click on the above link or visit www.tradelawnews.com to read the entire article.
New Report Confirms Increased Use of Trade Remedy Cases and Spike in Safeguard Cases
Posted on July 27, 2009Professor Chad P. Bown, publisher of the Global Antidumping Database, recently issued a report confirming that the number of trade remedy cases is increasing. The report, entitled "Protectionism Continues its Climb", states that the second quarter of 2009 saw a 12...
BIS Announces Agenda and Other Details About Update 2009 Conference
Posted on July 27, 2009The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has posted on its website the agenda and other details for the 22nd annual Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy that will be held in Washington, DC from September 30 through October 2, 2009. In addition, BIS began sending registration...
BIS Issues Final Rule Adding and Removing Parties on Entity List
Posted on July 22, 2009The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule in today's Federal Register amending the Entity List to add and remove certain parties. The modifications to the Entity List were as follows: Thirteen entities in Germany, Hong Kong and Ireland were added to the Entity List on grounds...
Commerce Secretary Says Reviewing U.S. Export Controls is One of His Top Five Priorities
Posted on July 22, 2009In a speech presented this evening to the Washington International Trade Association, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that "undertaking a review of export controls" is one of his top five priorities and that he has already instructed the Bureau of Industry and Security to initiate a review of...
Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions May Move Forward if U.S. Engagement With Iran Fails
Posted on July 22, 2009The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing today on recent developments in Iran and their implications for U.S. Policy. In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) said that if engagement with Iran does not work he is prepared to move forward with the Iran Refined...
DDTC Issues Notice Regarding License Applications for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Inertial Measurement Units
Posted on July 21, 2009To assist in the proper routing of license applications, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls today issued the following notice regarding license applications submitted for USML Category VIII Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Inertial Measurement Units: Effective immediately, the Directorate of...
DDTC Issues Policy Guidance Regarding Exports of ITAR Components Destined for Satellites Launched From India
Posted on July 21, 2009Following yesterday's joint announcement that the U.S. and India signed a Technology Safeguards Agreement to permit civil or non-commercial satellites containing U.S. ITAR-controlled components on Indian space launch vehicles, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls today issued the following...
BIS publishes Critical Technology Assessment of Five Axis Simultaneous Control Machine Tools
Posted on July 21, 2009The Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Office of Technology Evaluation today published a critical technology assessment of five axis machine tools that examined the health and competitiveness of the U.S. machine tool industry and identified issues relevant to domestic and foreign machine tool...
U.S. Senators Introduce Bill to Sanction Non-U.S. Companies Selling Certain Monitoring or Blocking Technologies to Iran
Posted on July 21, 2009Yesterday, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced S. 1475, a bill that would impose sanctions on non-U.S. companies that sell technology to Iran that could assist the Iranian regime in monitoring or blocking the Internet connections or cell phone conversations...
U.S. and India Reach Agreement on Defense End-Use Monitoring Arrangements and Space Technology Safeguards
Posted on July 20, 2009Following meetings between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and India's External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna, the two governments today issued a joint statement indicating that the two countries had reached an End-Use Monitoring Agreement on U...
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed"
Posted on July 20, 2009Eagle, the Apollo Mission's Lunar Module, landed on the moon exactly 40 years today (4:18 ET). You can listen to the audio clip of Eagle's descent to the moon here (150 seconds). Eagle, and the subsequent lunar modules, were built in Bethpage, New York by Grumman Corporation...
Today Marks 40th Anniverary of Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon
Posted on July 16, 2009Forty years ago today, at 9:32 am EST, Apollo 11 lifted off from Florida, en route to the moon. The video of the launch is below. To mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the John F. Kennedy Library is hosting a great website, called We Choose The Moon (www...
OECD Acknowledges Turkey's Progress in Combating Bribery
Posted on July 07, 2009The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Working Group on Bribery recently issued a report (pdf) (the "Phase 2bis" report) addressing Turkey's progress in complying with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. The report examined Turkey's progress in the following areas: (1)...
BIS Issues Final Rule Implementing Australia Group Changes, Including Change to ECCN 2B350
Posted on July 07, 2009The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) yesterday published a final rule in the Federal Register to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the 2008 Australia Group (AG) intersessional decisions. Among other things, this final rule makes an important change to Export...
Export Administration Act Policy Hearing to be Held by House Subcommittee
Posted on July 07, 2009The House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade will hold a hearing on various policy considerations associated with the lapsed Export Administration Act this Thursday at 10 a.m. on July 9th in room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building...
Results of 2008 GSP Annual Review Announced
Posted on July 01, 2009U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk today announced the results of the 2008 Annual Review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The following is a summary of the results: De minimis waivers were granted on 112 products from 16 beneficiary countries...
Tennessee Professor Convicted of Export Control Violations to be Sentenced Tomorrow
Posted on July 01, 2009After nearly ten months following his conviction of numerous export control violations, retired University of Tennessee professor John Reece Roth will be sentenced tomorrow, July 1, 2009, at 10 a.m. EDT by U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan in Knoxville, Tennessee...
Guilty Plea in First FCPA Case Involving Vietnam
Posted on July 01, 2009In the first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) involving Vietnam, the Justice Department announced yesterday that Joseph T. Lukas, a former executive of Philadelphia-based Nexus Technologies Inc. pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one count of violating the FCPA...
Tennessee Professor Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Export Control Violations
Posted on July 01, 2009Today U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan sentenced former University of Tennessee Professor John Reece Roth to 48 months in prison for violating the Arms Export Control Act. Following his release from prison, Roth, who is 71, must serve two years of supervised release...
OFAC Issues June 2009 Monthly Civil Penalties Report
Posted on July 01, 2009The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued its June 2009 (pdf) monthly report of civil penalties imposed for alleged violations of the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. OFAC announced the following four settlements with companies, none of which were...
Census Bureau Issues Important AES Export Compliance Notice
Posted on June 30, 2009U.S. exporters, freight forwarders and other authorized agents filing Electronic Export Information (EEI) using the Automated Export System should be aware that today the Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division issued an important export compliance notice...
Antidumping Petition Filed Today on Woven Electric Blankets From China
Posted on June 30, 2009An antidumping petition was filed today with the U.S. International Trade Commission and Department of Commerce against woven electric blankets from China. The petitioner in this case is Jarden Consumer Solutions, a subsidiary of Jarden Corporation (NYSE: JAH) and the owner of Sunbeam Bedding and...
CBP's 2009 Trade Symposium Set for December 2009
Posted on June 29, 2009U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today that the 2009 Trade Symposium will take place from December 8 ? 10, 2009. The program will be held for the first time at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, a much larger venue than the Ronald Reagan Building...
BIS Update 2009 to be Held September 30 - October 2, 2009
Posted on June 29, 2009As a follow-up to our previous post, the Bureau of Industry and Security today announced that the 22nd annual Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy will be held September 30 through October 2, 2009 in Washington, DC. Because the expected number of attendees will likely exceed the number...
BIS Update 2009 Likely Set for Last Week of September
Posted on June 25, 2009While the specific dates and location have not been finalized, this year's Bureau of Industry and Security's annual update Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy should be held during the week of September 28, 2009 (end of September and beginning of October)...
Two Good Export Controls Programs Scheduled for Next Week
Posted on June 19, 2009There are two good export controls-related programs scheduled for next week. It is not too late to sign up for these programs. June 24, 2009 - Import/Export Classification Boot Camp: Cross-Training for International Trade Professionals, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania This one-day seminar presented by...
House Postpones Hearing on Export Administration Act
Posted on June 18, 2009The hearing hearing on policy considerations associated with the Export Administration Act that was to be held at 2 p.m. today by House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade has been postponed. The new hearing date has not yet been set...
Florida Man Sentenced to 35 Months in Prison for Role in Iranian Export Conspiracy
Posted on June 12, 2009The owner of a Florida company that pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegally exporting military and commercial aircraft parts to Iran was sentenced yesterday to 35 months in federal prison. As part of his plea, Mr. Train Bujduveanu, a Romanian national and naturalized U...
U.N. Security Council Imposes Additional Sanctions on North Korea
Posted on June 12, 2009The United Nations Security Council today passed a resolution condemning North Korea's May 25th nuclear test and imposing additional multilateral sanctions on North Korea. Security Council resolution 1874 [the text will be posted as soon as it is available] requires U...
Tennessee Professor Convicted of Export Control Violations Will be Sentenced on July 1st
Posted on June 08, 2009After numerous delays, the sentencing of convicted University of Tennessee professor Emeritus J. Reece Roth for violating the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) has been rescheduled for Wednesday, July 1st at 10 a...
U.S. Industry Files Three AD/CVD Cases on Chinese Steel Products in Past Two Weeks
Posted on June 08, 2009The number of antidumping and countervailing duty petitions being filed in the U.S. on steel products from China is on the rise. On June 5, 2009, WP Industries, Inc., ITC Manufacturing, Inc., J&L Wire Cloth, Inc. and Nashville Wire Products Mfg. Co...
Orbitz Launches Campaign to End U.S. Travel Ban to Cuba
Posted on May 18, 2009Online travel provider Orbitz recently launched the OpenCuba.org website to give travelers the opportunity to get directly involved in a grassroots effort to convince the Obama Administration and Congress to end the ban on travel to Cuba for those Americans who do not have immediate family members...
Despite Embargo, Cuba Imports Daiquiri Mix from USA
Posted on May 15, 2009The AP published a story this evening entitled "Despite embargo, Cuba imports daiquiris from US" describing the types of products sold from the U.S. pursuant to the "agricultural waiver" of the U.S. embargo on Cuba. The story's lede states: "Jugs of daiquiri mix...
All ITAR License Submissions Must be Made Using DTrade 2 Starting May 16, 2009
Posted on May 14, 2009U.S. exporters and importers of defense articles subject to the jurisdiction of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) are reminded that starting on May 16, 2009, all new license submissions must be made using the DTrade 2 system. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has...
No Sentence Yet for Convicted Professor Convicted of Export Control Violations
Posted on May 13, 2009The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that no decision was made today during the sentencing hearing of University of Tennessee professor Emeritus J. Reece Roth who was convicted in September of various export control violations. The article states that U...
10 Reasons Trade Compliance Programs Are Unnecessary
Posted on May 12, 2009Today's guest post is by Rick Miller, director of trade compliance recruitment at Tyler Search Consultants. Rick is a licensed customs broker and served as director of trade compliance for several large companies before joining Tyler Search. Rick can be reached at rmiller@tylersearch...
Tennesee Professor Convicted of Export Control Violations Will be Sentenced This Wednesday
Posted on May 11, 2009After numerous delays, the sentencing of University of Tennessee professor Emeritus J. Reece Roth for violating U.S. export control laws has been set for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 in federal court in Knoxville, Tennessee. Atmospheric Glow Technologies Inc...
Port of Chicago Updates Procedures for Imports and Exports of Defense Articles
Posted on May 11, 2009U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Port of Chicago today issued an updated Pipeline (09-12) containing detailed and information on the local procedures for processing imports and exports of defense articles subject to the jurisdiction of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR),...
Global Antidumping Database Confirms Increased Number of Trade Remedy Cases
Posted on May 11, 2009According to data compiled by the Global Antidumping Database, the first quarter of 2009 saw an 18.8% year increase in the number of antidumping, countervailing duty, global safeguard, and China-specific safeguards brought by WTO members compared to the same period in 2008...
Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division Names New Trade Ombudsman
Posted on May 06, 2009The U.S. Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division has announced that Mr. Omari Wooden has been named as the Foreign Trade Division's Trade Ombudsman. Mr. Wooden replaces Jerry Greenwell, who retired in January 2009 after more than 36 years with Census. Mr...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Establish Customs Broker Self-Assessment Pilot Program
Posted on May 01, 2009U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced in the Federal Register the creation of a new Broker Self-Assessment (BSA) pilot program. The BSA pilot program, which in many ways will be similar to the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) program, is intended to allow customs brokers to...
Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009 Introduced in U.S. Congress
Posted on May 01, 2009Representative Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, yesterday introduced the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009 (H.R. 2192). If enacted, H.R. 2192 would require that any foreign entity that exports refined petroleum to Iran, or otherwise enhances Iran?s...
ITC Initiates Section 421 Market Disruption Investigation on Tires From China
Posted on April 29, 2009The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced in today's Federal Register the initiation of a market disruption investigation on certain passenger vehicle and light truck tires from China. This case is being initiated by the ITC after receiving a petition filed by the United Steel, Paper...
Census Modifies AES Filing Time Frames for Shipments Between U.S. and Puerto Rico
Posted on April 29, 2009The U.S. Census Bureau has modified the Automated Export System filing time frames for shipments between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Since Puerto Rico is part of the "Customs territory of the United States", shipments between the U.S. and Puerto Rico are exempt from the advance filing requirements...
Non-U.S. Import/Export Controls Program to be Held in Dallas on May 18th in Dallas, Texas
Posted on April 28, 2009While most U.S. exporters have at least a minimal familiarity with and awareness of the basics of U.S. trade controls and compliance requirements, it is often difficult for U.S. companies to obtain information on the import and export requirements in other countries in which they do business...
Exporter Indicted on Conspiracy to Export Microwave Amplifer Products From U.S. to China
Posted on April 09, 2009The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California today announced that a grand jury in San Jose, California indicted Mr. Fu-Tain Lu as well as two companies Mr. Lu founded, Fushine Technology, Inc., located in the San Jose area and Shenzen, China-based Everjet Science and Technology...
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions Filed on OCTG From China
Posted on April 08, 2009In a widely expected move, today the U.S. steel industry filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions against Oil Country Tubular Goods from China. No other countries were named in the petitions. The petitioners are Maverick Tube Corporation, United States Steel Corporation, TMK IPSCO,...
Manhattan District Attorney Alleges Chinese Individual and Company Misused NY Banks to Provide Material Support for Iran
Posted on April 07, 2009Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau today announced that an 118-count indictment (pdf) was brought by a grand jury in New York County against Li Fang Wei, a Chinese citizen and his company for charges relating to the misuse of New York City banks and the proliferation of illicit...
WSJ: The Vietnam Tariff? Plastic Bags Present a Test For Free Trade
Posted on April 07, 2009Today's Wall Street Journal Asia contains an opinion piece on the recently filed U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty petitions file on polyethylene retail carry bags from Vietnam. The article discusses whether the U.S. Commerce Department will apply the U...
OFAC's Receives Overwhelming Response to International Trade Symposium
Posted on April 07, 2009OFAC's recently announced International Trade Symposium in Washington, DC on May 15th generated an "overwhelming response" and registration is closed to new registrants. OFAC is maintaining a waiting list for the event and will notify those on the waiting list of any availability...
Florida Company Pleads Guilty to Violating FCPA in Connection With Bribes in Honduras and Yemen
Posted on April 07, 2009The Justice Department announced today that Latin Node Inc. (Latinode), a privately held Florida telecommunications company, pleaded guilty today to a one-count information charging that the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act's anti-bribery provisions...
Japanese Technology and Instruments Believed to be Used by North Korea in Missile Development
Posted on April 06, 2009Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reports how North Korea acquired the controlled technology and products from Japan that was likely used in developing the missile launched on Sunday. The article notes that at "a U.S. Senate hearing in May 2003, an engineer who had defected from North Korea...
Two Defendants Plead Guilty in Unrelated Cases Involving Illegally Exported Military Aircraft Parts
Posted on April 06, 2009Last week two defendants in unrelated cases pleaded guilty to violations involving the unlicensed export of military aircraft parts from the United States. In Hartford, Connecticut, Stuart Wax, pleaded guilty today to one count of making a false statement in an export control document...
Eleven Defendants Charged In Scheme to Export Military Aircraft Parts to Iran
Posted on April 06, 2009In yet another criminal case involving the prohibited exports of military aircraft to Iran, the Justice Department announced today that an Iranian national has been arrested and charged, along with ten other defendants, with participating in a conspiracy to military aircraft parts from the U...
Webinar: Catching the Tiger by its Tail: Creating Effective and Efficient Internal Export Compliance Programs
Posted on April 06, 2009Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg is presenting a webinar on how to create effective and efficient export compliance programs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT on April 16, 2009. This webinar, which is presented by experienced export attorneys, will present information on how to create and implement an...
U.S. Government Condemns North Korea Rocket Launch; Additional Multilateral Sanctions Possible
Posted on April 05, 2009The U.S. Government quickly reacted to North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket Taepo Dong 2 missile. The U.S. Northern Command said that the stage one of the missile fell into the Sea of Japan and the remaining stages, along with the payload, landed in the Pacific Ocean...
OFAC to Hold First-Ever International Trade Symposium in Washington, DC
Posted on April 05, 2009The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently announced that it is holding its first-ever International Trade Symposium on May 15, 2009 in Washington, DC. According to OFAC, the free Symposium is "designed to provide the international trade community with insight and...
DDTC to Launch DTrade2 License Submission System on April 16th
Posted on April 05, 2009U.S. exporters of defense articles and technical data should be aware that the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will be launching DTrade2, its new electronic license submission and internal case management system, on April 16, 2009. Starting on April 16, 2009, all new license submissions must...
UAE Forms Import-Export Control Committee
Posted on April 05, 2009The Emirates News Agency reported today that the United Arab Emirates Government approved the formation a "committee on the commodities subject to import-export control" to "cooperate and coordinate with the relevant authorities on the regulations relating to import and export, to study proposals...
"Black Money" Documentary to Air April 7th on PBS
Posted on April 02, 2009Black Money, a FRONTLINE documentary on international bribery, will air Tuesday, April 7, 2009, at 9 P.M. EDT on PBS. The documentary investigates the shadowy side of international business, shedding light on multinational companies that have routinely made secret payments?often referred to as...
Wall Street Journal Article on UAE Nuclear Deal Addresses Export Control Concerns
Posted on April 01, 2009Thursday's Wall Street Journal contains an extensive story entitled "Oil-Rich Arab State Pushes Nuclear Bid With U.S. Help" on the United Arab Emirate's (UAE) efforts to build a commercial nuclear power facility and the upcoming debate in Congress on the Agreement for Cooperation Concerning...
For U.S. Satellite Makers, a Bid for a Bailout That Wouldn?t Cost Billions
Posted on April 01, 2009In anticipation of tomorrow's House International Relations Subcommittee hearing on possible reforms to export controls on commercial satellites, today's New York Times contained a good article entitled "For U.S. Satellite Makers, a Bid for a Bailout That Wouldn?t Cost Billions"...
Israel Becomes Signatory to OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
Posted on April 01, 2009Israel recently became the 38th signatory to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which entered into force on...
House Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Export Controls on Satellite Technology
Posted on March 27, 2009Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affair's Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade Brad Sherman (D-CA) has announced that the subcommittee will hold a hearing next week on U.S. export controls on satellite technology...
Commerce Department Makes Antidumping Determination on Line Pipe From China
Posted on March 25, 2009The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) yesterday announced its affirmative final determination in the antidumping duty investigation on imports of circular welded carbon quality steel line pipe from the People?s Republic of China. Welded line pipe is used for the transmission of gas or oil,...
Senate Confirms Gary Locke as Secretary of Commerce
Posted on March 25, 2009The third time was the charm. The United States Senate last night confirmed Gary Locke as the nation?s 36th Commerce Secretary by unanimous consent. Locke was elected Washington State?s 21st governor in 1996, making him the first Chinese American governor in U...
Irish Trading Company and Three Individuals Indicted in Connection With Scheme to Export Aircraft Parts to Iran
Posted on March 25, 2009The Justice Department announced yesterday that Mac Aviation Group, an Irish trading company, and three of its officers were charged in Federal Court in Washington, DC with purchasing helicopter engines and other aircraft components from U.S. firms and illegally exporting them to Iran using...
House, Senate Launch Efforts to Change Cuba Trade Policy
Posted on March 19, 2009The following story was reprinted with permission from today's edition of World Trade\INTERACTIVE?, published by Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg: House, Senate Launch Efforts to Change Cuba Trade Policy Efforts to ease trade with Cuba are beginning to move forward in Congress...
2009 Americas Annual Letter of Credit Survey Conference to be Held Next Week in Charlotte
Posted on March 19, 2009For those exporters and others interested in letters of credit issues it is not too late to register for next week's 2009 Americas Annual Letter of Credit Survey conference that will be held March 26 and 27, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Annual Letter of Credit Survey is the premier...
Senate Confirms Ron Kirk as Next USTR; Senate Holds Secretary of Commerce Confirmation Hearing
Posted on March 18, 2009Ron Kirk was confirmed by the Senate today to be the next U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The vote was 92-5. As USTR, Kirk is member of President Obama?s Cabinet and will serve as the President?s principal trade advisor, negotiator and spokesperson on international trade issues...
OFAC Publishes Cuba Family Travel Q&As
Posted on March 18, 2009The Treasury Department's Foreign Assets Control today published a series of Questions and Answers regarding the implementation of the General License issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 11, 2009 that permits certain visits to family in Cuba...
2009 International Trade Outlook Webinar to be Presented on March 19, 2009
Posted on March 17, 2009On Thursday, March 19, 2009, Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg is presenting a 2009 Trade Outlook webinar. The webinar, which will take place from 1 - 2 p.m. EDT, will address the various changes that may be in store for U.S. trade policy in the coming year, including: Trade Priorities of the Obama...
U.S. Export Assistance Center to Present Introduction to Export Controls Webinar on March 18, 2009
Posted on March 16, 2009Are you new to exporting? It is not too late to register for the introduction to export controls webinar that is being presented by the U.S. Export Assistance Center of Missouri on March 18, 2009 at 11 a.m. CDT. This program is the final program in the U...
Incoterms 3000 Scheduled to be Issued in Fall 2010
Posted on March 11, 2009In an interview with International Trade Law News, Frank Reynolds, the U.S. Delegate to the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) Incoterm's drafting committee, said that the revised version of Incoterms 2000 should be released in the fall of 2010...
New Details Emerge in Florida Export Controls Case
Posted on March 11, 2009Some new details have emerged in the recent story regarding Joseph Piquet's conviction on seven counts of attempting to export ITAR-controlled power amplifiers to China. Piquet faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and more than $4 million in fines when he is sentenced in May...
Chris Wall, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Rejoins Former Law Firm
Posted on March 11, 2009Christopher R. Wall, who recently served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration in the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has rejoined the Pillsbury law firm as senior international trade partner in the firm's Washington, DC office...
Washington Post: U.S. to Toughen Its Stance On Trade
Posted on March 10, 2009Following yesterday's confirmation hearing for U.S. Trade Representative nominee Ron Kirk, today's Washington Post reports on the Obama Administration's proposed changes to U.S. Trade Policy: Even as world trade takes its steepest drop in 80 years amid the global economic crisis, the administration...
Florida Jury Convicts Defendant for Conspiring to Violate U.S. Export Control Laws
Posted on March 09, 2009A jury in Fort Pierce, Florida last week convicted a defendant of seven counts of conspiring to violate U.S. export control laws. Mr. Joseph Piquet, who will be sentenced on May 14, 2009, was convicted of attempting to purchase military use electronic components from Northrop Grumman Corporation...
Do You Have the "Compliance Blues"?
Posted on March 09, 2009For those of you following our Twitter feed, International Trade Law News is attending this week's International Trade Compliance Professionals annual conference in Anaheim, California. In honor of all of the hard working trade compliance professionals out there I am posting the music and lyrics...
Employees of Japanese Machine Tool Producer Arrested for Alleged Export Control Violations
Posted on March 05, 2009Export Controls in the UAE: A Practical Manifestation of a Strategic Dilemma
Posted on March 03, 2009DDTC Issues Updated Guidelines for Licensing of Foreign Persons Employed by U.S. Persons
Posted on March 02, 2009Australia and New Zealand Will Treat Vietnam as Market Economy for Antidumping Purposes
Posted on March 02, 2009Chinese National Convicted of Attemping to Export Thermal-Imaging Cameras to China
Posted on February 26, 2009Earlier this week, a federal jury in Los Angeles, California convicted Zhi Yong Guo, a resident of China, of conspiracy and exporting and/or attempting to export thermal-imaging cameras to China without the required Commerce Department export licenses...
Omnibus Spending Bill Passed by House Makes Changes to Cuba Policy
Posted on February 25, 2009The House of Representatives today passed by a vote of 245-178 H.R. 1105, the $410 billion Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, to fund much of the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2009. The omnibus appropriations bill makes several changes with respect to Cuba policy...
France, Germany and UK Preparing Additional Sanctions on Iran
Posted on February 25, 2009Thursday's Financial Times reports that Germany, France and the United Kingdom have prepared a list of 34 Iranian entities and 10 individuals that could be subject to trade sanctions. According to the article, the names on the list are "allegedly linked to Iran?s covert nuclear or biological...
House Science and Technology Committee Holds Export Controls Hearing
Posted on February 25, 2009Today the House Committee on Science and Technology held a hearing to review the impact of current export control policies on U.S. science and technology activities and competitiveness. Witnesses and Members of the Committee also discussed the findings and recommendations of the National Academies?...
Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Release Benchmarking Survey on Third Party Controls
Posted on February 23, 2009The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) has released the results of a benchmarking survey finding that despite the proliferation of third party relationships in business, relatively few companies set ethics and compliance expectations on the companies that they rely on to act on their...
Invitation to Atttend Networking Reception Prior to BIS Export Controls Program in Newport Beach, California
Posted on February 23, 2009Persons attending the Bureau of Industry and Security's Annual Export Control Forum in Newport Beach, California from March 16-17 are invited to attend a networking reception that will be held on March 15 from 6-9 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel located at 4545 MacArthur Boulevard, Newport Beach,...
CITS to Celebrate 20th Anniversary; Announces Spring 2009 Export Control Academy
Posted on February 23, 2009The University of Georgia's well-respected Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary on March 18, 2009. The event, which will be held in Athens, Georgia, will consist of panels regarding strategic trade control issues, the status of global...
House Committee to Hold Export Controls Hearing
Posted on February 23, 2009The House Science and Technology Committee will hold an export controls hearing on February 25, 2009. The hearing, entitled "Impacts of U.S. Export Control Policies on Science and Technology Activities and Competitiveness" will feature the following witnesses: Lt...
Census Issues Amended Foreign Trade Letter Clarifying Shipments to International Waters
Posted on February 18, 2009The Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division has issued an amended version of its December 3, 2008 Foreign Trade Letter No. 3 explaining the requirement for filing Electronic Export Information (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES) for shipments located in international waters, including...
Stimulus Bill Contains Overlooked "Buy American" Provision Covering DHS Uniforms, Body Armor and Textiles
Posted on February 18, 2009While a great deal has been written on the "Buy American" provision in the stimulus bill (Section 1605 of H.R. 1) that covers iron, steel, and manufactured goods, it turns out that the bill also contains another "Buy American" provision that applies to uniforms, body armor and other textile...
Philadelphia Area Chemical Engineer Found Guilty of Violating Iran Sanctions
Posted on February 16, 2009A federal jury in Philadelphia this past Friday convicted a chemical engineer who holds a Ph.D from Stanford University of a number of crimes relating to doing business with Iran. Dr. Ali Amirnazmi, founder and president of Exton, Pennsylvania-based TranTech Consultants Inc...
Maryland Woman Accused of Exporting Canadian UAV Autopilots from U.S. to China
Posted on February 15, 2009The Associated Press reports (story below) that a Silver Spring, Maryland woman has been charged with exporting Canadian manufactured miniature autopilots for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and micro aerial vehicles (MAV) from the U.S. to China. The miniature autopilots were produced by...
Text of Buy American Provision in Stimulus Bill Finalized; 60 Minutes Reports on Retaliation Concerns
Posted on February 15, 2009The following is the final text of the "Buy American" provision in H.R. 1, the stimulus bill that passed the House and Senate late last week and is expected to be signed into law by the president on Tuesday. H.R. 1 is formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009...
Census and U.S. Commercial Service Offering Export Compliance Webinars
Posted on February 13, 2009The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Commercial Service are offering a series of Export Compliance Webinars from February 17, 2009 throughMarch 5, 2009. The webinars are designed to educate the exporting trade community on the Foreign Trade Regulations...
A New Era For Export Controls?
Posted on February 12, 2009The February edition of the American Machinist magazine contains an opinion piece on the challenges the Obama Administration faces in the area of export controls and international technology transfers. The article was written by Paul Freedenberg, Vice President of Government Relations of the...
BIS Issues Notice on Transfer of Export Licenses
Posted on February 11, 2009The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today issued the following notice reminding exporters about their responsibilities in cases involving the transfer of export licenses, such as when the party listed on the license no longer exits due to a merger or acquisition...
Professor Convicted of Violating Export Control Laws Requests New Trial
Posted on February 10, 2009The Knoxville News Sentinel reported today that convicted University of Tennessee Professor J. Reece Roth, who was found guilty of violating the Arms Export Control Act in September 2008, has filed a motion requesting a new trial on grounds that the judge hearing the case refused to allow jurors to...
India Balks at U.S. End-Use Monitoring Requirements for Defense Sales
Posted on February 09, 2009Defense News has reported that the Government of India has advised U.S. officials that India will not accept the standard End-Use Monitoring (EUM) requirements required by Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act. The article states: Several Indian Defence Ministry officials said privately that...
CPSC Delays Testing and Certification Requirements for Consumer Products
Posted on February 09, 2009As a result of substantial confusion regarding the Consumer Product Safety Act's new certification requirements, the Commission Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced in today's Federal Register that it will postpone for one year, until February 10, 2010, the new certification and testing...
Nucleonics Week Reports on U.S. Supreme Court's Antidumping Decision
Posted on February 05, 2009A recent edition of Nucleonics Week [pdf], a leading source of news for the commercial nuclear power business, contains a detailed report on the Supreme Court's recent antidumping decision in United States v. Eurodif S.A., et al. , [pdf] cases involving the imports of low enriched uranium (LEU)...
Next NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers from DTSA, CBP and National Academies
Posted on February 05, 2009The next meeting of the National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD) will take place on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 in Washington, DC and will feature the following speakers: Michael Laychak, Licensing Director,Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) Topic:...
Website Established to Identify Companies Doing Business in Iran
Posted on February 05, 2009The American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, recently launched the "Iranian Business Registry" (IBR) website, listing the names of companies around the world that do business in Iran. The site, which is operated by the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) program, is intended to "educate investors, ...
Stuart Levey to Continue as Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Posted on February 03, 2009Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has announced that Stuart Levey will continue as the first Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, a role he has held since his Senate confirmation on July 21, 2004. As Under Secretary, Levey oversees the the Office of Foreign Assets Control (...
2008 Marked Highest Number of Export License Applications Received by BIS in Past 10 Years
Posted on February 02, 2009The Census Bureau's most recent AES Newsletter contains the following FY 2008 export licensing statistics and information from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS): In Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, BIS processed 21,290 export license applications involving trade worth approximately $72...
HTSUS Updated to Reflect Implementation of U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement
Posted on February 02, 2009The United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement went into on February 1, 2009. In order to implement the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, the U.S. International Trade Commission has updated the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)...
Deloitte Announces Results of Anti-Corruption Report
Posted on February 02, 2009Deloitte announced today the results of an anti-corruption study of 329 management, finance, strategy and business development professionals from around the world. The study, entitled Fortifying Anti-Corruption in Today's Corporation, indicated that the vast majority of those surveyed (93 percent)...
BIS Imposes Denial Orders and Civil Penalties in Cases Involving Unlicensed Exports From U.S. to Taiwan
Posted on February 01, 2009In a series of four related cases involving the unlicensed exports of chemicals, metals and electronic components from the U.S. to Taiwan, the Bureau of Industry and Security has imposed civil penalties and denial orders on two companies and two individuals involved in the transactions...
New Report Hints at Broken Promises and Trouble Ahead for World Trade
Posted on February 01, 2009Guest Post: The following article was written by Jake Colvin, Vice President for Global Trade Issues at the National Foreign Trade Council, and was recently posted on the Huffington Post. A copy of the report referred to in the article can be found here...
Congratulations to Jerry Greenwell on Retirement From Census
Posted on February 01, 2009The front page of the recent edition of the Census Bureau's AES Newsletter contains the following story on Jerry Greenwell's recent retirement from Census after 36 years of government service: Yes, the rumors are true! Trade Ombudsman Jerome (Jerry) Greenwell retired in early January 2009, after...
Brazil Suspends Recently Announced Import Licensing Program
Posted on January 29, 2009The Government of Brazil has announced that it has suspended its short-lived electronic import licensing program that was implemented earlier this week by Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. Under the import licensing program, importers in Brazil were required to obtain...
OFAC Issues January 2009 Monthly Civil Penalties Report
Posted on January 29, 2009Today the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released its monthly report (pdf) of civil penalties imposed on companies and individuals for allegedly violating the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. Companies - OFAC announced the following two settlements with...
Parties File Amicus Brief in Florida Travel Act Case
Posted on January 28, 2009The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and USA*Engage have filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in support of the plaintiffs in the case of Faculty Senate of Florida International University vs. the State of Florida...
First U.S. Trade Remedy Case Brought in 2009
Posted on January 27, 2009In what is likely to be the first of many trade remedy cases brought by U.S. industry against imported products in 2009, countervailing duty petitions were filed yesterday with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission by Korff Holdings, LLC, dba Quaker City...
International Customs Day 2009
Posted on January 26, 2009Today, January 26th, is International Customs Day, which marks the inaugural session of the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) that was held in Brussels, Belgium on January 26, 1953. The CCC became known as the World Customs Organization (WCO) in 2004...
Iranian National in U.S. Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Export Military Aircraft Parts to Irans
Posted on January 26, 2009The Departments of Justice, Commerce, Defense and Homeland Security announced today that Hassan Saied Kehsari and his corporation, Kesh Air International, pleaded guilty this morning in Federal Court in Miami, Florida to charges of conspiring to illegally export military and commercial aircraft...
U.S. Supreme Court Sides With Commerce Department in First Antidumping Decision Rendered by Court
Posted on January 26, 2009The U.S. Supreme Court today released its opinion in the first ever antidumping case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. In United States v. Eurodif S.A., et al. (Docket No. 07-1059) and USEC, Inc., v. Eurodif S.A., Docket No. (Docket No. 07-1078), cases involving the imports of low enriched uranium...
C-TPAT: 2008 - A Year in Review
Posted on January 26, 2009U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently published the following Year in Review of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program (C-TPAT) for 2008: C-TPAT 2008 Year in Review ...
FCPA News Round Up
Posted on January 26, 2009Here are some useful articles published on various U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-bribery issues in the past few weeks: Forbes.com: Do Honest Corporations Stand A Chance?Ethical Corporation: Transparency International UK, Shining a light on British briberyBloomberg: Bribery Warrants...
DHS Confirms 10+2 Rule to Take Effect as Planned
Posted on January 26, 2009It is now official. The Department of Homeland Security issued an announcement late today confirming that it will not extend the Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements regulation (commonly known as 10+2) that was published in the Federal Register (pdf) on November 25, 2008 and...
BIS Issues Temporary Denial Order in Effort to Prevent Powerboat From Being Reexported From South Africa to Iran
Posted on January 25, 2009In an interesting and unusual development, last Thursday the U.S. Commerce Department?s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Temporary Denial Order (TDO) in an effort to prevent a powerboat containing U.S. engines and other components from being reexported from South Africa to Iran for...
Importer Security Filing Regulation Scheduled to Take Effect Monday As Planned
Posted on January 25, 2009The well-publicized memorandum from Chief of Staff Rahm Emanual to the heads of executive branch departments and agencies regarding review of pending regulations will be published in Monday's Federal Register. Among other things, the regulatory review memo suggested that agencies "consider...
New Secretary of Homeland Security Sworn In Today
Posted on January 21, 2009The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano was sworn in today as the third Secretary of DHS. Announcements on other nominees for DHS leadership posts, including Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, are expected in the coming...
Webcast: FCPA Enforcement ? The Paradigm Shift of 2008
Posted on January 20, 2009On January 28, 2009, the Securities Docket blog is holding a free one-hour webcast that will shed light on the significant developments in 2008 in the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Some of the trends that will be discussed during the webcast include: increasingly...
Siemens FCPA Cases Teach FCPA Dos & Don'ts
Posted on January 20, 2009A story in today's Compliance Week discusses the lessons learned from the FCPA enforcement cases brought against Siemens AG and several of its foreign subsidiaries by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission. The article notes: Siemens? new management is practically doing a...
ICPA's Annual Trade Compliance Conference to be Held March 8-12, 2009
Posted on January 20, 2009Registration is still open for the International Compliance Professionals Association's (ICPA) 2009 compliance conference that will be held March 8-12, 2009 in Anaheim, California. ICPAs annual compliance conference is unlike any offered in the international trade compliance community and is...
Exporting Fundamentals Webinar Presented by U.S. Export Assistance Center
Posted on January 20, 2009It is not too late to register for the remaining programs in the U.S. Export Assistance Center of Missouri's Export Fundamentals webinar series that will be presented in January through March. The remaining dates and topics are as follows: January 28, 2009: Export Documentation Fundamentals ...
U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement to Take Effect on February 1, 2009
Posted on January 17, 2009The U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement (officially known as the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement) will go into effect on February 1, 2009. In Washington, DC, President Bush yesterday issued a proclamation to implement the free trade agreement and in Lima, Peruvian President Alan Garcia and Mercedes...
WSJ: Fresh Clues of Iranian Nuclear Intrigue
Posted on January 16, 2009Today's Wall Street Journal contains a detailed report describing Iran's efforts to evade U.S. and U.N. sanctions by acquiring various metals from China that could be used in weapons, including long-range missiles. Records obtained by the WSJ show that an Iranian company, ABAN Commercial &...
Contraband Found by CBP in Entry Involving C-TPAT Participants
Posted on January 15, 2009U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sent a notice yesterday to all participants in the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program advising that CBP officers recently discovered 2,822 pounds of marijuana in a shipment from Mexico involving participants in the C-TPAT ...
U.S. and UAE Sign Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
Posted on January 15, 2009The U.S. and United Arab Emirates (UAE) today signed an Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy pursuant to section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2153). The remarks from today's signing ceremony can be found here...
U.S. and China Reach Agreement on VEU Program
Posted on January 13, 2009As a follow-up to our previous post on negotiations involving the China Validated End-User (VEU) program, the Bureau of Industry and Security and China's Ministry of Commerce last night concluded an agreement that would fully implement the China VEU program...
CBP Announces Decrease in Interest Rates Applicable to Overpayments and Underpayments of Customs Duties
Posted on January 12, 2009As a result of falling short-term interest rates, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced in today's Federal Register a decrease in the interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties...
Export Control Reform Study Finds U.S. Export Control System is Broken and Should be Restructured
Posted on January 12, 2009In the latest study of the U.S. export controls system, the National Research Council of the National Academies last week released a report entitled "Beyond Fortress America: National Security Controls on Science and Technology in a Globalized World." The report, which was written by a committee...
BIS Working to Finalize China VEU Inspection Agreement
Posted on January 12, 2009Bloomberg reported this afternoon that the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Government of the People's Republic of China are making a last ditch effort to finalize an agreement that would allow the China Validated End-User (VEU) program to continue by permitting...
OFAC Issues December 2008 Monthly Civil Penalties Report
Posted on January 11, 2009On December 31, 2008, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued its monthly report (pdf) of civil penalties imposed on companies and individuals for allegedly violating the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. Companies - OFAC announced the following three...
CBP Announces 10+2 Outreach Schedule
Posted on January 11, 2009U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is hosting trade outreach events in various locations around the country to provide the trade community with an opportunity to learn more about the new Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements (a...
2009 Version of U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule and Schedule B Numbers Now Available
Posted on January 11, 2009The 2009 version of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTUSA) is now available and can be found here on the U.S. International Trade Commission's website. Among other things, the 2009 HTSUSA contains the rules of origin for the U...
Lethal Technology Making Way From U.S. to Iran Via Front Companies
Posted on January 11, 2009In connection with a series of export control case studies issued by the Washington, DC-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), today's Washington Post reports on the various networks used by Iran and Pakistan to obtain U.S. and European products via front companies...
U.S. Revokes Antidumping Order on Rebar From Turkey
Posted on January 11, 2009After being in effect for nearly 12 years, on January 5, 2009 the Commerce Department revoked the antidumping order on steel concrete reinforcing bars (rebar) from Turkey. This action was taken after the U.S. International Trade Commission determined in a sunset review that revocation of the...
40th Anniverary of Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast -- Season's Greetings
Posted on December 24, 2008This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission that led to the famous "Earthrise" photo taken by astronaut William Anders. Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to orbit the moon. Below is NASA's summary of Apollo 8's Christmas eve live television broadcast...
Costa Rica Finally Eligible for CAFTA-DR Benefits on January 1, 2009
Posted on December 23, 2008President Bush today issued a Proclamation providing that the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) will enter into force for Costa Rica on January 1, 2009. Costa Rican products meeting the rules of origin of the CAFTA-DR that are entered into the U...
Fiat Pays More Than US$17 Million in Connection With FCPA Charges Arising From Oil for Food Program
Posted on December 22, 2008Italian automobile and truck manufacturer Fiat S.p.A. and several of the company's subsidiaries today agreed to pay a total of more than $17 million in connection with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and U...
"Lord of War" Viktor Bout Profiled in The Economist
Posted on December 22, 2008The year-end edition of The Economist contains an interesting article on Viktor Bout, the notorious arms-dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death" and "Lord of War", who was arrested earlier this year in a sting set up by DEA agents in Bangkok, Thailand. The AP reports that Bout testified on Monday in...
CBP Announces Cross-Border Truck User Fee Contingency Plan for January 2009
Posted on December 22, 2008From Strasburger & Price's Logistics Blog: U.S. Customs & Border Protection (?CBP?) has announced that every truck entering the U.S. in 2009 must pay a fee of $10.75 per crossing or be equipped with a transponder, good for a year, which will cost $205...
Report: At Siemens, Bribery Was Just a Line Item
Posted on December 21, 2008The New York Times, ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and PBS?s Frontline published an in-depth story in today's NYT on the Siemens FCPA case. The story includes extensive interviews with a former accountant at Siemens who oversaw an annual bribery budget of about...
"Lord of War" Viktor Bout Profiled in The Economist
Posted on December 21, 2008The year-end edition of The Economist contains an interesting article on Viktor Bout, the notorious arms-dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death" and "Lord of War", who was arrested earlier this year in a sting set up by DEA agents in Bangkok, Thailand. The AP reports that Bout testified on Monday in...
CBP Announces Cross-Border Truck User Fee Contingency Plan for January 2009
Posted on December 21, 2008From Strasburger amp; Price's Logistics Blog: U.S. Customs amp; Border Protection (?CBP?) has announced that every truck entering the U.S. in 2009 must pay a fee of $10.75 per crossing or be equipped with a transponder, good for a year, which will cost $205...
The Times: Companies Blacklisted in US for Allegedly Backing Mugabe Operate Freely in UK
Posted on December 21, 2008Monday's Times of London reports on how certain individuals and companies designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as "Mugabe regime cronies" on November 25, 2008 operate freely in the U.K. in spite of Gordon Brown's declaration that ?enough is enough? in Zimbabwe...
Former Willbros Officials Charged With Violating FCPA
Posted on December 21, 2008The Justice Department announced on Friday that a former executive and a consultant of Willbros International Inc. (WII), a subsidiary of Houston-based Willbros Group Inc., have been charged in connection with a conspiracy to pay more than $6 million in bribes to government officials in Nigeria and...
BIS Publishes Amendments to Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations
Posted on December 20, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule in today's Federal Register making various technical amendments to the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR) (15 CFR Parts 710 through 721). In addition to updating the address for submitting declarations, reports and...
Florida Jury Convicts Iranian Woman in Night Vision Case
Posted on December 18, 2008A jury in federal court in Fort Lauderdale Florida today convicted Sharhazad Mir Gholikhan, the Iranian woman accused of violating U.S. law in connection with the attempted sale of 3,500 Generation III night-vision goggles to Iran. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Ms...
Want a Used Space Shuttle? Better Comply With ITAR
Posted on December 18, 2008NASA is preparing for the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in late 2010 and has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to obtain input from educational institutions, science museums, and other organizations interested in acquiring and displaying the Space Shuttle Orbiters and Space Shuttle...
State Department Imposes ITAR Denial Policy on Blackwater
Posted on December 18, 2008The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) published in today's Federal Register a notice advising that DDTC has imposed a general policy of denial on export licenses, ITAR authorizations and exemptions associated with Blackwater USA and its affiliates owned by EP...
BIS Points Out Inaccuracies in Washington Times Report on Suspension of VEU Program
Posted on December 17, 2008Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Mario Mancuso made the following statement today in response to the Washington Times article entitled ?U.S. to Tighten Export Rules on 5 Firms in China (see yesterday's post on this story here):? First, the Validated End User (VEU) program...
Former Employee of Arizona Nuclear Power Plant Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison in Connection With Exporting Software to Iran
Posted on December 17, 2008Mohammad Reza Alavi, a former employee of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona, was sentenced today in federal district court in Phoenix to 15 months in prison in connection with exporting software to Iran. Alavi was found guilty by a federal jury on May 27, 2008 for Unauthorized...
BIS Reportedly Plans to Suspend China VEU Program
Posted on December 17, 2008The Washington Times reported tonight that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is close to issuing a new regulation that would suspend the China Validated End-User (VEU) program until China agrees to on-site inspections of the five Chinese companies that have been granted VEU status...
BIS Publishes Comments on Proposed License Exception Intra-Company Transfer
Posted on December 16, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security has posted the public comments submitted on the proposed rule to establish License Exception Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) that was issued by BIS on October 3, 2008. BIS received 18 comments on the proposed rule from individuals, companies and trade associations...
A Harmonized (Tariff) Christmas
Posted on December 16, 2008By Tyler Brown, Senior Export Technical Representative, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Office of Export Compliance For this analysis, we assumed that the Lords, Ladies, maids and entertainers are not performing defense services. Articles and material would appear to all be EAR99...
Siemens Pays US$1.6 Billion to Settle U.S. and German Anti-Corruption Charges
Posted on December 15, 2008Siemens AG announced today that legal proceedings against it arising from allegations of bribing public officials were concluded on the same day in Munich, Germany and in Washington, DC and that the company will pay total fines and penalties of US$ 1...
Reporting Requirements Begin December 18 for Private Aircraft Arriving or Departing the United States
Posted on December 14, 2008The new regulation requiring private aircraft to transmit traveler manifest and arrival and departure information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) using the Electronic Advance Passenger Information System (eAPIS) goes into effect later this week...
BIS Publishes "Fix-It" Rule Making Technical Corrections to EAR
Posted on December 14, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security published a final "fix-it" rule in Monday's Federal Register making a number of clerical and technical changes to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Among other things, the final rule: Updates addresses, telephone numbers, procedures and a...
Siemens Reportedly to Pay Record $800 Milllion FCPA Settlement
Posted on December 12, 2008Bloomberg has reported that Siemens AG has agreed to pay $800 million to settle allegations that it violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If finalized, this will be the largest FCPA penalty ever, dwarfing the $44.1 million penalty imposed on Baker Hughes in April 2007...
CBP Announces Changes for Expedited Border-Crossing Program for Truckers
Posted on December 12, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today that current members of the Free and Secure Trade frequent border crosser program (FAST), can now create an account online through the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) on CBP's web site. The FAST program is available to drivers crossing the...
CBP Conducts Surprise Agriculture Inspections on All Passengers Arriving on Two Flights From Japan and Korea
Posted on December 12, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today that agriculture specialists inspected the luggage of all 366 passengers who arrived aboard two flights, a Korean Airlines flight and an All Nippon Airways flight, to Washington Dulles International Airport on Thursday...
Fundamentals of Exporting Webinar to be Presented by U.S. Export Assistance Center of Missouri
Posted on December 10, 2008The U.S. Export Assistance Center of Missouri is presenting a series of six webinars on the fundamentals of exporting in January through March 2009. The topics covered in each program are listed below. Doug Jacobson of Strasburger & Price, LLP (editor of this blog) and Scott Sullivan, who...
Bill Introduced in Congress to Impose Conditions on U.S.-UAE Nuclear Agreement
Posted on December 10, 2008On December 9th, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, introduced the Limitation on Nuclear Cooperation with the United Arab Emirates Act of 2008 (H.R. 7316), a bill that would impose conditions on the proposed agreement between the...
Transparency International Releases 2008 Bribe Payers Index
Posted on December 09, 2008In connection with International Anti-Corruption Day (see previous post), Transparency International (TI) today issued its 2008 Bribe Payers Index (BPI) and Survey. The BPI report, which focuses on the supply-side of bribery, ranked the 22 countries with the largest economies by the tendency of...
International Anti-Corruption Day: Your No Counts
Posted on December 09, 2008December 9th is International Anti-Corruption Day. In order to promote the launch of their 2008-2009 anti-corruption campaign, the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has produced the following 60 second video that promotes the power to say no when confronted with bribery...
Export Controls Articles of Interest
Posted on December 08, 2008Here are some recent articles of interest on various export control issues: Shipping Digest, December 8, 2008 "Exporters must read between the lines to avoid running afoul of export-control regulations"Boston Globe, December 7, 2008: "Oil firm sidesteps sanctions on Iran"Compliance Week, December...
BIS Publishes Notice of Minor Change to November 18, 2008 Final Rule
Posted on December 08, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in Monday's Federal Register a "fix-it" rule correcting the November 18, 2008 final rule that amended the end-use and end-user controls in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and revising the definition of the term "transfer...
CFIUS Publishes Guidance on Types of Transactions Having National Security Considerations
Posted on December 08, 2008The Treasury Department, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and as required by the Foreign Investment and the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 (FINSA), has for the first time issued guidance on the types of mergers, acquisitions and...
Employees of U.S. Affiliate of Chinese Electronics Distribution Company Charged With Violating Export Control Laws
Posted on December 08, 2008The Boston Business Journal reported today that the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts has charged three employees of Chitron Electronics Inc., a Waltham, Massachusetts affiliate of China-based Chitron Electronics Co. Ltd., with conspiracy to violate U.S...
CBP Officers and Agents to be Featured in New Reality TV Show Starting in January
Posted on December 07, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent and officers (CBP) will be featured in a new television series premiering on January 6, 2009 at 8 p.m. EST. The 13 episode series, called ?Homeland Security USA?, takes cameras into situations never before seen on television, with each episode covering...
New Film About Che Guevera Shown at the Havana Film Festival
Posted on December 07, 2008The new film Che, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio Del Toro, was presented yesterday and today at the Havana Film Festival (officially the Festival Internaional del Neuvo Cine Latinoamerican) that is running from December 2-12, 2008...
Census Issues AES Notification Regarding Shipments to International Waters
Posted on December 07, 2008The Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division last week issued a notice (pdf) clarifying the Foreign Trade Regulations' requirement for the filing of Electronic Export Information (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES) for shipments to international waters...
Congressman Accused of Violating FCPA Loses Reelection Bid
Posted on December 07, 2008Representative William J. Jefferson (D-LA), the first U.S. public official be indicted for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act lost his bid for reelection to Congress on Saturday to Republican Anh "Joseph" Cao, a New Orleans attorney. Cao will be the first Vietnamese-American elected to...
Trade Associations Send Cuba Sanctions Letter to President-Elect Obama
Posted on December 04, 2008Twelve leading business groups today sent a letter (PDF) to President-elect Barack Obama, urging his administration to reexamine current U.S. Cuba policy and consider new approaches that would benefit U.S. national security and economic interests and the Cuban people...
December NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers From BIS, DDTC and Japanese Embassy
Posted on December 04, 2008The next meeting of the National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD) will take place on Thursday, December 11, 2008 in Washington, DC and will feature the following speakers: Matthew Borman, Assistant Secretary for Export Administration, Bureau of Industry and Security, U...
DDTC Issues Licensing Guidance on Sirius/XM Merger and RUAG Acquisitions
Posted on November 30, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) recently issued notifications describing how two recent mergers and acquisitions involving companies subject to DDTC jurisdiction will impact license applications and agreements: 1. Sirius/XM Satellite Radio Merger -- Effective immediately, Sirius...
Individual Designated by OFAC as Mugabe "Cronie" to Challenge Designation
Posted on November 30, 2008Last week, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it was adding to the List of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN List) four "Mugabe regime cronies and a number of entities owned or controlled by two of them...
Arizona Company's ITAR Registration Press Release Contains Interesting Statements
Posted on November 30, 2008Below is a one of the more interesting and unusual ITAR registration-related press releases I have seen. Be sure to see the next to last sentence regarding the "dirty secret": HighRely Achieves ITAR Compliance & Registration: one of just several U...
DDTC Issues New Registration Forms
Posted on November 30, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has issued a new and improved Statement of Registration Form (Form DS-2032) for use by manufacturers, exporters and brokers of defense articles, defense services and technical data required to be registered under the ITAR...
OFAC Updates List of Entities Owned or Controlled by the Government of Iran
Posted on November 26, 2008The Treasury Department announced today that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added the National Iranian Oil Company (a.k.a. NIOC), Naftiran Intertrade Company Ltd. (a.k.a. NICO), and Naftiran Intertrade Co. Sarl as entities owned or controlled by the Government of Iran to the...
ETRAC and RPTAC to Meet in December
Posted on November 26, 2008As noted below, two of the Bureau of Industry and Security's Technical Advisory Committees will be meeting in the coming weeks. The meeting agenda and information on how to attend these meetings can be found in the links below: The Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee (ETRAC) will...
CBP Issues Final 10+2 Rule; Provides for 12-Month Phase-In
Posted on November 25, 2008The long-awaited interim final 10+2 rule, officially known as Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements, will be published in tomorrow's Federal Register (PDF). While the interim final rule makes a number of changes to the rule proposed by U...
OFAC Issues November Civil Penalty Report
Posted on November 25, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued its November civil penalty report. The following is a summary of the settlements: Entities: Iridex Corporation has remitted $7,500 to settle allegations of violations of the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations occurring...
Treasury Department Publishes Final CFIUS Regulation Covering Mergers, Acquisitions and Takeovers by Foreign Persons
Posted on November 24, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Investment Secuity published in Friday's Federal Register the long-awaited final regulation implementing the changes to the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reporting and review process relating to mergers, acquisitions...
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Issues Report to Congress
Posted on November 24, 2008Last week the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), the bipartisan Commission, established by Congress to analyze the economic and national security relationship between the U.S. and China, released its Sixth Annual Report to Congress...
NFTC Releases Report on Impact of Lifting U.S. Sanctions on Iran
Posted on November 23, 2008The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) has released the results of an economic study commissioned by USA*Engage entitled "Normalization of Economic Relations: Consequences for Iran?s Economy and the United States." The study, prepared by economists Dean DeRosa and Gary Hufbauer, explores the...
U.K. Law Commission Recommends Scrapping and Re-Writing U.K.'s Anti-Bribery Laws
Posted on November 23, 2008The Law Commission of the United Kingdom, a non-political independent body established in 1965 to review and recommend reform where it is needed, recently issued a report entitled Reforming Bribery, that recommends significant changes to U.K.'s anti-bribery laws...
Another Company in Oil and Gas Sector Pleads Guilty to FCPA Violations
Posted on November 23, 2008Yet another company involved in the oil and gas business has been found guilty of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). On November 21, 2008, the Aibel Group Ltd., a United Kingdom-based provider of products and services to the upstream oil and gas industry that is owned by Norwegian...
ICPA's Sixth Annual Conference to be Held March 8-12, 2009 in Anaheim, California
Posted on November 21, 2008Advance member's only registration is now open for the sixth annual conference of the International Compliance Professionals Association (ICPA). This year's conference will be held March 8-12 in Anaheim, California. Last years conference sold out quickly and ICPA had a waiting list of more than...
NFTC Releases Analysis of 2008 Congressional Election Results and Their Impact on U.S. Trade Policy
Posted on November 21, 2008The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) has release an analysis of what the 2008 congressional election results mean for U.S. trade and engagement policies in the 111th Congress. The NFTC conducted the analysis to explore whether there is any truth to assertions made over the past few weeks that...
ITC Releases Useful Web-Based HTS Reference Tool
Posted on November 21, 2008The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has released a new Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Online Reference Tool that contains an online version of the U.S. HTS. The ITC's online HTS includes a number of very useful features to importers, such as links directly to U...
Don't Dump on Free Trade
Posted on November 20, 2008As we reported, on November 4, 2008 the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the consolidated cases of United States v. Eurodif S.A., et al. (Docket No. 07-1059) and USEC, Inc., v. Eurodif S.A., Docket No. (Docket No. 07-1078), the first antidumping cases granted certiorari by the...
BIS Seeking Comments on the Prospect of Removing ECCN 7A Commodities From De Minimis Eligibility
Posted on November 20, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in today's Federal Register announcing that it is seeking public comment on the prospect of removing from de minimis eligibility commodities controlled for missile technology (MT) reasons under Category 7-Product Group A on the Commerce...
CBP to Hold 2009 C-TPAT Seminar in New Orleans
Posted on November 18, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that it will hold the 2009 C-TPAT Supply Chain Security Seminar from April 1-3, 2009 in New Orleans. The seminar is only open to C-TPAT certified partners. The seminar will be presented in two sessions to accommodate additional registrants...
BIS Publishes Final Rule Amending EAR End-Use and End-User Controls
Posted on November 18, 2008The Bureau of Industry published in today's Federal Register a final rule amending the end-use and end-user controls in Part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and revising the definition of the term "transfer." The changes to the EAR made in today's rule, which is effective...
BIS Posts Q&As on Proposed License Exception ICT
Posted on November 18, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security has published on its website a number of questions and answers on the proposed rule establishing License Exception Intra-Company Transfer (ICT). License Exception ICT would allow an approved ?parent company? and its approved wholly-owned or ?controlled-in-fact?...
CBP Issues Regulation Making Changes to Notification Procedures for Private Aircraft Arriving and Departing the United States
Posted on November 18, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today published a new regulation in the Federal Register making changes to the procedure for private aircraft to provide advance notice of their intended arrival or departure, and submit manifests of the persons on board...
Census Publishes November Issue of AES Newsletter
Posted on November 18, 2008The Census Bureau recently published the November issue of its Automated Export System (AES) Newsletter. The newsletter contains useful information on the following topics: Automated Export System (AES) Downtime PolicyTo Suppress or to Cancel? Common AES Reporting ProblemsClarification on Routed...
FDA Issues Final Rule on Prior Notice of Imported Food Products
Posted on November 17, 2008The Food and Drug Administration has published a final rule in the Federal Register modifying the requirements for the prior notification of imported food that have been in effect since the issuance of an interim final rule in October 2003 that implemented the Public Health Security and...
Canada Attempting to Extradite U.S. Gun Dealer Accused of Smuggling Firearms
Posted on November 17, 2008Canada's National Post newspaper reports that Canada is seeking to extradite to Toronto a Chicago-based gun dealer who was arrested in the U.S. in June and has been charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act for allegedly exporting more than 200 firearms from the United States to...
Bahrain Seeking to Reopen Israel Boycott Office
Posted on November 17, 2008The Jerusalem Post recently reported that Bahrain's parliament is pressing the Government of Bahrain to reopen the country's Israel Boycott Office. The Government of Bahrain agreed to close its boycott office in 2005 as a condition to entering into a free trade agreement with the United States...
Blackwater Worldwide Issues Press Release Addressing Alleged Export Control Violations
Posted on November 17, 2008In an unusual move, private security firm Blackwater Worldwide issued a press release on Friday containing detailed information on its export activities to "clarify misinformation stemming from several inaccurate media reports" regarding Blackwater's exports to Iraq and other export-related...
CBP Publishes Brochure Touting C-TPAT Benefits
Posted on November 17, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection today published a PDF brochure explaining the benefits of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program (C-TPAT). The document provides statistics showing that CBP has significantly increased its overall exam rates over the last several years and states...
Virginia Physicist Pleads Guilty to Illegal Exports to China and Violating FCPA
Posted on November 17, 2008Mr. Shu Quan-Sheng, president of Newport News, Virgina-based AMAC International, today pleaded guilty in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia to two counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and one count of attempting to bribe Chinese government officials, in violation of the Foreign...
Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Antidumping Cases
Posted on November 16, 2008As we reported, the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the first ever antidumping cases granted certiorari. The consolidated cases, United States v. Eurodif S.A., et al. (Docket No. 07-1059) and USEC, Inc., v. Eurodif S.A., Docket No...
WTO Reports 39% Increase in Antidumping Investigations
Posted on November 16, 2008The World Trade Organisation (WTO) recently announced a 39% increase in the number of antidumping investigations initiated by WTO members during the first six months of 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007. During January to June 2008, 16 WTO Members initiated a total of 85 new...
COAC to Meet in Washington, DC on November 20, 2008
Posted on November 16, 2008The Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC) will meet on November 20, 2008 in Washington, DC. The meeting is open to the public. The tentative agenda for the meeting is as follows: 1...
Canadian Defense Industry Wants to Expand U.S.-Canada ITAR Arrangement Covering Canadian Dual-Nationals
Posted on November 16, 2008The Ottawa Business Journal reports that Canada's leading aerospace and defense trade associations will ask the Canadian government to request the U.S. to expand the May 2007 arrangement between the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) and U...
CBP Announces Answers to October 2008 Customs Broker Exam
Posted on November 11, 2008Congratulations to those that passed the October 2008 Customs Broker License Exam. The pass rate was approximately 10%, about half that of the previous exam. The questions and answer key to the exam can be found here. As indicated in the answer key, CBP gave credit for all answers to questions 49...
Southern Border Trade Symposium to be Held in San Antonio, Texas Next Week
Posted on November 11, 2008The American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) and the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) are holding the first-ever Southern Border Trade Symposium in San Antonio, Texas on November 18, 2008. The program will feature speakers on U.S...
Outdoor Equipment Company Pays $685,000 Penalty for Export Control Violations
Posted on November 10, 2008The Commerce Department?s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that Cabela?s Incorporated, an outdoor equipment outfitter based in Sidney, Nebraska, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $680,000 to settle allegations that it committed 152 violations of the Export Administration...
Next NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers from BIS and Energy
Posted on November 10, 2008The next meeting of the National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD) will take place on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 in Washington, DC and will feature the following speakers: Margaret Doane, Director Office of International Programs, U...
BIS Publishes Corrections to Wassenaar Arrrangement Rule
Posted on November 03, 2008The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security published in today's Federal Register two corrections to the final rule published on October 14, 2008 revising the Export Administration Regulations to implement changes made to the Wassenaar Arrangement's List of Dual Use Goods and...
National Foreign Trade Council and USA*Engage Release Congressional Report Card on Trade Issues
Posted on November 03, 2008In case you haven't had enough information to make a decision on election day, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and USA*Engage have issued their 110th Congressional Report Card, grading Members of Congress on key international trade and engagement votes in 2007 and 2008...
U.S. Supreme to Hear First Ever Antidumping Cases
Posted on November 02, 2008On Tuesday, November 4th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the first ever antidumping cases granted certiorari by the Supreme Court. The consolidated cases, United States v. Eurodif S.A., et al. (Docket No. 07-1059) and USEC, Inc., v...
CBP Modifies Tariff Shift Rules to Reflect 2007 HTSUS Changes and Reopens Comment Period on Country of Origin Proposal
Posted on November 02, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a long awaited final rule in the Federal Register last week updating the tariff shift rules of origin for goods imported under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (19 CFR Section 102.20) and for the country of origin of textile and...
CBP's New Trade Strategy Includes Beefed-Up Enforcement
Posted on October 30, 2008At today's Trade Symposium in Washington, DC, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner W. Ralph Basham announced the release of CBP's first Trade Strategy (pdf), a document that details how CBP intends to accomplish its mission of facilitating legitimate trade during the next five...
U.S. Customs Announces Import Safety Pilot Program
Posted on October 29, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in today's Federal Register a new voluntary import safety pilot program. Known as the Importer Self-Assessment-Product Safety Pilot (ISA-PS), the joint program between CBP and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will be open to current...
BIS Requests Comments Licensing of Agricultural Commodities to Cuba
Posted on October 29, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a notice in today's Federal Register requesting public comments on the effectiveness of its licensing procedures for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba. BIS will include a description of these comments in its biennial report to the...
Global Data Mining to Hold Webinar on Customs Classification Management System
Posted on October 29, 2008Customs and trade software specialist Global Data Mining (GDM) is hosting a free webinar on November 6, 2008 to launch their new web-based customs classification and management product. GDM's new web-based system takes customs classification and Harmonized Tariff Schedule information stored at...
Customs Posts Materials From 2008 Trade Symposium Online
Posted on October 29, 2008Welcome to those attending this week's 2008 Trade Symposium being held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Washington, DC. CBP is not providing printouts of the presentations to those attending this year's program. Rather, CBP will post the presentations on on CBP's website...
Justice Department Announces First Year Results of National Export Enforcement Initiative
Posted on October 29, 2008The Justice Department issued a press release yesterday announcing that multi-agency National Export Enforcement Initiative to combat illegal exports of restricted military and dual-use technology from the U.S. has resulted in criminal charges against more than 145 defendants in fiscal year 2008...
GAO Recommends That China Validated End-User Program Should be Suspended
Posted on October 28, 2008The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today publicly released a report (pdf) on U.S. export controls on the sale of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials to China and the state of China's semiconductor manufacturing industry. In its report, the GAO recommends that the Secretary...
OFAC Issues Revised Civil Penalty Policy
Posted on October 28, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued a Revised Interim Policy (pdf) to explain how it will handle civil penalties imposed in enforcement cases in which a Prepenalty Notice was issued after October 16, 2007 (the date of enactment of the International...
Arab League Holds Conference Aimed at Reinvigorating Israel Boycott
Posted on October 28, 2008The Jerusalem Post published a story today by reporter Michael Freund describing a three-day conference that was held in Damascus, Syria last week aimed at reinvigorating the Arab boycott of Israel. The article indicates that the conference was attended by representatives of 14 Arab countries,...
SEC Issues Enforcement Statistics for FY 2008; Confirms FCPA Enforcement Cases on the Rise
Posted on October 23, 2008As I mentioned during today's Compliance Week/Approva webinar on "Addressing FCPA Risks with Automated Controls Monitoring" (which can be viewed here in case you missed it), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday announced the agency's enforcement statistics for fiscal year...
CBP Issues Frequently Asked Questions on AES Filings
Posted on October 21, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a new document containing answers to some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the filing of advance electronic cargo information rules for export shipments via the Automated Export System...
BIS to Hold Public Meeting in Washinton, DC to Discuss Proposed Intra-Company Transfer License Exception
Posted on October 20, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will hold a public meeting on October 27, 2008 in Washington, DC to provide additional information to exporters on the proposed Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) license exception that was recently published in the Federal Register...
Happy 5th Birthday to International Trade Law News
Posted on October 20, 2008Today marks the fifth anniversary of International Trade Law News. I have been overwhelmed by the support, kind words and favorable comments received from clients, colleagues, government officials and other members of the international trade community on how useful they find International Trade...
Free Webcast: Addressing FCPA Risks with Automated Controls Monitoring
Posted on October 19, 2008Join Approva & Strasburger & Price for the following free FCPA-related webcast presented by Compliance Week: Date & Time: Thursday, October 23, 2008 2:00 p.m. EST Webcast Description: Aggressive enforcement by the US Justice Department and SEC has resulted in record numbers of...
President Signs Bill Extending Andean Trade Preferences Act and Generalized System of Preferences
Posted on October 16, 2008The White House today held a signing ceremony for President Bush to sign H.R 7222, legislation recently passed by Congress that will extend the Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA) and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program until December 31, 2009...
Australia Imposes Financial Sanctions on Iranian Entities
Posted on October 16, 2008Australia's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, has imposed financial sanctions against several Iranian banks, entities and persons who have contributed to Iran's proliferation activities. The sanctions were imposed under Australia's Banking (Foreign Exchange) Regulations 1959...
Ensuring Open, Fair Trade is Good Business Globally
Posted on October 16, 2008The Boston Herald has published an op-ed by Ambassador Christopher F. Egan, the U.S. representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) discussing the benefits of the OECD?s Anti-Bribery Convention to U.S. companies. Ensuring open, fair trade is good business...
Census Issues Second Foreign Trade Letter Prohibiting Reuse of Shipment Reference Numbers
Posted on October 14, 2008The Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division has issued its second "ForeignTrade Letter" to provide guidance on issues associated with the new Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR). FTR Letter No. 2 covers "shipment reference numbers", which according to section 30...
BIS Publishes Final Rule Implementing Wassenaar Arrangement Changes to Commerce Control List
Posted on October 14, 2008The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security has published a lengthy final rule in Tuesday's Federal Register to revise the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement changes made to the Wassenaar Arrangement's List of Dual Use Goods and Technologies...
Unofficial Answers to October Customs Broker Examination Published
Posted on October 14, 2008Because we have received so many search requests looking for the answers to the October 6, 2008 Customs Broker Examination, exam takers should be aware that legal publisher Boskage has published a preliminary and unofficial list of possible answers and related regulations where the answers were...
BIS to Require Electronic Submission of License Applications and Other Submissions Starting October 20, 2008
Posted on October 14, 2008The era of filing paper license and commodity classification requests with the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is soon coming to an end. As a result of the final rule issued by BIS in August, starting next Monday, October 20, 2008, the following types of submissions...
President Signs Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008
Posted on October 14, 2008President Bush today signed into law S. 906, the "Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008," which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to: Prohibit Federal agencies from transferring elemental mercury to government or private entities;Prohibit all exports of mercury from the U...
OFAC Publishes Annual Report on Blocked Terrorist Assets
Posted on October 13, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) last week published its Sixteenth Annual "Report to the Congress on Assets in the United States of Terrorist Countries and International Terrorism Program Designees." The report, which covers calendar year 2007, states that more...
Blackwater Announces Advanced Export Compliance Initiative
Posted on October 13, 2008Government contractor Blackwater Worldwide, which has been the subject of government investigations on export controls and other issues, announced (pdf) that the company has undertaken a "comprehensive initiative to enhance export compliance throughout its global operations...
CBP Publishes Guidance and Enforcement Information of Burmese JADE Act
Posted on October 12, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published guidance on the implementation and enforcement of the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 (Public Law 108-61; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note). The Burmese JADE Act prohibits the importation into the U...
U.S. National Soccer Team Defeats Cuba; Two Cuban Players Defect Before Game
Posted on October 12, 2008The U.S. men's national soccer team defeated Cuba 6-1 last night in a World Cup qualifying game held in Washington, DC. The Miami Herald reports that prior to the game, two of Cuba players, Pedro Faife and Reynier Alcantara, disappeared from their hotel and apparently defected...
U.S. Removal of North Korea as State Sponsor of Terrorism Likely to Have Little Effect on Export Control Requirements
Posted on October 12, 2008Secretary of State Rice yesterday signed an order rescinding the designation of North Korea (officially the Democratic People?s Republic of Korea as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, effective immediately. Even though North Korea?s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism is rescinded, certain U...
Florida Electronics Company Settles BIS Enforcement Case Involving Exports to Russia for $170,000
Posted on October 10, 2008The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that America II Electronics, Inc., an electronics wholesaler based in St. Petersburg, Florida, agreed to pay a $170,000 ($42,500 per violation) civil penalty to settle allegations that it exported certain electronic...
Upcoming Export and FCPA Compliance Training Programs
Posted on October 10, 2008Join us for the following export and FCPA compliance training programs. See the links below for further details and registration information: 1. October 22, 2008, San Antonio, Texas - Complying with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) in the Invigorated Enforcement Environment...
President Bush Signs U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act
Posted on October 09, 2008Today President Bush signed H.R. 7081, the U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act that approves the U.S-India Agreement for Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (commonly known as the 123 agreement) and establishes the legal framework for that...
APHIS Publishes Lacey Act Implementation Notice and Will Hold Public Meeting
Posted on October 08, 2008The U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will host a public meeting on October 14, 2008 to discuss the new declaration requirement established by recent revisions to the Lacey Act. The meeting will be held in the Jefferson Auditorium at USDA?s South...
U.S. and Cuba to Play World Cup Qualifying Game in Washington, DC This Saturday
Posted on October 08, 2008The U.S. national soccer team will play Cuba in a World Cup qualifying game at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC this coming Saturday night, October 11th. With a victory, the U.S. (3-0 in qualifying matches) would clinch a spot in next year's final round of regional qualifying for the 2010 World Cup...
CBP Announces Inclusion of Third Party Logistics Providers (3PL) in C-TPAT Starting in 2009
Posted on October 08, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently announced that it will permit Third Party Logistics Providers (3PLs) to enroll in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program starting in January 2009. In order to be eligible for participation in the C-TPAT program, the 3PL must: Be...
BIS Imposes $108,000 Penalty on Houston Freight Forwarder for Violating Antiboycott Regulations
Posted on October 08, 2008The U.S. Department of Commerce?s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has announced that the Houston, Texas operations of Rohde & Liesenfeld, Inc., a German-based freight forwarder that has since been aquired by another freight forwarding company, agreed to pay a $108,000 civil penalty to...
OFAC Issues September 2008 Monthly Civil Penalties Report
Posted on October 07, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently issued its September 2008 (pdf) monthly report of civil penalties imposed on companies and individuals for allegedly violating the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. Companies - OFAC announced the following five...
BIS Modifies Text of ECCN 2B350
Posted on October 07, 2008U.S. manufacturers and exporters of products classified under Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 2B350 should be aware that the final rule issued by BIS on October 6, 2008 making changes to the Commerce Control List contained several changes to ECCN 2B350...
TTB Issues Wine Labeling Publication
Posted on October 07, 2008The Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's (TTB) Advertising, Labeling and Formulation Division recently published a booklet entitled Sample Wine Labels: A Bit Beyond the Basics (pdf). The publication contains examples of approvable domestic and imported wine labels,...
Space Foundation Publishes White Paper on ITAR and the U.S. Space Industry
Posted on October 07, 2008The non-profit Space Foundation recently published a white paper entitled "ITAR and the U.S. Space Industry" that examines the effect of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) on the export of space-related products and technology. The White Paper is based on a survey conducted by...
Exports of Defense Article and Services to Eritrea Now Prohibited
Posted on October 06, 2008The Department of State has published a final rule in today's Federal Register amending section 126.1 of the International Traffic in Arms regulations to add Eritrea to the list of countries not cooperating fully with antiterrorism efforts. As a result, defense articles and services can no longer...
CBP Issues Agenda For 2008 Trade Symposium
Posted on October 06, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued the draft agenda (doc) for the sold-out 2008 Trade Symposium that will be held at the end of this month in Washington, DC. The program will feature the following breakout sessions: TSA Air Cargo Screening Programs - TSA?s 100% Air Cargo Screening and...
New BIS Encryption Regulation Contains Good and Bad News for U.S. Exporters
Posted on October 06, 2008Today's guest post on BIS's recently issued encryption regulation was written by Felice Laird, a consultant on encryption and other export control issues and founder of Export Strategies, LLC. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New BIS...
Costa Rica Granted Extension to Join CAFTA-DR
Posted on October 06, 2008The U.S. Trade Representative has announced that an agreement was signed on October 1, 2008 that will provide Costa Rica with an extension of time until January 1, 2009 to join the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)...
Next NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers from OFAC, JPMorgan and BIS.
Posted on October 05, 2008The next meeting of the National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD) will take place on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 in Washington, DC and will feature the following speakers: Ori Lev, Senior Advisor to the Director, Office of Foreign Assets ControlBrad Brooks-Rubin, Attorney-Advisor...
OFAC Authorizes American Iranian Council to Open Office in Tehran
Posted on October 05, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has granted a specific license authorizing a U.S.-based non-profit organization to open an office in Iran. The Princeton, New Jersey-based American Iranian Council (AIC) recently announced that it has received a license authorizing it to...
Congress Extends GSP and ATPA Programs Until December 31, 2009
Posted on October 05, 2008In addition to passing the bailout bill on the last day of this session of Congress, the House and Senate did U.S. importers a favor by passing H.R 7222, legislation that will extend the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program and the Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA) until December 31,...
Aerospace Industries Association Criticizes Senate's Failure to Approve U.S.-U.K. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty
Posted on October 05, 2008The Financial Times newspaper reports that the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) recently sent a letter to Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joe Biden criticizing the Senate's decision to delay consideration of the bilateral defense trade cooperation treaty between the U...
Summary and Overview of the Five Important Final and Proposed Rules Published by BIS
Posted on October 05, 2008The following are the descriptions of and Federal Register links to the five important final and proposed rules recently published by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security: Final and Interim Final Rules: 1. De Minimis U.S. Content in Foreign Made Items (October 1, 2008) - This...
News From Day 3 of Update 2008
Posted on October 04, 2008As in the past, Update 2008 concluded with an export enforcement plenary session, which started with a keynote speech by Daryl Jackson, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement. The full text of Assistant Secretary Jackson's speech can be found here...
Census Makes Changes to AESDirect Online System
Posted on October 01, 2008In addition to the enforcement of the new mandatory and advanced AES regulation, effective today Census has modified the AESDirect online EEI filing system to have heightened security measures and user authentication practices. These changes include: - Individual User Account Administration -...
DDTC Posts FAQs on Registration Fee Changes
Posted on October 01, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has posted on its website FAQs regarding the recently announced changes and increases to the registration fees. Of particular note, DDTC stated that applications used to calculate the new registration fee include DSP-5s, 73s, 61s, 85s, 119s, 53s and...
News From Day 2 of Update 2008
Posted on October 01, 2008Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Christopher R. Wall announced at Update 2008 today that the long awaited de minimis rule, the first of five soon to be published regulations, will be published in tomorrow's Federal Register. The de minimis rule, which will be published as...
Enforcement of Mandatory and Advanced AES Filing Regulation Starts October 1, 2008
Posted on September 30, 2008All U.S. exporters, freight forwarders and foreign principal parties in interest are reminded that the new Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) (15 CFR Part 30) published on June 2, 2008 are now in effect. Starting tomorrow, October 1, 2008, exporters who submit paper Shippers Export Declarations will...
News from Day 1 of Update 2008
Posted on September 30, 2008Bureau of Industry and Security staff announced today at the Update 2008 mini sessions that several long-awaited regulations will soon be published in the Federal Register, including revised encryption controls and updated de minimis content rules. For the first time, many of the Update sessions...
House Passes Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act
Posted on September 28, 2008In an unusual move, the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday evening passed by a voice vote H.R. 7112, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act. H.R. 7112 was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) at the last minute and was not...
Vanderbilt Professors Collaborate Carefully
Posted on September 28, 2008The online version of Vanderbilt University's student newspaper reports how the recent conviction of University of Tennessee professor J. Reece Roth of violating U.S. export control laws" has spurred fellow academics, including those at Vanderbilt, to more closely examine their collaborations with...
Hartford Business Journal: Industry Applauds New Dual-Use Rule
Posted on September 28, 2008The latest edition of the Hartford Business Journal contains an article entitled "Industry Applauds New Dual-Use Rule", which discusses how Connecticut's many aerospace companies will benefit from the State Department's recently issued final rule clarifying the jurisdiction of parts and components ...
Shu Arrest Part of Ramped-Up Effort to Curb Arms Sales
Posted on September 28, 2008The Norfolk, Virgina-based The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reports on last week's arrest of Mr. Shu Quan-Sheng, the President of AMAC International, for violating the Arms Export Control Act and FCPA. The article notes that: The recent arrest of a Newport News scientist on charges of selling space...
House Approves U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
Posted on September 28, 2008By a vote of 298-117, the House of Representatives on Friday passed H.R. 7081, the U.S. -India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act. The Senate must now pass a similar resolution in order for the U.S.-India Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation (pdf) (commonly...
DDTC Increases Annual Registration Fees on Manufacturers and Exporters
Posted on September 28, 2008The State Department's Directorate of Defense Controls published in the Federal Register last week a final rule amending the ITAR to increase registration fees and change the registration renewal period for manufacturers and exporters of defense articles and services...
Welcome to BIS Update 2008
Posted on September 26, 2008International Trade Law News and the law firm of Strasburger & Price, LLP look forward to seeing our readers at next week's BIS Update 2008 conference in Washington, DC. While we will not be blogging from Update this year, please contact us if you would like to meet during your visit to...
BIS Posts Iran Web Guidance for Exporters
Posted on September 26, 2008In an effort to educate U.S. exporters on how to prevent the diversion of U.S. goods to Iran, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has created a new web page entitled "Guidance on Actions Exporters Can Take to Prevent Illicit Diversion of Items to Support Iran?s Nuclear Weapons or Ballistic...
Transparency International Releases 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index
Posted on September 25, 2008Transparency International has released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2008 that measures the perceived levels of public-sector corruption in countries. The 2008 CPI scores 180 countries (the same number as the 2007 CPI) on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to ten (highly...
Virginia Physicist Charged With Violating Arms Export Control Act and FCPA
Posted on September 24, 2008In what appears to be the latest trend, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced the arrest of an individual that was charged with violating export controls laws and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Mr. Shu Quan-Sheng, a PhD physicist the President of AMAC...
BIS Announces Members of Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee
Posted on September 23, 2008The Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee (ETRAC), which was established to advise BIS on technical questions that affect export controls on dual-use research and development and deemed exports, held its first meeting today at the Commerce Department in Washington, DC ...
Final Rule Adding Parties to the Entity List and Removing General Order No. 3 Published in Monday's Federal Register
Posted on September 22, 2008The BIS final rule adding parties to the Entity List and removing General Order No. 3 that we discussed last week was published in Monday's Federal Register (September 22, 2008) and can be found here. This is a summary of the article. Click on the above link or visit www...
USTR Announces Review to Consider Whether Kosovo is Eligible for GSP
Posted on September 21, 2008The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has published a notice in Monday's Federal Register announcing the initiation of a review to consider designating the Republic of Kosovo as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program...
Senate Delays Consideration of U.S. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties with the U.K. and Australia
Posted on September 21, 2008The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has indicated that it will wait until the next session of Congress before considering the Defense Trade Cooperation treaties with the U.K. and Australia that were signed in 2007. The Aerospace Industries Association reacted to this news by issuing...
USTR Conducting Annual Review of Country Eligibility for Benefits Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act
Posted on September 21, 2008The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that it is requesting written public comments for the annual review of the eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)...
DDTC Clarifies Scope of USML Category XIV
Posted on September 19, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has published a final rule in today's Federal Register clarifying that certain drugs containing nitrogen mustards that are used in chemotherapy are not within the definition of "chemical agents'' in USML Category XIV of the U...
Roth Conviction Increases Export Control Awareness on Campus
Posted on September 19, 2008The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that "University of Tennessee faculty members are taking more care to be sure they're in compliance with research laws and regulations following this month's conviction of UT professor emeritus J. Reece Roth." The article notes that the University of Tennessee's...
BIS and AEI to Hold Conference on Innovation and Counterproliferation
Posted on September 18, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) are presenting a half-day conference on technology and export control issues on September 24, 2008 in Washington, DC. The conference, entitled "Beyond the Zero-Sum Game: Technology Transfer and International Security in...
BIS Adds 75 Names to Entity List and Removes General Order No. 3
Posted on September 18, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has now released the names of the 75 parties added to the Entity List as part of yesterday's coordinated effort with the Departments of Justice and Treasury to rein in the global procurement network that attempted to acquire U...
FCPA-Related Prosecution of Individuals Likely to Increase
Posted on September 17, 2008The latest issue of the well-respected Corporate Crime Reporter contains a summary of Justice Department attorney Mark F. Mendelsohn's comments made recently at a Foreign Corrupt Practices Program (FCPA) in Washington, DC. Mendelsohn serves as Deputy Chief of the...
The Impact of Corruption on Global Business
Posted on September 17, 2008National Foreign Trade Counsel President Bill Reinsch made a speech today on "The Impact of Corruption on Global Business" at a FCPA program held in Washington, DC. This speech is worth reading, since Mr. Reinsch made several interesting and important points regarding the dramatic increase in FCPA...
OFAC Designates Six Iranian Military Firms
Posted on September 17, 2008In an action timed to coincide with the criminal investigation and indictment of Iranian procurement front companies announced today by the Bureau of Industry and Security and Justice Department (see previous post), the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today...
BIS and Justice Department Announce Break Up of Iran-Related Procurement Network
Posted on September 17, 2008The Commerce Department?s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Justice Department announced today that 16 foreign-based individuals and corporations were indicted and 75 parties were added to the Entity List because of their involvement in a global procurement network that sought to...
Minutes from August COAC Meeting Posted on CBP's Website
Posted on September 17, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted on its website the minutes (doc) from the August 7, 2008 meeting of the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions, commonly known as the COAC...
Registration for SIA Advanced Conference Opens September 25th
Posted on September 16, 2008The Society of International Affairs (SIA) will hold their "Fall Advanced" export compliance and licensing conference on November 12-14, 2008 in Washington, DC. Registration for the conference opens on September 25th at 12:00 noon EDT. For more information and the registration link see the...
Counsel for Convicted Professor Files Motions for Judgment for Acquittal
Posted on September 15, 2008The attorneys for former University of Tennessee Professor J. Reece Roth, who was recently convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and wire fraud, have filed motions for a judgment of acquittal and a new trial under Rules 29 and 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure...
Kewill/Strasburger September 17th Houston Program to be Rescheduled
Posted on September 15, 2008Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Ike, the Kewill/Strasburger Export Controls and Enforcement program scheduled to be held on September 17th in Houston will be postponed. The new program date will be announced soon. Our thoughts are with our friends in the Houston and Galveston areas...
U.S.-India Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Submitted to Congress
Posted on September 14, 2008President Bush has submitted the text of the U.S.-India Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation (also known as the 123 Agreement) to Congress for approval. Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs must be consulted...
USTR Announces Products and Schedule for 2008 GSP Annual Review
Posted on September 14, 2008The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has published a notice announcing the petitions that have been accepted for consideration in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) 2008 Annual Review and the schedule for review. The USTR has indicated that it will review requests...
OFAC Unveils New Web-Based Cuba Travel Licensing System
Posted on September 14, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC) has unveiled a new web-based system for the submission of applications to engage in permissible and licensable Cuba travel-related transactions, such as those involving religious activities, educational activities, professional...
CBP Issues List of Ports Closed Due to Hurricane Ike
Posted on September 14, 2008As a result of Hurricane Ike, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that the following ports are currently closed and will only re-open on Tuesday September 16th at the very earliest: Houston Field OfficeArea Port of Houston/Galveston SeaportService Port of HoustonPort of Port Arthur,...
DDTC Issues FAQs on Company Visit Program: More than 60 Companies Visited to Date
Posted on September 14, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has posted on its website a document containing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Company Visit Program administered by DDTC's Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance. For convenience, the FAQs are reprinted below: What is the...
U.S. and Other Nations Step Up Bribery Battle
Posted on September 12, 2008Today's Wall Street Journal reports on the increasing number of antibribery cases brought under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). While the article confirms what those of us who deal with the FCPA on a regular basis already know, the story contains a good overview of recent FCPA...
DDTC Issues Revised Licensing Check Lists and FAQS
Posted on September 11, 2008Today the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) posted on its website the following new information: Updated License Review Check lists for the following types of applications: DSP-5, DSP-73 and DSP-61 (doc);Sample Checklist For Completing a DSP-5 for the employment of foreign persons...
Census Exempts Shipments to and From Puerto Rico From Advance AES Filing Requirements
Posted on September 11, 2008The Census Bureau recently issued an important clarification relating to the filing of Electronic Export Information (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES) for shipments between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. FTR Letter No. 1, a copy of which can be found here (pdf), states that because Puerto...
ITC Makes Final Affirmative Injury Determination on Wire Garment Hangers From China
Posted on September 11, 2008The price of wire hangers from China is going to be remain high. By a vote of 6-0, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) today made a final affirmative injury determination in the antidumping case on steel wire garment hangers from China. As a result of the ITC's affirmative determination,...
OFAC Adds Iranian Shipping Line and Vessels to SDN List
Posted on September 10, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today added Iran's national ocean carrier, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and 18 other affiliated entities, to the Specially Designated National List (SDN List) for providing logistical support to Iran's ...
Antidumping Review Leads to Increased Profits for U.S. Importer/Manufacturer
Posted on September 10, 2008Here's an example of how antidumping duties on imported raw materials can impact a U.S. importer's bottom line: In a press release issued today by Arch Chemicals, Inc., a Connecticut-based chemicals company, the company announced that the reduction in antidumping duties in the second ...
White House Threatens to Veto Defense Authorization Act Over Iran Sanctions Provisions
Posted on September 09, 2008The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) today indicated that the Bush Administration opposes the current version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (S. 3001) that is being considered in the Senate for a variety of reasons, including the inclusion of sanctions-related...
Next DTAG Meeting to be Held on October 21, 2008
Posted on September 09, 2008The next meeting of the State Department's Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) will be held on October 21, 2008 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Washington, DC. Details on how to attend this meeting can be found here. Among the topics that will be covered during the meeting are: Self-Financing Options...
Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee to Hold First Meeting on September 23, 2008
Posted on September 09, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security today announced that the inaugural meeting of the Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee (ETRAC) will be held in Washington, DC on September 23, 2008. The ETRAC was established earlier this year to advise BIS on technical questions that affect...
BIS Releases FY 2009 Seminar Schedule
Posted on September 09, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security's seminar schedule for fiscal year 2009 is now available on the BIS website at www.bis.doc.gov/seminarsandtraining/elsem.htm. This is a summary of the article. Click on the above link or visit www.tradelawnews.com to read the entire article...
OFAC Issues New Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines
Posted on September 08, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published in today's Federal Register new "Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines" that take effect immediately and will be used in nearly all enforcement matters currently pending before OFAC or that will come before OFAC in the...
CBP Extends Deadline to Submit Comments on Proposed Changes to Rule of Origin on Imported Goods
Posted on September 08, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a notice in Monday's Federal Register extending the deadline from September 23, 2008 to October 23, 2008 for interested parties to submit comments on the proposed rule that would significantly change the way that country of origin determinations...
Philadelphia Area Export Company and Employees Indicted for FCPA Violations Relating to Vietnam
Posted on September 07, 2008Last Thursday, a Federal grand jury in Philadelphia indicted Nexus Technologies Inc. and four employees of the company on one count of conspiracy to bribe Vietnamese public officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and four substantive counts of violating the FCPA by paying...
Venezuela Dropped From Kimberly Process Diamond Certification Scheme
Posted on September 07, 2008Monday's Federal Register contains a notice published by the State Department indicating that Venezuela has been dropped from the the list of participants in the international Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. The Kimberly Process imposes requirements on its members to enable them to certify...
Nuclear Suppliers Group Approves India Exemption
Posted on September 07, 2008Yesterday, at a meeting in Vienna, Austria the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) approved the U.S.-backed exemption allowing NSG members to export civilian nuclear technology to India. The waiver is controversial since India has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons...
Canada Imposes Economic Sanctions and Arms Embargo on Zimbabwe
Posted on September 07, 2008The Canadian Government last week imposed targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe. These sanctions, which are being implemented through the Special Economic Measures (Zimbabwe) Regulations, include the following restrictions: Ban on the export of arms and related material to Zimbabwe or to any person in...
Federal Judge Overturns Florida's Travel Act
Posted on September 07, 2008A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently struck down Florida?s "Act to Travel to Terrorist States" (the "Travel Act") -- the state legislature?s effort to prohibit academic -related travel to countries labeled as terrorist states by the U...
U.S. Defeats Cuba in Soccer Match Played in Havana By Score of 1-0
Posted on September 07, 2008The U.S. national soccer team defeated Cuba last night in Havana by a score of 1 - 0. As we have reported, this was the first time the U.S. has played a soccer game in Havana since 1947. The Washington Post has a good story on the game here. The article notes that there was a small contingent of...
International Trade Law News Now on Twitter
Posted on September 07, 2008You can now follow International Trade Law News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tradelawnews (@tradelawnews). We will use Twitter to publish our normal posts as well as other news and information that may not merit its own post. Like many people, I was skeptical when I first heard about and saw...
Registration Closed for CBP Symposium
Posted on September 05, 2008In less than 24 hours more than 600 people registered for U.S. Customs and Border Protection's annual Trade Symposium and registration is now closed. Even though registration is full, interested persons can still complete the online registration form to be placed on a waiting list...
U.S. National Soccer Team in Cuba for World Cup Qualifier
Posted on September 04, 2008Cuba is a popular destination these days for U.S. sports team. The U.S. national soccer team arrived in Havana today to take on Cuba in a 2010 World Cup qualifying game on Saturday night in Havana. Saturday's game in Havana's Estadio Pedro Marrero marks the first time in 61 years that a U...
Inaugural U.S.-Israel High Technology Forum to be Held on September 9, 2008
Posted on September 03, 2008It is not too late to register for the inaugural U.S.-Israel High Technology Forum (HTF) that will be held in Arlington, Virginia on September 9, 2008. The HTF, which is being co-sponsored by Bureau of Industry and Security and National Defense Industrial Association, will feature a number of...
University of Tennessee Professor Found Guilty
Posted on September 03, 2008Breaking News: University of Professor Emeritus J. Reece Roth today was found guilty this morning of one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and numerous other counts of willfully violating the Arms Export Control Act. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that the jurors in...
U.S. May File WTO Complaint Over China's Export Restrictions on Raw Materials Used to Produce Steel
Posted on September 03, 2008The Financial Times reported today that the United States Trade Representative is close to filing a complaint against China in the World Trade Organization challenging China's export restrictions on raw materials used in steel-making and other industries...
Registration Opens for CBP's Trade Symposium
Posted on September 02, 2008Registration opened today for U.S. Customs and Border Protection's annual Trade Symposium that will be held in Washington, DC from October 29 - October 31, 2008 at the JW Marriott hotel. The direct link to the registration site is: https://apps.cbp.gov/tradesymposium/?w=4...
This Friday is Deadline for October 2008 Customs Broker License Exam
Posted on September 02, 2008As a reminder, this Friday, September 5th, is the deadline for applicants to submit their written application and exam fees to take the customs broker license examination being held on October 6, 2008. See this page on Customs and Border Protection's website for more information...
Kosovo Added to U.S. Export Administration Regulations
Posted on September 02, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security published a final rule in today's Federal Register amending the Export Administration regulations (EAR) to add Kosovo for export licensing purposes. The U.S. recognized Kosovo as a sovereign state on February 18, 2008...
BIS Conducting Foreign Availability Assessment of Uncooled Thermal Imaging Cameras
Posted on September 02, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced in today's Federal Register that it is initiating a foreign availability assessment of uncooled thermal imaging cameras incorporating microbolometer focal plane arrays in China. These specialized cameras are controlled for national security...
Next NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers from BIS, CBP and DDTC
Posted on September 02, 2008The next meeting of the National Council on International Trade Development (NCITD) will take place on September 11, 2008 in Washington, DC and will feature the following speakers: Ms. Hillary Hess, Director, Regulatory Policy Division, Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of CommerceMr...
Jury Deliberations Begin in Roth Trial
Posted on September 02, 2008The sixth and final day of the United States v. Roth arms export controls trial took place today in Knoxville, Tennessee. Following closing arguments, the case was sent by Judge Thomas Varlan to the jury. According to reports, the jury deliberated for more than three hours without reaching a...
Day 5 of Roth Trial Concludes With Testimony by Defendant
Posted on September 01, 2008Day five of the trial of University of Professor Emeritus J. Reece Roth concluded on Friday after Professor Roth took the stand to defend himself of violating the Arms Export Control Act by knowingly providing controlled technical data to a Chinese national in the U...
OFAC Issues August Civil Penalties Report
Posted on September 01, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued its monthly report of civil penalties imposed on companies and individuals for allegedly violating the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. After issuing 19 penalties for nearly $2 million in July, OFAC issued only 10...
NBA's Memphis Grizzlies sign Iranian center Hamed Haddadi
Posted on September 01, 2008The NBA's Memphis Grizzlies recently announced that they signed a contract with 7' 2" Iranian center Hamed Haddadi (also spelled Ehadadi). Haddadi led all 2008 Olympic basketball players in rebounding and blocked shots while playing for Iran's national team...
Exports to Iran Shifting From Big to Small Companies
Posted on September 01, 2008Iran's Fars News Agency has reported that small and medium-sized companies in Europe and Asia are entering Iran's market to replace big companies that have scaled down their operations in Iran to avoid various trade sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other countries...
Prosecution Rests Case on Day Four of Roth Trial
Posted on August 29, 2008The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that the prosecution wrapped up the fourth day of the Roth trial yesterday by calling FBI Agent Kevin E. Gounaud to the stand. University of Professor Emeritus J. Reece Roth is accused of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and violating the...
Chinese Graduate Student Takes the Stand in Roth Trial
Posted on August 28, 2008The Knoxville News Sentinel continues their coverage of the trial of University of Tennessee Professor J. Reece Roth who is accused of violating the Arms Export Control Act by providing technical data to a Chinese national in the United States. Yesterday's main witness for the prosecution was Mr...
Justice Department Issues New Corporate Charging Guidelines
Posted on August 28, 2008In a significant development, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that it has revoked the December 2006 McNulty Memorandum and issued new corporate charging guidelines applicable to the criminal prosecution of business organizations. These new charging guidelines will have a...
Knoxville News Sentinel Covering Arms Export Control Act Trial of Professor Roth
Posted on August 27, 2008The Knoxville News Sentinel is providing good coverage of the trial of University of Tennessee Professor Emeritus J. Reece Roth who is accused of violating Arms Export Control Act by providing a Chinese graduate student with technical data subject to the ITAR...
BIS Imposes $90,000 Civil Penalty on Taiwan Trading Company for Involvement in Unlicensed Exports of U.S. Computer Chips to China
Posted on August 27, 2008The U.S. Department of Commerce?s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a $90,000 civil penalty ($10,000 per violation) on Taiwan's Johnson Trading & Engineering Company, Ltd. for knowingly causing the unlicensed exports of computer chips to China...
Commerce Department Establishes Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee
Posted on August 27, 2008The Secretary of Commerce announced in today's Federal Register the establishment of the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) and a call for nominations to serve on the CINTAC. The CINTAC's is intended to advise the Secretary of Commerce on the development and administration of programs...
U.S. Export Assistance Center in San Antonio, Texas Hosting ITAR Seminar on October 22, 2008
Posted on August 27, 2008On October 22, 2008, the San Antonio, Texas U.S. Export Assistance Center will host a full day trade compliance seminar entitled "Complying with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) in the Invigorated Enforcement Environment." The program, which is being jointly sponsored and...
CBP Publishes Information on 2008 Annual Trade Symposium
Posted on August 26, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today issued a notice in today's Federal Register formally announcing that CBP's annual trade symposium will be held in Washington, DC from October 29 - October 31, 2008 at the JW Marriott hotel. The theme of this year's them is "Global Trade: Continuity...
North Korea Expresses Anger Over Not Being Removed From U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism List
Posted on August 26, 2008From today's Washington Post: Angry that the United States has not removed it from a list of states that sponsor terrorism, North Korea said Tuesday that it has stopped disabling its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon and will consider rebuilding it. The announcement comes two months after the...
FDA Increases Medical Device Registration Fees
Posted on August 22, 2008The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced in the Federal Register new registration fee amounts and payment procedures for medical devices for fiscal year (FY) 2009. These changes, which were authorized by the Medical Device User Fee Amendments of 2007, will impact medical devices...
Registration Now Open for SIA Golf Outing
Posted on August 21, 2008Online registration is now open for the Society of International Affairs golf outing that will be held on September 24, 2008 at the Old Hickory Golf Club in Woodbridge, Virginia. Fortunately, no ITAR training will be offered at this event. Editor's note: Speaking from experience, Old Hickory is...
BIS Publishes Final Rule Requiring Licenses, Classifications and Other Submissions to be Filed Via SNAP-R
Posted on August 21, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in today's Federal Register a final rule amending Part 748 of the Export Administration Regulations to require that following types of submissions must be submitted to BIS via its Simplified Network Application Process Redesign (SNAP-R) web-based...
BIS Publishes Final Rule Expanding Scope of Parties on Entity List
Posted on August 21, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule in today's Federal Register amending the Export Administration Regulations to modify the designation of parties included on the Entity List. The Entity List, contained at Supplement Number 4 to Part 744 of the EAR, provides notice to...
Tennessee Company Pleads Guilty to Violating Arms Export Control Act
Posted on August 21, 2008Atmospheric Glow Technologies Inc. (AGT), a privately-held atmospheric plasma technology company located in Knoxville, Tennesee, pleaded guilty yesterday to ten counts of unlawfully exporting in 2005 and 2006 ten different "defense articles" to a citizen of the People's Republic of China in...
OFAC Reportedly Issues License Authorizing NBA Teams to Negotiate With Iranian Basketball Players
Posted on August 20, 2008As a follow-up to our previous post on the OFAC issues associated with Iranian basketball player Hamed Ehadadi, Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports has reported that OFAC has granted the NBA a license to negotiate with NBA teams. Wojnarowski reported this evening that: The...
Kewill and Strasburger to Hold Export Compliance Program in Houston on September 17th
Posted on August 18, 2008Export compliance professionals in Houston, Texas are invited to attend an Export Compliance breakfast seminar on September 17, 2008 that is sponsored and presented by Kewill Trade & Logistics and Strasburger & Price, LLP. The program will be held from 9 a...
NBA Applies to OFAC for License Relating to Iranian Basketball Player
Posted on August 18, 2008Given the number of sports-related licenses being requested lately, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) may have to set up a special sports licensing office. Yahoo! Sports reports that "as interest has grown in the NBA over signing 7-foot-2 Iranian Olympian Hamed...
Twin State Peregrines Finishes Cuba Trip With 4-2 Record
Posted on August 18, 2008The Rutland Herald reports that the Twin State Peregrines baseball team won their final game in Cuba yesterday and compiled a record of four wins and two losses during their trip. The team is scheduled to return to the U.S. today, although Tropical Storm Fay may delay their return...
Iran Actively Pursuing German Investment
Posted on August 18, 2008The Financial Times Deutschland has reported that Iran is actively seeking investment from German companies and that it will provide the companies with financial guarantees on their investments in Iran. The article notes that Germany is Iran's most important trading partners, exporting machinery,...
Another Article Published on UAE Trade With Iran
Posted on August 17, 2008Yet another article has been published on the UAE's ties to Iran and U.S. efforts to prevent the diversion of U.S. products to Iran. Some excerpts from today's Associated Press article entitled UAE Cities at Odds Over Lifestyle, Ties to Iran":But now Dubai's massive trade with Iran and liberal...
Australia Releases Export Control Enforcement Information
Posted on August 17, 2008Australia's Canberra Times reports that Australia's Minister for Defense has disclosed for the first time information on violations of Australia's export control laws. The article reports that there "have been 41 known breaches of Australia's defence export regulations", "22 violations 2006-07, 17...
Crimson Tide Baseball Team to Travel to Cuba
Posted on August 15, 2008Yet another U.S. baseball team will travel to Cuba to play a series of exhibition games. The University of Alabama recently announced that its baseball team has received a specific license from OFAC to play an exhibition series in Havana, Cuba, in mid-December 2008...
BIS Imposes Civil Penalties on Danish Company and Its Affiliates
Posted on August 14, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced today that Reson A/S of Slangerup, Denmark, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $119,250 to settle allegations that it committed 29 violations of the Export Administration Regulations ($4,112 per violation)...
DDTC Publishes Long-Awaited Final Rule on Jurisdiction of Aircraft Parts and Components
Posted on August 14, 2008The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) today published in the Federal Register the long-awaited final rule amending Category VIII of the U.S. Munitions List (USML) to clarify how the criteria of section 17(c) of the Export Administration Act should be applied in...
The Axis of Commerce: Dubai - Iran Trade
Posted on August 13, 2008The September issue of Conde Nast's Portfolio magazine contains an extensive article on the diversion of U.S. goods from Dubai to Iran. The article "Axis of Commerce", written by Christopher S. Stewart, discusses the wide availability of grey market U...
NFTC Publishes Global Supply Chain Study
Posted on August 13, 2008The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) recently released a new study entitled "Connecting the Dots: The Global Economy and Supply Chain Management" that analyzes the trade and investment environments of 117 countries based on data from OECD and the World Bank, among others...
Manufacturers Say "Adios China, Hola Mexico!" As Cost of Doing Business in China Rises
Posted on August 13, 2008Another good post in the Mexico Law Blog. This time on companies considering moving their operations from China to the U.S. and Latin America: William Armbruster and Bill Mongelluzzo recently wrote an interesting article in the Shipping Digest discussing how many businesses that have outsourced...
BIS Imposes Civil Penalty on Illinois Company for Deemed Export Violations
Posted on August 13, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has announced that Ingersoll Machine Tools of Rockford, Illinois has agreed to pay a $126,000 civil penalty ($15,750 per violation) to settle allegations that it committed eight unlicensed deemed exports to Italian and Indian foreign nationals in violation...
Mexico Law Blog Unveiled
Posted on August 10, 2008There is a new blog for those interested in Mexico -related trade and business issues. The Mexico Law Blog is published by my colleague John Dorsey in Strasburger & Price's Austin, Texas office. John is a corporate attorney whose practice focuses on cross-border transactions involving Mexico...
New U.S. Container Seal Requirements Go Into Effect on October 15th
Posted on August 07, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a notice in today's Federal Register reminding shippers and importers that all loaded containers arriving by vessel at a port of entry in the U.S. on or after October 15, 2008, are required by statute (6 U.S.C...
Allies say Germany is "Wobbly" on Pressuring Iran
Posted on August 06, 2008There has been a great deal of criticism of Germany's Federal Office of Economics and Export Control [known as BAFA] recent decision to approve the sale and export equipment to be used in three new gas liquefaction facilities in Southern Iran, even though such sale is not prohibited by German law...
DDTC Imposes $4 Million Penalty on Lockheed Martin for Unauthorized Exports of Technical Data
Posted on August 06, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls today posted documents on its website indicating that it has imposed a $4 million civil penalty on Lockheed Martin Company as a result of eight violations violations of the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations...
U.S. Subsidiary of Japanese Telecommunications Company Fined $500,000 For Conspiring to Reexport Items Produced From U.S. Technology to Iran
Posted on August 06, 2008Allied Telesis Labs, Inc., the Raleigh, North Carolina based U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Allied Telesis K.K., was recently sentenced by a judge in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and placed on probation for two years after pleading...
House Passes One-Year Extension of GSP Program
Posted on August 05, 2008As we have reported, the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program is set to expire on December 31, 2008. Language that would extend GSP for an additional year, or until December 31, 2009, was included in H.R. 6560, a bill that passed the House last week to establish an earned import...
Dateline NBC's Program on CBP Now Available Online
Posted on August 05, 2008For those interested in seeing last Sunday's Dateline NBC report on CBP, portions of the program can be found at the following site: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8004316/. Then scroll down to "Dateline". There are seven separate videos from the program. This is a summary of the article...
Canadian Government Blames ITAR for Delays in Acquiring New Military Equipment
Posted on August 05, 2008Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper contains a front page story today on the adverse impact of the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) on Canada's acquisition of new military equipment. Below are some excerpts of the story. The complete story can be found here: Ottawa is facing an...
CBP Responds to Laptop Computer Search Controversy
Posted on August 05, 2008Jayson Ahern, Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has responded to the recent controversy surrounding the search of laptop computers and other electronic devices of travelers arriving in the U.S. in a post on the Department of Homeland Security's Leadership Journal...
Reuters: Shipping Headaches Plague Small Companies
Posted on August 04, 2008From today's Reuters Entrepreneur: It used to be that defense contractors were the primary focus of scrutiny. But under pressure to increase national security, U.S. regulators are casting their net over exported goods from cell phones to toys, looking for those who are shipping without a license...
Japanese Machine Tool Company Suspected of Export Control Violations
Posted on August 03, 2008The BBC reports that police in Fukuyama, Japan have conducted a raid on the facilities of Horkos Corporation, manufacturer of machine tools, machining units and related peripheral equipment. According to the report, Horkos is suspected of allegedly exporting machine tools to South Korea that could...
Dateline NBC Presents Inside Look at U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Posted on August 03, 2008Tonight's Dateline NBC episode was entitled "First Line of Defense" and was billed as "A look inside of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection bureau, as they take care of America's defense against terrorism, drug smugglers and illegal immigration." Unfortunately, CBP and the Department of...
Cuba Baseball Trip Criticized and Applauded on Capitol Hill
Posted on July 31, 2008As we reported a couple of weeks ago, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a specific license authorizing the Twin State Peregrines, a youth baseball team comprised of 11 and 12 year-olds from New Hampshire and Vermont, to travel to Cuba and play a series of...
OFAC Imposes Nearly $2 Million in Civil Penalties During July
Posted on July 31, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued its monthly report of civil penalties imposed on companies and individuals for allegedly violating the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. OFAC's monthly penalty report indicates that the agency settled nine cases...
USTR Seeking Information on China's Compliance With its WTO Commitments
Posted on July 31, 2008The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced today that it seeking public comments and will hold a hearing in Washington, DC in October for purposes of obtaining information to be used in the preparation of its statutorily-mandated annual report on China?s compliance with its World Trade...
USTR Requests Comments for Inclusion in National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
Posted on July 31, 2008The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published in today's Federal Register its annual announcement requesting interested parties to submit comments on significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services. The information submitted will be used by USTR to compile the National Trade Estimate...
Under Secretary Mancuso Sets Forth BIS Agenda For Final Six Months of Bush Administration
Posted on July 30, 2008This morning, Under Secretary of Commerce Mario Mancuso delivered an address to the Washington International Trade Association entitled "Sprinting to the Finish: The BIS Agenda for the Final Six Months", which focused on the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) agenda for the final six months of...
President Signs Burma Legislation and OFAC Designates Companies Involved in Burmese Gem Trade
Posted on July 29, 2008Today President Bush signed two pieces of legislation aimed at Burma that were recently passed by Congress. First, the President signed H.J.Res. 93, which renewed import restrictions on Burma that were contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003...
Extraterritorial Laws and Defense Trade Controls Top List of U.K.-U.S. Issues
Posted on July 29, 2008In a story about U.S.-U.K. relations, the current edition of The Economist contains a list of "imbalances" in the areas of trade, justice and defense. Not surprisingly, issues relating to the extraterritorial application of U.S. economic sanctions and U...
Germany Approves Export of Natural Gas Equipment to Iran
Posted on July 29, 2008International Herald Tribune: Germany's federal export control office has cleared the way for an engineering company to build three plants for Iran to liquefy natural gas, a government spokesman said Tuesday. The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control [known as BAFA] concluded after a...
Indonesian Citizen Sentenced to Four Years in U.S. Prison for Conspiring to Violate the Arms Export Control Act
Posted on July 28, 2008The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin announced today that Mr. Doli Sharief Pulungan, a citizen of Indonesia, was sentenced today to four years in federal prison for conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act by exporting ITAR-controlled rifle scopes to Indonesia...
California Man Indicated in Iran Exports Case Denied Bail
Posted on July 27, 2008From Saturday's Marin Independent Journal: var requestedWidth = 0; if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; ...
State Department Issues Proposed Rule to Significantly Increase DDTC Registration Fees
Posted on July 27, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls published in Monday's Federal Register the anticipated and controversial proposed rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to significantly increase registration fees. This proposal is intended to implement part of President...
President Issues Executive Order Expanding Zimbabwe Sanctions and OFAC Adds Additional Zimbabwe Entities to SDN List
Posted on July 25, 2008President Bush today issued an Executive Order (EO) expanding the scope of U.S. sanctions on Zimbabwe. The EO states that the recent actions and policies of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe's democratic processes or institutions "warrant an expansion of the...
CBP Proposes to Change Rules of Origin for Determining Country of Origin of Imported Goods
Posted on July 25, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has proposed yet another significant change to long-standing U.S. customs law and policy. In today's Federal Register, CBP published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would amend CBP's regulations to replace the "substantial transformation" test for...
BIS Update Dates Announced!
Posted on July 24, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security today announced that the annual Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy will be held September 29 - October 1, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, DC. The program will begin on Monday, September 29 and will feature several "mini training...
CBP Grants Hurricane Related "Snow Day"
Posted on July 24, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that due to the impact from Hurricane Dolly, a "snow day" has been granted for all filers of customs entries in the ports of Brownsville and Progreso, Texas for July 23, 2008. As a result, CBP is granting a one day extension for the filing and...
President Issues Notice Reauthorizing Legal Authority for Export Administration Regulations
Posted on July 24, 2008Because the Export Administration Act of 1979, which lapsed in August 2001, has not been renewed by Congress, President Bush has issued a notice stating that the national emergency caused by the lapse of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (EAA) will continue in effect for one year beyond August...
BIS Seeks Technical Advisory Committee Members
Posted on July 24, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in today's Federal Register a notice announcing the recruitment of private-sector members to the various Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) maintained by BIS. The TACs advise BIS on the technical parameters for export controls applicable to...
DDTC Publishes Updated Guidance for Iraq and Afghanistan Export Licenses
Posted on July 23, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) today published on its website an updated version of its "Guidance for Iraq and Afghanistan Cases" publication. The updated publication, which sets for the various requirements associated with the submission of export licenses directly supporting...
A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World
Posted on July 23, 2008Since it is a relatively slow trade law news day, I thought I would give you something to add to your summer reading list. The most recent edition of The Economist gives a good review to the the book A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, a history of world trade, written by financial...
Under Secretary Mancuso Delivers Keynote Speech on Iran to Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Posted on July 22, 2008Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Mario Mancuso today presented a keynote speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy entitled "Confronting the Challenge of Iran: Comprehensive Solutions for a Comprehensive Threat." The speech focused on the U...
DFARS Amended to Include Export Control Compliance Clauses in DoD Contracts
Posted on July 21, 2008The Department of Defense (DoD) published in today's Federal Register the long-awaited regulation amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to address requirements for complying with export control laws and regulations when performing DoD contracts...
DDTC Issues License Application Tip
Posted on July 21, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls today issued the following reminder on its website: REMINDER: Registrants must ensure that license applications include their registrant name exactly as it appears in the registration letter. Failure to do so may result in a rejection of the application...
U.K. Government Publishes 2007 Annual Strategic Export Controls Report
Posted on July 21, 2008The U.K. Government has published its 11th annual Strategic Export Controls report for the 2007 calendar year. In addition to describing various changes to U.K. export controls policies during the past year, the report indicates that in 2007 the U.K...
DDTC Limits Registration Period to One Year
Posted on July 20, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) published in Friday's Federal Register a final rule amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to limit the registration period to one year, instead of up to two years, for both new registrants and for those renewing their...
Zimbabwe May Seize Foreign Firms to Counter International Sanctions
Posted on July 20, 2008Zimbabwe's Sunday Mail newspaper has reported that the Zimbabwe government "has begun auditing the ownership of Western firms in the country as part of a black empowerment drive' and to counter the possible withdrawal of investment under sanctions imposed and proposed by Britain and the U...
Trade Enforcement Act of 2008 Introduced in Congress
Posted on July 20, 2008Late last week House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) and Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander L. Levin (D-MI) introduced H.R. 6530, the Trade Enforcement Act of 2008. The bill contains a number of provisions that would modify existing laws on counterfeiting...
Next COAC Meeting to be Held in Seattle on August 7th
Posted on July 20, 2008The Department of Homeland Security's Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (known as "COAC'') will hold a meeting in Seattle, Washington on August 7, 2008. The tentative agenda of the meeting is as follows: 1...
Forty Trade Associations Sign Letter Supporting Pilot Program for 10+2 Rule
Posted on July 20, 2008A broad coalition of 40 industry and trade associations have signed a letter urging Members of Congress to request U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to conduct a prototype program on the proposed "10+2 Rule" prior to issuance of a final rule. The letter states: The proposed rule, which...
California Firm Sentenced While Search for Its Fugitive Vice President Continues in Arms Export Case
Posted on July 20, 2008The Justice Department announced last week that Air Shunt Instruments Inc., an aircraft components company located near Los Angeles, California, has been sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $250,000 for "willfully and knowingly" making "a false statement in connection with a gyroscope used on...
French Corporation Sentenced to $500,000 Criminal Fine and Two Years Probation for Role in Conspiracy to Export Cryogenic Pumps to Iran
Posted on July 20, 2008In yet another criminal export control case, Cryostar SAS, a company based in in Hesingue, France that specialized in the design and manufacturing of cryogenic equipment, was sentenced last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to pay a criminal fine of $500,000 and two years...
Senate Banking Committee Passes Iran Sanctions Legislation
Posted on July 17, 2008Today the Senate Banking Committee passed ?The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2008? by a vote of 19 to 2. The bill was introduced by Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), the chairman and ranking members of the Banking Committee...
Taiwan May Relax Restrictions on Chipmakers? Investments in China
Posted on July 17, 2008The Government of Taiwan has recently announced that it is considering easing restrictions on chipmakers investments in China. This follows Intel Corp?s 2007 announcement that in 2009 it will begin the production of 12 inch semiconductor wafers in China, and the announcement coincides with...
BIS Increases Scope of Temporary Denial Order on Turkish Charter Airline
Posted on July 17, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced today that it has modified its June 6, 2008 Temporary Denial Order (TDO) involving Ankair, an Istanbul, Turkey-based charter airline, to cover all exports or re-exports of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations...
Non-U.S. Trade Controls: The Unfamiliar and Overlooked Compliance Challenge
Posted on July 14, 2008Welcome to all those attending today's sold-out "Non U.S. Trade Controls: The Unfamiliar and Overlooked Compliance Challenge"program in Dallas, Texas that was organized by the North Texas District Export Council and co-sponsored by Flowserve Corporation and Strasburger & Price, LLP...
Israel Reportedly Will Implement New Export Control System on July 15th
Posted on July 13, 2008The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute has reported that Israel's Customs and VAT Directorate has announced it will implement "a new and strengthened export control system" on July 15, 2008. The site reports that: The new system is based on the recognition that effective export...
OFAC Adds Syria Mobile Phone Operator and Duty Free Stores to SDN List
Posted on July 13, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added Syriatel, Syria's largest mobile phone operator, and Ramak, a chain of duty free stores in Syria, to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). According to Treasury, these companies were added...
NFTC Releases Draft "Trade Negotiating Authority Act of 2009"
Posted on July 13, 2008The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) recently released a draft version of the ?Trade Negotiating Authority Act of 2009,? intended to initiate debate over the appropriate objectives for negotiating trade agreements and an efficient ?fast track? process for congressional consideration of...
WTO Reports Decline in Number of Antidumping Investigations
Posted on July 13, 2008The World Trade Organization (WTO) has recently reports that the number of new new antidumping investigations declined by 7% during the second half of 2007 and the number of new antidumping orders (also referred to as "measures") also fell by 12% during the same period...
China and Russia Veto U.N. Sanctions Against Zimbabwe Leadership
Posted on July 13, 2008On Friday, a U.N. Security Council resolution intended to impose sanctions against Zimbabwe's Mugabe regime failed when two of the 15-member body's permanent members ? China and the Russian Federation ? voted against the measure. The resolution would have imposed a multilateral arms embargo on...
Next U.S. Customs Broker License Examination to be Held on October 6, 2008
Posted on July 11, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the next Customs Broker License Examination will be held on Monday, October 6, 2008. All exam applications and exam fees ($200) must be received and accepted by CBP at the service port where the applicant intends to take the examination...
Commerce Department Authorizes Issuance of Retired Credentials to BIS Enforcement Officers
Posted on July 11, 2008U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez has signed a Department Administrative Order (DAO) permitting the issuance of retired credentials to BIS and other Commerce Department law enforcement officers who retire in good standing. Secretary Gutierrez indicated that this is a significant step in...
Feds Knock; A Business is Lost
Posted on July 10, 2008USA Today has published an interesting, extensive and disturbing article entitled "Feds Knock; A Business is Lost" that focuses on the history and aftermath of the export enforcement case involving Alex Latifi, the owner of Huntsville, Alabama defense contractor Axion Corporation, who was acquitted...
Forbes Magazine Reports on Deemed Export Enforcement
Posted on July 10, 2008It seems that export control-related stories are everywhere these days and export controls have now even made the business magazines. The latest edition (July 21, 2008) of Forbes Magazine contains a story on how "deemed exports" controls have "gotten a new push from the government, largely...
Youth Baseball Team Authorized by OFAC to Travel to Cuba is Seeking Donations
Posted on July 10, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a specific license (License No. CT-11722) authorizing the Twin State Peregrines, a youth baseball team of 11 and 12 year-olds from New Hampshire and Vermont, to travel to Cuba and play a series of games against youth teams...
BIS Publishes Final Rule Implementing Recent Australia Group Changes
Posted on July 09, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today published a final rule in the Federal Register final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations and Commerce Control List to implement the understandings reached at the April 2008 plenary meeting of the Australia Group...
Associated Press Publishes Extensive Analysis of U.S. Trade With Iran
Posted on July 09, 2008The Associated Press today published an extensive analysis of U.S. trade with Iran. The article, entitled "From Bull Semen to Bras, Iran Still Buys American" notes that despite sanctions, the U.S. exported more than $500 million worth of goods to Iran from 2001 to 2007...
BIS Publishes Questions and Answers Relating to North Korea Changes
Posted on July 09, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security today published a list of questions and answers for exporters on the recent decision by the President to remove North Korea from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List. The bottom line is that the decision to remove North Korea from the State Sponsor of Terrorism...
U.S. Designates Iranian Proliferation Individuals and Entities
Posted on July 09, 2008Today the U.S. Departments of Treasury and State designated four individuals and four entities for their ties to Iran's nuclear and missile programs. The individuals designated today include Dawood Agha-Jani, Moshen Hojati, Mehrdada Akhlaghi Ketabachi, and Naser Maleki...
The Persian Paradox: Why is so Much Sensitive U.S. Military Technology Winding up in Iran?
Posted on July 09, 2008Iran is obviously a hot topic these days. In addition to today's missile test, the widely distributed AP article on exports to Iran that was published yesterday and referenced at today's House Foreign Affairs Committee's hearing on U.S. Policy toward Iran, Mother Jones has published an article...
Importer Security Filing 10+2 Webinar to be Held on July 22, 2008
Posted on July 08, 2008CUSTOMS Info and Global Data Mining are hosting a free webinar called "ISF 10+2: How to Make it Add Up for You" on July 22, 2008 from 2:00 - 3:00 PM EDT. This webinar will focus on assisting importers to prepare for the proposed Importer Security Filing (ISF) requirements published by U...
G8 Agrees to Impose Additional Sanctions on Zimbabwe Regime
Posted on July 08, 2008The leaders of the G8 nations agreed today at their Hokkaido Toyako, Japan Summit to seek additional sanctions against the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. The statement released by the G8 leaders states that: "We will take further steps, inter alia introducing financial and other measures against those...
Investigations in Germany and Japan Reveal Prohibited Reexports to North Korea
Posted on July 07, 2008Japan's Daily Yomiuri reports that the Japan-made vacuum pumps found at a North Korean nuclear facility by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were exported from Japan to Taiwan and then reexported to a North Korean trading company. The article states that the North Korean trading...
Court of International Trade Denies
Posted on July 06, 2008This week, the Court of International Trade denied Totes-Isotoner Corporation?s ("Totes") claim against the United States government alleging that the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) sets a higher tariff rate for men?s gloves in violation of equal protection and due process...
Court of International Trade Dismisses Harmonized Tariff Schedule Gender Discrimination Case
Posted on July 06, 2008On July 3, 2008, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) denied Totes-Isotoner Corporation?s ("Totes") claim alleging that the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S...
Mandatory AES Rule Effective Today
Posted on July 03, 2008This is a reminder that today is the effective date of the the final rule issued by the Census Bureau on June 2, 2008 requiring that all Electronic Export Information (formerly known as Shipper's Export Declarations or SEDs) be filed via the Automated Export System (AES) prior to the departure of...
CBP Posts Statement in Defense of Searches of Laptop Computers and Other Digital Devices
Posted on July 01, 2008In defense of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) policy regarding the search of laptop computers and digital devices possessed by travelers returning to the U.S. from abroad, CBP Deputy Commissioner Jayson Ahern posted an article on Leadership Journal, the Department of Homeland Security's...
New DTAG Members Recently Named
Posted on June 30, 2008Congratulations to the newly appointed members to the 2008-2010 term of the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG). The DTAG provides the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs with a formal channel for consultation and coordination with U...
Senate Confirms Top Export Control Posts
Posted on June 30, 2008On Friday, June 27, the Senate unanimously confirmed Christopher Wall to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration. As a result, Mr. Wall will soon be part of the Bureau of Industry and Security's senior management team. On the same day, the Senate confirmed former Brigadier...
Senate Finance Committee Holds Oversight Hearing on Customs and Other Trade Functions
Posted on June 30, 2008Last week, the Senate Finance Committee held an oversight hearing as part of the committee's efforts to reauthorize the customs and trade functions in the executive branch. Appearing before the Finance Committee were the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); the Assistant...
USTR Announces Results of 2007 GSP Annual Review
Posted on June 30, 2008Today the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the results of the 2007 Annual Review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). As a result of this year?s review, duty-free treatment for the vast majority of products covered by GSP will continue...
Canada Imposes Restrictions on Zimbabwe
Posted on June 30, 2008In response to the recent events in Zimbabwe, the Government of Canada announced today that it will immediately put in place a series of measures to severely restrict its relationship with the Government of Zimbabwe. These measures include: Imposing restrictions on travel, work and study on senior...
Government of Iraq Files Lawsuit in Federal Court Seeking Damages Resulting From Oil-for-Food Program
Posted on June 30, 2008Attorneys representing the government of the Republic of Iraq have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, NY against numerous companies and individuals involved in the United Nations oil-for-food program. According to a Dow Jones report, the lawsuit, filed last Friday,...
Exporters Beware: U.S. Government Significantly Steps Up Enforcement Efforts
Posted on June 26, 2008By Douglas N. Jacobson, Mark Andrews and Laura Martino (Reprinted from Strasburger & Price LLP's Business and Law Newsletter) Earlier this year, a Minnesota company was hit with $800,000 in criminal and civil penalties for omitting certain facts in license applications submitted to the U...
CBP Trade Symposium Dates Announced; Dates Not Finalized for BIS Update
Posted on June 26, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that its annual Trade Symposium will be held October 29 ? 31, 2008 at the JW Marriott hotel in Washington, D.C. More details to follow. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has not yet finalized the dates of its annual Update...
Omega Engineering Removed Early From Denied Persons List
Posted on June 26, 2008Congratulations to Omega Engineering, Inc. for being removed early from the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Denied Persons List. In November 2003, BIS issued a non-standard denial of export privileges that prohibited Omega, until November 2008, from participating in transactions involving...
U.S. Lifts TWEA Sanctions on North Korea, But Most Trade-Related Restrictions Remain Until Further Notice
Posted on June 26, 2008As a result of North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programs, facilities and materials, today President Bush issued a Proclamation lifting the application of the Trading With the Enemies Act (TWEA) on North Korea. At the same time, the President issued an Executive Order continuing certain...
BIS Announces Creation of Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee
Posted on June 26, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced in today's Federal Register that it is forming and recruiting individuals from the private sector to join the Emerging Technology Research Advisory Committee (ETRAC), a technical advisory committee (TAC) tasked with reviewing and providing...
Senate Holds Hearing on Laptop Searches Conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Posted on June 26, 2008In light of the two Circuit Courts of Appeal decisions holding that the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not require any reasonable suspicion to search and seize the contents of any electronic device, including a laptop computer, belonging to a U...
USA*Engage Honors Senator Hagel and Representaive Blumenauer
Posted on June 25, 2008USA*Engage today held its annual luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to honor Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) for their leadership on issues relating to U.S. diplomacy and global engagement. During the program, Senator Hagel and Representative Blumenauer...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Implements Online Trade Violation Reporting System
Posted on June 25, 2008In an unusual and potentially problematic development, U.S. Customs and Border Protection?s (CBP) Office of International Trade recently implemented e-Allegations, an online trade violation reporting system, that will allow individuals to anonymously report suspected violations of customs laws...
Senate Approves Nomination of Next Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
Posted on June 25, 2008The Senate Banking Committee voted today to confirm Christopher R. Wall as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration. This position has been vacant since late 2007 when Christopher A. Padilla, the previous Assistant Secretary, was confirmed to serve as Undersecretary of Commerce for...
Center for International Trade and Security to Present Next Session of Export Control Academy in August 2008
Posted on June 25, 2008The University of Georgia's Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) will be presenting the next session of its well known Export Control Academy in August 2008. The Export Control Academy, which provides a comprehensive overview of export control concepts, issues and standards from an...
India Asks Weapon Exporting Countries to Ease Technology Control Laws
Posted on May 29, 2008Speaking at the Berlin Air Show being held this week, the online edition of The Hindu newspaper reports that India's Defense Minister "has asked major weapon exporting countries to relax their technology control laws if they wish to participate in the country?s defence modernisation programme which...
Two Persons Arrested in Chicago Relating to Chinese Honey Imports
Posted on May 28, 2008Two executives of the U.S. operations of Alfred L. Wolff, a German-based food ingredients company, were arrested in Chicago on Friday for allegedly conspiring to import honey from China that was falsely identified to avoid U.S. antidumping duties and containing an antibiotic not approved by the...
Toward a 21st Century Export and Technology Control Regime
Posted on May 16, 2008Today the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) held a wide ranging and well attended export controls program in Washington, DC entitled "Toward a 21st Century Export and Technology Control Regime". The program featured one of the broadest group of speakers at an export controls...
OFAC Adds Three More Belarus Enterprises to SDN List
Posted on May 15, 2008The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today added three Belarus enterprises affiliated with Belneftekhim, also known as the Belarusian State Concern for Oil and Chemistry, to the Specially Designated Nationals List. The Belarusian enterprises designated today are Lakokraska OAO,...
USA Today Reports on Prohibited Exports of Night-Vision Equipment and Technology
Posted on May 15, 2008USA Today has reported on efforts by terrorist and other groups to obtain advanced U.S. military night-vision equipment and the U.S. Government efforts to prevent and prosecute such efforts: The government has prosecuted more than two dozen businesses and individuals over the past 18 months for...
New Orleans Businessman Pleads Guilty to Espionage Charge for Providing Classified Information to China
Posted on May 15, 2008The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced yesterday that Tai Shen Kuo of New Orleans, La. pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to deliver national defense information to the People?s Republic of China (PRC)...
USTR Announces 2008 Annual GSP Review
Posted on May 15, 2008Although the Generalized System of Preferences is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2008 unless renewed by Congress, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published a notice in today's Federal Register announcing the initiating of the 2008 Annual Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to modify...
Senate to Hold Hearing on U.S. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties with the U.K. and Australia
Posted on May 14, 2008The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will hold a hearing on May 21, 2008 on the Defense Trade Cooperation treaties that the U.S. signed with the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia in 2007 and were submitted to the Senate for "advice and consent" (2/3 vote required for approval)...
House of Representatives Considers Arms Export Controls Reform Bill
Posted on May 13, 2008This evening the U.S. House of Representatives held 40 minutes of debate on H.R. 5916, the Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Reform Act of 2008. Following the debate, a vote on the bill was postponed until tomorrow. If enacted, H.R. 5916, which was introduced by House Foreign Affairs...
COAC Meeting Held in Washington, DC
Posted on May 12, 2008The Department of Homeland Security's Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, commonly known as COAC, held its quarterly meeting last Friday in Washington, DC. The COAC meeting agenda included a number of trade facilitation topics and...
Libertarian Presidential Candidate Calls for Repeal of ITAR
Posted on May 12, 2008The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is now an issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. This past weekend, George Phillies, who is seeking to become the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate, issued a press release saying that the ITAR "is completely out of control" and...
OFAC Issues Third Biennial TSRA Licensing Report
Posted on May 12, 2008Last week the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued its third Biennial Report of Licensing Activities Pursuant to the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (TSRA) covering the period from October 2004 through September 2006...
OFAC Issues Amendment to Burma General License 14 and New Burma General License Number 15
Posted on May 11, 2008On Friday, OFAC issued an Amended Version of General License Number 14 issued under the Burmese Sanctions Regulations . This amended general license permits U.S. persons to make donations in support of not-for-profit humanitarian or religious activities in Burma (Myanmar), subject to certain...
Canadian Government to Hold Export Control Seminars
Posted on May 11, 2008For those readers interested in Canadian export control issues, Canada's Controlled Goods directorate is organizing a series of domestic and export control seminars across Canada this year. These full-day seminars will review the role of Canadian industry in safeguarding strategic...
U.S. Executive Pleads Guilty in Connection With Bribes Paid to U.K. Ministry of Defence Official
Posted on May 09, 2008The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced yesterday that a former Pacific Consolidated Industries LP (PCI) executive pleaded guilty today to charges related to the bribery of a U.K. Ministry of Defence (UK-MOD) official in order to obtain lucrative equipment contracts with the U...
Answer Key for 2008 Customs Broker License Examination Released
Posted on May 09, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted the results of the April 7, 2008 Customs Broker License Examination. The examination and answer key are posted below: April 2008 ExaminationApril 2008 Answer KeyAccording to reports, the April 2008 examination had a pass rate of 20...
NASA to Loan Space Shuttle Main Landing Gear Tires For Educational Purposes - Subject to ITAR Requirements, Of Course
Posted on May 07, 2008Here's a unique ITAR-related story: NASA has established a new artifact loan program to help museums and other organizations traditionally not associated with NASA to gain access to NASA artifacts. As part of this program, NASA has announced that it has a number of flown and non-flown space shuttle...
Treasury Department Issues General License to Speed the Flow of Aid to Burma
Posted on May 07, 2008As a follow-up to yesterday's post about OFAC's issuance of a general license to assist relief efforts in Myanmar (Burma), the Treasury Department today issued a press release stating: The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in consultation with the...
Indonesian Convicted of Trying to Export Rifle Scopes to Indonesia
Posted on May 07, 2008The Associated Press reports that a federal jury in Madison, Wisconsin today convicted an Indonesian national of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act for attempting to export rifles scopes to Indonesia without the proper State Department licenses...
OFAC Issues General License to Aid Relief Efforts in Burma
Posted on May 06, 2008In order to support the humanitarian relief efforts in Burma(Myanmar) as a result of the devastation left by Cyclone Nargis, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued General License Number 14 under the Burmese Sanctions Regulations...
Latest Defense Export Licensing Statistics Show Decrease in Average License Processing Times
Posted on May 06, 2008The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has released the license processing time statistics for April 2008: Cases Received: 7,728 Cases Closed: 7,438 Cases Open At End of Month: 3,720 Average Processing Time: 15 Days By contrast, in April 2007 DDTC received 6,290...
International Arms Dealer Victor Bout Indicted by U.S.
Posted on May 06, 2008The Justice Department announced today the unsealing of an indictment against international arms dealer Viktor Bout, for, among other things, conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the FARC), a designated foreign terrorist...
Commerce Department Finds Insufficient Evidence to Self-Initiate Antidumping Case on Apparel Imports From Vietnam
Posted on May 06, 2008The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced today that, after reviewing the second six months of data from the monitoring program of apparel imports from Vietnam, there is insufficient evidence to warrant self-initiating an antidumping investigation...
BIS Imposes $31,500 Penalty on California Company For Violating Deemed Export Rule
Posted on May 05, 2008The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) recently imposed a $31,500 penalty on TFC Manufacturing Inc., a Lakewood, California-based aerospace fabrication facility, for violating the "deemed export" rule. According to the Settlement Agreement and Proposed Charging Letter, BIS...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Seizes Counterfeit AC/DC Adapters Bearing Counterfeit UL Labels
Posted on May 05, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound operations at the port of El Paso, Texas recently seized 2,000 AC/DC power adapters in an in-bond shipment from China to Mexico since the Underwriters Laboratories "UL" markings on the adapters were counterfeit...
Comments on Proposed Change to First-Sale Rule Posted
Posted on May 05, 2008The comments submitted by the public on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) proposed change to the "first-sale" rule have been posted on the Regulations.gov website. The controversial proposal generated a great deal of interest and CBP received more than 140 comments by importers, trade...
Kewill and Strasburger to Hold Roundtables for Export Compliance Professionals in Kansas City and St. Louis
Posted on May 04, 2008Export compliance professionals in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas are invited to attend Export Compliance Roundtable breakfast programs on May 28 and 29, 2008. These programs are sponsored and presented by Kewill Trade & Logistics and Strasburger & Price, LLP...
May 8, 2008 NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers on BIS Regulations, Encryption and H.R. 5828
Posted on May 04, 2008The National Council on International Trade Development (www.ncitd.org) has announced that its next monthly international trade compliance meeting on May 8, 2008 in Washington, DC will feature the following speakers: Ms. Hillary Hess Director, Regulatory Policy Division Bureau of Industry and...
EPA Issues TSCA Import Compliance Checklist
Posted on April 28, 2008U.S. companies that import chemicals covered by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) may be interested to know that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has developed a new "TSCA Section 13 Import Compliance...
At Trade Show, China's Police Shop for the Latest Equipment
Posted on April 27, 2008Saturday's New York Times reported on the China International Exhibition on Police Equipment that was sponsored by China's Ministry of Public Security and recently held in Beijing. The article describes the large number of U.S. companies exhibiting at the show and that "the trade show coincided...
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to Hold Hearing on China's Proliferation Practices and Cyber and Space Warfare Capabilities
Posted on April 27, 2008The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a public hearing in Washington, DC on May 20, 2008 to address "China's Proliferation Practices and the Development of its Cyber and Space Warfare Capabilities'' The hearing will examine China's proliferation activities, China's...
Commerce Department Unveils "Colombia Tariff Ticker"
Posted on April 25, 2008As part of the Bush Administration's efforts to convince Congress to pass the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, the Commerce Department today released the ?Colombia Tariff Ticker? which tracks the dollar value of tariffs since the signing of the U...
Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Export Licensing Reforms
Posted on April 25, 2008A subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing on reforming export licensing agencies today which featured witnesses from the Departments of Commerce, State and Defense, the Government Accountability Office...
Bureau of Industry and Security Announces Commerce Control List Updates and Annual Review Process
Posted on April 24, 2008The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has announced a series of updates to the Commerce Control List (CCL) as part of a systematic effort to update and refine the U.S. dual-use export control system. The changes to the CCL were published in the Federal...
OFAC Issues Quarterly TSRA Licensing Report
Posted on April 24, 2008Today the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OAFC) issued its most recent quarterly report of export licenses related to agricultural commodities, medicine and medical devices to Iran and Sudan under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Enhancement Act of 200 (commonly known as...
SenatorsThreathen to Hold Up Sales of Defense Articles to Saudi Arabia and Other OPEC Nations
Posted on April 24, 2008The AFP reports today: A group of US senators on Thursday threatened to block arms deals with OPEC member countries if they do not boost oil output to help bring down soaring gasoline prices. Senators Charles Schumer, Byron Dorgan, Bernie Sanders, Bob Casey, and Mary Landrieu issued their warning...
U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Antidumping Appeals
Posted on April 23, 2008The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday granted petitions for certiorari to consider two related cases involving the interpretation of U.S. antidumping law during the Court's term beginning in October 2008. It is very rare for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider trade-related cases and it is even more...
Customs Issues Marking Policy for Products From Kosovo and Announces Next COAC Meeting
Posted on April 23, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published two notices in today's Federal Register: The first notice advises importers that as a result of the U.S. recognizing the Republic of Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state, for purposes of country of origin marking merchandise produced in...
GAO Recommends That Congress and Agencies Take Action to Reduce Collection of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties
Posted on April 23, 2008At the request of the Senate Appropriations and Finance Committees, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked us to review the reasons why the duties are uncollected and what the U.S. government has done to address this problem. In addition, the Senate Committees asked GAO to identify...
Former U.S. Army Employee Arrested for Disclosing Classifed Defense Information to Israel
Posted on April 22, 2008Today the FBI arrested a former employee of the U.S. Army?s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center in New Jersey for disclosing classified documents to the Government of Israel and conspiring to act as an agent of the Government of Israel...
Bill Introduced in Congress Would Authorize AES Licensing and Permit System
Posted on April 22, 2008Representatives Don Manzullo (R-IL) and Adam Smith (D-WA) recently introduced H.R. 5828, the Securing Exports Through Coordination and Technology Act of 2008. According to the press release issued in connection with the introduction of this bill, H.R...
DDTC Publishes FAQs and Guidance on Agreements
Posted on April 22, 2008The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) today posted on its website three agreements-related documents. The first document, Guidance for an Agreement Rebaseline, is provided to assist industry in the preparation and submission of an agreement ?rebaseline?...
Vessel Carrying Chinese Arms for Zimbabwe Government Apparently Ordered to Return Home
Posted on April 22, 2008The An Yue Jiang, a vessel carrying arms from China to land-locked Zimbabwe, has apparently been ordered to return to China after being denied entry into ports in Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania. The vessel was reportedly carrying three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 1,500...
Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management to Hold Export Controls Hearing
Posted on April 22, 2008The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing entitled "Beyond Control: Reforming Export Licensing Agencies for National Security and Economic Interests" on April 24, 2008 at 2 p...
Treasury Issues Proposed CFIUS Regulations
Posted on April 22, 2008The Treasury Department yesterday issued the long-awaited proposed regulations to implement the changes in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review process as required by the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 (FINSA) (Public Law 110-49)...
OFAC Posts Scoreboard of Penalty Cases
Posted on April 22, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently updated the Civil Penalties and Enforcement Information page on its website to include a scoreboard showing the total number and dollar amounts of civil penalties and settlements issued each month...
Chi Mak's Brother Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
Posted on April 22, 2008Tai Mak, the younger brother of convicted spy Chi Mak, was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in federal prison, the maximum prison sentence under the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. § 2778(c)) Tai Mak pleaded guilty in June 2007 to conspiring to export defense articles after his brother was...
NCITD to Hold Free Trade Agreements Program on May 7, 2008
Posted on April 08, 2008The National Council on International Trade Development is presenting a day-long seminar in Arlington, Virginia on May 7, 2008 entitled "Free Trade Agreements for U.S. Businesses: A Practical Seminar on how U.S. Free Trade Agreements Work". The program will be led by Frank Reynolds, the well-known...
April 10, 2008 NCITD Meeting to Feature Speakers from DDTC, ICE and CBP
Posted on April 08, 2008The National Council on International Trade Development (www.ncitd.org) has announced that its next monthly international trade compliance meeting on April 10, 2008 in Washington, DC will feature the following speakers: Kevin Maloney Director, Office of Defense Trade Controls Licensing Directorate...
Free Trade Agreements in the News
Posted on April 08, 2008As has been widely reported, President Bush yesterday announced that despite the objection of the Congressional leadership he would send to Congress legislation to implement the U.S-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. The text of the President's transmittal letter to Congress was released today by...
Senate Holds Hearing on the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007
Posted on April 08, 2008The Senate Finance Committee today held a hearing on S. 970, the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007. This bill, which has 70 co-sponsors, seeks to tighten and expand economic sanctions on Iran and to deter foreign countries from cooperating with Iran...
Transportation Security Administration Launches Certified Cargo Screening Program
Posted on April 07, 2008From Strasburger & Price's Newly Launched Logistics BlogBy Mark J. Andrews and Laura Martino The Certified Cargo Screening Program (?CCSP?) is a voluntary program that allows certified manufacturers, exporters and forwarders to screen air cargo before it is shipped...
OFAC Issues March Civil Penalty Report
Posted on March 14, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued its monthly report of civil penalties imposed on companies and individuals for allegedly violating the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. OFAC's monthly penalty report indicates that the agency settled three cases...
Bahrain-Based Bank Designated by Treasury Department Cannot be Used to Finance TSRA Licensed Transactions
Posted on March 14, 2008Earlier this week the Treasury Department designated Bahrain-based Future Bank B.S.C. and all its branch offices pursuant to Executive Order 13382 of June 28, 2005, ?Blocking Property of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators and Their Supporters.? Future Bank was established in 2004 as a joint...
OFAC Issues Monthly Penalty Report
Posted on February 25, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued its monthly report of civil penalties imposed on companies and individuals for allegedly violating the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. OFAC's monthly penalty report indicates that the agency settled five cases...
House Trade Subcommittee Announces Deadline for Comments on Miscellaneous Tariff and Duty Suspension Bills
Posted on February 25, 2008Chairman Sander M. Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member Wally Herger (R-CA) of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade today announced that the Trade Subcommittee is requesting written comments on the 806 miscellaneous tariff and duty suspension bills that have been introduced in this session of...
Mandatory AES Update
Posted on February 24, 2008Reprinted from Strasburger & Price's February 22, 2008 Transportation/Logistics Newsletter: U.S. Census Bureau is Close to Issuing Final Rule On Mandatory AES Filings and Penalties Exporters, freight forwarders, carriers and other parties involved in exportation of goods from the United...
Huntsville Defense Contractor, Charged with Violating Arms Export Control Act, Lost His Livelihood and Savings to False U.S. Prosecution
Posted on February 24, 2008Today's Birmingham News contains a detailed story on the saga and aftermath of the failed prosecution of Alexander Latifi, owner of Huntsville, Alabama-based Axion Corporation. The article notes: Once lauded by defense procurement officers for going above and beyond contract specifications, Axion...
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to Hold Public Hearing on March 18
Posted on February 24, 2008The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) will hold a public hearing in Washington, DC on March 18, 2008 to address "China's Expanding Global Influence: Foreign Policy Goals, Practices, and Tools." This hearing is the third in a series of public hearings the Commission will hold...
Export Misdirection: Cracking Down on Third Country Transshipment Violations
Posted on February 22, 2008Note: The following article appeared in the Winter 2008 edition of the American Bar Association Section of International Law's International Trade Committee Newsletter and has been reprinted with permission. Export Misdirection: Cracking Down on Third Country Transshipment Violations By: Jordan...
AAEI to Hold Deemed Export Seminar
Posted on February 21, 2008On March 6, 2008, the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) will hold a seminar in Washington, DC on the Deemed Export Advisory Committee's Report. The speakers at the program will include representatives of the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Deemed Export Advisory Committee...
OFAC Issues First Syrian Designation Under Executive Order 13460
Posted on February 21, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC) control today issued the first designation pursuant to Executive Order 13460, which was issued on February 13, 2008. The individual designated by OFAC is Rami Makhluf, Syrian President Bashar al-Asad's first cousin and brother of Syrian...
Heritage Foundation Hosts Program on Dual-Use Export Controls With China
Posted on February 20, 2008Today the Washington, DC-based Heritage Foundation held a program entitled "Technology Leadership, Economic Power and National Security: Dual-Use Export Controls to China". The program featured a speech by Mario Mancuso, Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, followed by a lively...
CSIS to Hold Program on State Department Export Control Reforms
Posted on February 20, 2008The Center for Strategic and International Studies is holding a program on State Department export control reform efforts on February 26, 2008 in Washington, DC. The program will feature an opening address by John Rood, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, followed...
Working Group on Health of U.S. Space Industrial Base and Impact of Export Controls Announces Findings and Recommendations
Posted on February 19, 2008The Working Group on the Health of the U.S. Space Industrial Base and the Impact of Export Controls, which was tasked to assess the health of the U.S. space industrial base and determine the impact of export controls on the U.S. satellite and space industry, held a briefing today at the Center for...
Castro Resigns as Cuba's President and Commander-in-Chief
Posted on February 19, 2008As has been widely reported, Fidel Castro announced today that he will not seek reelection to serve as president and commander-in-chief of Cuba, after serving for nearly 50 years as the country's leader. The English translation of Castro's resignation letter that was published in Cuba's Granma...
Center for International Trade and Security Launches New Website
Posted on February 17, 2008The University of Georgia's well-respected Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) has launched a redesigned version of its website. The site contains a wide range of resources on the export controls and nonproliferation publications and programs offered by CITS...
U.S. Customs to Launch Online FAST Enrollment at Southern Border
Posted on February 17, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that applicants for the U.S./Mexico Free and Secure Trade (FAST) Commercial Driver Program will be permitted to enroll online at the CBP website starting on April 1, 2008. The online enrollment program is the first step in a phased migration...
Heritage Foundation to Host Program on Dual-Use Export Controls To China on February 20, 2008
Posted on February 17, 2008The Heritage Foundation is hosting a program on dual-use export controls to China in Washington, DC on February 20, 2008. The program will feature a keynote address by Mario Mancuso, Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, followed by a panel discussion with the following individuals:...
Twelve Business Organizations Express Concerns Over Deemed Export Advisory Committee's Recommendations
Posted on February 15, 2008Twelve trade-related business organizations today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez expressing their concerns with several recommendations contained in the Deemed Export Advisory Committee's (DEAC) December 20, 2007 report. The letter also warned of the significant...
Which Members of Congress Support Free Trade?
Posted on February 15, 2008Yesterday the Cato Institute unveiled "Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating the Congress", a web site that allows users to examine how Congress and its individual members have voted on bills and amendments affecting trade and investment during the past five sessions of Congress...
When Trade and Security Collide
Posted on February 14, 2008The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article today entitled "Two U.S. Goals Collide: Free Trade, Security". The article describes how the stepped-up enforcement of laws restricting the release of sensitive technology exports to China and Iran can conflict with efforts to reform and...
OFAC Issues Guidance on Entities Owned By Persons Whose Property And Interests In Property Are Blocked
Posted on February 14, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued a document entitled "Guidance on Entities Owned By Persons Whose Property And Interests In Property Are Blocked." While this guidance applies to most of OFAC's sanctions programs, this guidance was sought by banks,...
Ways and Means Approves Extension of Andean Trade Preferences Act Only
Posted on February 14, 2008Today's mark-up of H.R. 5264, the Trade Preference Extension Act of 2008, by the House Ways and Committee took an interesting last-minute twist. Rather than extending the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programs until...
President Issues Executive Order Expanding Sanctions on Syria
Posted on February 13, 2008President Bush today issued an Executive Order (EO) expanding sanctions on Syria by blocking the property of certain senior Syrian Government officials and their associates who have engaged in or benefited from public corruption. The EO also revises a provision in Executive Order 13338 to block...
Iranians Elude Sanctions
Posted on February 13, 2008Today's Wall Street Journal contains a good overview of the effect of U.S. and multilateral economic sanctions on Iran, the methods used by Iranian business to elude such sanctions and the resulting problems that are created. The article notes that the sanctions: ...
House Ways and Means Committee to Mark-Up Trade Preference Extension Act of 2008
Posted on February 13, 2008The House Ways and Means Committee will meet at 11 a.m. on February 14, 2008 to mark-up H.R. 5264, the Trade Preference Extension Act of 2008. As previously reported, H.R. 5264 would extend the Andean Trade Preference, Caribbean Basin Initiative and Generalized System of Preferences programs, all...
Machine Tools Producer Installs Relocation Detectors to Ensure Export Controls Compliance
Posted on February 12, 2008In what could be the wave of the future in export compliance by producers of export controlled products, Mazak Corporation, the North American manufacturing, sales and support arm of Japan-based Yamazaki Mazak Corporation recently announced that it has begun installing relocation detectors on all...
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos Dies at 80
Posted on February 11, 2008House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-CA) passed away this morning due to complications from cancer at Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Congressman Lantos, who was born in Hungary and is the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, was first elected to the U...
U.S. Arrests Four People for Engaging in Economic Espionage Involving China
Posted on February 11, 2008The Justice Department today announced arrests in two separate cases involving in economic espionage charges involving China. In the first case, Tai Shen Kuo, age 58, and Yu Xin Kang, age 33, both of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Gregg William Bergersen, age 51, of Alexandria, Virginia, were...
Heritage Foundation Issues Policy Papers on U.S. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties and President's Export Controls Directive
Posted on February 11, 2008The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, DC-based think tank, recently issued policy papers analyzing the Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties that the U.S. signed with Australia and the United Kingdom and President Bush's recently issued Export Controls Directive...
President Bush Proposes to Increase BIS Funding for Fiscal Year 2009
Posted on February 10, 2008President Bush's recently proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2009 would restore funding to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) that Congress reduced for FY 2008. The President's FY 2009 budget requests $83,676,000 million for BIS...
House Bill Introduced to Extend ATPA, CBI and GSP Benefits Until 2010
Posted on February 10, 2008House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) last week introduced H.R. 5264, the Trade Preference Extension Act of 2008, a bill that would extend three trade preference programs scheduled to expire this year. H.R. 5264 would would extend the following trade preference programs...
OFAC Set to Bring Enforcement Actions Against Sudan Sanctions Violators
Posted on February 08, 2008Reuters reports today that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will soon bring a number of civil enforcement actions against companies that have violated U.S. sanctions on Sudan. The article quotes OFAC Director Adam Szubin as saying that: "Agents had built up a...
New Approach to Antiboycott Settlements? BIS Waives Penalties in Exchange for Ceasing Exports to Boycotting Countries
Posted on February 08, 2008By Douglas N. Jacobson and Laura Martino In what appears to be a new twist in the settlement of antiboycott enforcement cases, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) recently agreed to waive civil penalties against two U.S. distributors of medical products for violating the antiboycott...
"First Sale" Rule Comment Period Extended to April 23, 2008
Posted on February 07, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced in the Federal Register that it will extend the deadline for interested parties to submit comments on CBP's proposed change to the interpretation of the phrase "sold for exportation to the United States'' for purposes of applying the...
BIS Announces Initial Steps to Implement Deemed Export Advisory Committee Recommendations
Posted on February 06, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced today that it has completed its review of the Deemed Export Advisory Committee's (DEAC) December 20, 2007 report and has started working with the Departments of Defense, State and Energy to consider the report's analysis and recommendations as a...
BIS Publishes "Fix-It" Rule Correcting Errors in Parts 742 and 744 of the EAR and Categories 1, 3, 6 and 7 of the CCL
Posted on February 06, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a "fix-it" final rule in today's Federal Register correcting a number of errors contained in the November 5, 2007 final rule that implemented changes to the Commerce Control List (CCL) as a result of the Wassenaar Arrangement's 2006 plenary...
December NCITD Meeting to Focus on ITAR Exemptions and OFAC
Posted on February 05, 2008The National Council on International Trade Development's (NCITD) February 14, 2008 meeting in Washington, DC will feature the following speakers:Ms. Debi Davis, Goodrich Corporation's Vice President of International Trade, will speak on the Industry Perspective on ITAR...
BIS Announces New AES Reporting Requirements for License Exceptions
Posted on February 05, 2008The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has announced a new Automated Export System (AES) reporting requirement for exporters using certain license exceptions. Effective April 28, 2008, it will be mandatory to report the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) on the AES record when using ...
CBP Extends Comment Period on 10+2 Data Elements
Posted on February 04, 2008We recently reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a proposed rulemaking on January 2, 2008 regarding the submission of advanced trade data elements for importers and carriers (commonly referred to as "10+2"). CBP announced in the Federal Register last Friday that it is...
C-TPAT: 2007 in Review
Posted on January 31, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today issued an overview and assessment of the operations of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program in 2007. The year end review contained the following statistics regarding the C-TPAT program during calendar year 2007:Supply...
Politco Provides Behind-the-Scene Look at Efforts Leading to Issuance of Export Controls Directives
Posted on January 31, 2008In an article entitled "High-tech lobby notches victory", today's The Politico, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the efforts leading to last week's Export Controls Directives issued by President Bush. The article notes that: The directives, announced by the State and Commerce departments, were...
WCO Seeks Input on Rules of Origin Database
Posted on January 31, 2008The World Customs Organization (WCO) is developing a database of preferential trade arrangements and related rules of origin. To assist the WCO in its development process, the WCO has prepared an online survey in order to obtain the the views of all interested parties and to ensure that the...
OFAC Imposes Additional Targeted Sanctions on Zimbabwe
Posted on January 30, 2008The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed new sanctions today on two Zimbabwean entities and two individuals that, according to OFAC, "contribute to the undermining of democratic processes and institutions in Zimbabwe"...
Colombia, Panama and South Korea Free Trade Agreements Face Uphill Battle in Congress
Posted on January 30, 2008The Politico, a Washington, DC-based newspaper and website which covers politics and lobbying, reports that the President's efforts to convince Congress to approve the Colombia, Panama and South Korea Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) faces serious resistance from the Democratic leadership...
Center for International Trade and Security to Hold Export Control Academy
Posted on January 29, 2008The University of Georgia's Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) has announced that the Spring 2008 sessions of its Export Control Academy will take place from March 31-April 4 and April 7-11, 2008 The Academy provides a comprehensive overview of export control concepts, issues and...
Arrests in Mariana for Unlicensed Exports to China
Posted on January 28, 2008Two suspects were arrested this weekend for allegedly exporting certain defense items from the United States to the People?s Republic of China without a license from the U.S. State Department. The exported articles were reportedly monolithic amplifiers (i...
Changing the Valuation Landscape: CBP Looks to the Price Paid by the U.S. Importer in Multiple Sales Transactions
Posted on January 28, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) proposed in the Federal Register last week to change its method of appraising foreign goods imported into the U.S. in instances involving multiple sales transactions. Under U.S. law and international conventions, the method for valuing goods is based on the...
BIS Imposes $400,000 Penalty on Northrop Grumman
Posted on January 28, 2008The Commerce Department?s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced last week that Northrop Grumman Corporation has agreed to pay a $400,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it committed 131 violations of the Export Administration Regulations, both in its own capacity and as successor...
International Customs Day 2008
Posted on January 28, 2008This past Saturday, January 26th, was International Customs Day, which marks the inaugural session of the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) that was held in Brussels, Belgium on January 26, 1953. The CCC became known as the World Customs Organization (WCO) in 2004...
Next Customs Broker License Examination to be Held on April 7, 2008
Posted on January 28, 2008U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the next Customs Broker License Examination will be held on Monday, April 7, 2008. The exam application and fee must be submitted to CBP by March 7, 2008. This is a summary of the article. Click on the above link or visit www...
Census and CBP Reach Agreement on Mandatory AES Issues
Posted on January 28, 2008The deadlock between the Census Bureau and U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding certain aspects of the Mandatory Automated Export System (AES) regulation has apparently been resolved. As a result, the Census Bureau should be soon publishing the final rule requiring all Shipper's Export...
U.S. Remains Cuba's Largest Supplier of Food and Agricultural Products
Posted on January 27, 2008Pedro Alvarez, the Chairman of Empresa Comercializadora de Alimentos, Cuba's main food importing entity, said last week that the U.S. remains Cuba's largest supplier of food and agricultural products. Alvarez said that in 2007, Cuba purchased more than $600 million in agricultural products from ...
DDTC Unveils New Web Site
Posted on January 27, 2008Last week the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) unveiled a new look to its Web site. In addition to adding a "site map" on the left side of each page and most pages have been updated. These changes enhance the ability for users to find information and navigate the...
Reform of U.S. Defense Trade Polices and Practices are Abound: President Issues Export Controls Directive
Posted on January 23, 2008The President issued a directive yesterday calling for more efficient procedures at the U.S. Department of State for export licensing of military equipment, services and data. The directive is designed to limit the period of time the government is permitted to make license determinations for items...
Customs and Border Protection Proposes Rulemaking On Advance Trade Data Elements
Posted on January 03, 2008On January 2, 2008, Customs and Border Protection (CBP or ?Customs?) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register that would require both importers and carriers to submit additional data to Customs pertaining to cargo before the cargo is brought to the U...
Senate to Consider Nomination of Christopher Padilla as Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
Posted on December 12, 2007The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Christopher A. Padilla to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade on Thursday, December 13 in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The time of the hearing has not yet been finalized...
OFAC Issues Monthly Civil Penalties Report
Posted on December 11, 2007The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today issued its monthly report of civil penalties imposed on companies and individuals for allegedly violating the sanctions regimes administered by OFAC. OFAC's monthly report indicates that the agency settled two cases involving...
U.S. and China Sign "Guidelines for U.S.-China High-Technology and Strategic Trade Development" and Other Import and Export Agreements
Posted on December 11, 2007In a signing ceremony held in Beijing as part of the 18th Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) between China and the U.S., representatives of the two governments today signed eleven agreements on a variety of import and export issues. One of the agreements signed today was the...
December NCITD Meeting to Focus on BIS and FCPA Issues
Posted on December 11, 2007The National Council on International Trade Development's (www.ncitd.org) December 13, 2007 meeting in Washington, DC will feature the following speakers:Ms. Hillary Hess, Director, Regulatory Policy Division, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce...
USTR Releases 2007 Report to Congress on China's WTO Compliance
Posted on December 11, 2007The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today presented to Congress the statutorily-mandated 2007 annual report on China?s compliance with its World Trade Organization accession obligations. The report discusses China's compliance with intellectual property rights, industrial policy,...
Census Bureau Invites Comments Regarding Data Collection through Automated Export System (AES) and Shippers Export Declaration (SED)
Posted on December 05, 2007The U.S. Census Bureau (?Census?) is now seeking comments regarding the collection of export trade data for statistical purposes, as it continues to implement the Automated Export System (AES), which will require certain additional exporters to file trade export information electronically with...
BIS Update 2007, Day 2, Breakout Session: Export Control List Development
Posted on December 04, 2007Elizabeth Scott, Director of the Chemical and Biological Controls Division at BIS, opened the breakout session by providing an overview of the critical components of items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) as follows: Toxic Chemicals: useful for production of chemicals agents or used...
Washington Think Tank Issues Trade Report Entitled "Why Lou Dobbs is Winning"
Posted on November 09, 2007Coinciding with the U.S. House of Representatives debate on the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement, The Third Way, a Washington, DC-based non-partisan think tank, today released a report entitled "Why Lou Dobbs is Winning". In the paper, the Third Way analyzes the origins of the growing anti-trade...
House Passes U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement by Wide Margin
Posted on November 08, 2007By a vote of 285-132, the U.S. House of Representatives today approved legislation to implement the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (H.R. 3668). The Senate is expected to consider and pass the agreement later this year. The roll call vote can be found here...
Import Safety Working Group Issues Import Safety Action Plan,
Posted on November 06, 2007Today, the Interagency Import Safety Working Group presented to President Bush its Import Safety Action Plan, which contains 14 broad recommendations and 50 action steps to enhance the safety of U.S. imports. In addition, today the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Food Protection Plan...
Commerce Department Makes Preliminary Countervailing Duty Determination on Standard Pipe from China
Posted on November 06, 2007Today the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation on standard pipe from China finding that the Chinese government has been providing subsidies on standard pipe exported to the U.S. (this cases covers standard pipe with an outside...
BIS Update 2007, Day 2, Breakout Session: EAR/ITAR Jurisdiction Questions & Answers
Posted on November 06, 2007The extremely well-attended breakout session on the EAR/ITAR Commodity Jurisdiction (CJ) process showed that there is a great deal of interest by industry in this important topic. The program began with an introduction on the Defense Department's (DoD) role in the CJ process...
BIS Publishes Final Rule Amending EAR and CCL to Implement Wassenaar List Revisions
Posted on November 05, 2007As promised at Update 2007, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today published a final rule in the Federal Register making the the necessary changes to to the Commerce Control List (CCL) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the Wassenaar List revisions that were agreed...
BIS Update 2007 Program Summaries Have Been Posted
Posted on November 05, 2007Summaries of the plenary and breakout sessions from the Bureau of Industry and Security's Update 2007 conference have now been posted on International Trade Law News. This is a summary of the article. Click on the above link or visit www.tradelawnews...
BIS Update 2007, Day 2, Breakout Session: Technology, Software & Encryption
Posted on November 05, 2007The Technology, Software and Encryption breakout session was chaired by Bernard Kritzer, Director of BIS?s Office of National Security Controls and Technology Transfer. He noted that while his office has been around for 15 years, technology has changed dramatically during that time...
BIS Update 2007, Day 2, Breakout Session: International Practices in Export Controls
Posted on November 04, 2007By Amy Stanley* At the International Practices in Export Controls breakout session, three foreign government representatives discussed their countries? export systems and policies. The three representatives discussed similarities and differences between the export systems of the United Kingdom,...
BIS Update 2007, Day 2, Breakout Session: Automated Export System Compliance Review Program
Posted on November 04, 2007Jerome Greenwell, the Trade Ombudsman of The Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division, kicked-off the breakout session on the Automated Export System (AES) Compliance Review Program by noting that the program provides a unique opportunity for review of the automated data systems used by exporters in...
BIS Update 2007, Day 2, Plenary Session: Export Enforcement
Posted on November 04, 2007In his opening remarks during the Export Enforcement Plenary Session at the 2007 BIS Update, Darryl Jackson, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement introduced the three office directors of BIS's enforcement team, including Kevin Delli-Colli, the new Director of the Office of Export Enforcement,...
BIS Update 2007, Day 1, Breakout Session: Defense Industrial Base Programs
Posted on November 04, 2007Daniel Hill, Director of the Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security (SIES) chaired the breakout session and introduced the program with a slide showing his office at the intersection of national security and industry partnership. Mr. Hill noted that BIS does more than export...
BIS Issues Statement Clarifying Implementation of IEEPA Enhancement Act Penalties
Posted on November 01, 2007As a follow-up to the comments made by Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Mario Mancuso today at Update 2007, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) this evening issued on its website important information clarifying the implementation of the enhanced penalties contained in...
BIS Update 2007, Day 1, Breakout Session: Reexport Regulations
Posted on November 01, 2007In a breakout session on Reexport Regulations, Sharron Cook from BIS's Regulatory Policy Division provided the audience a crash course on reexport regulations. During the breakout session, Ms. Cook identified the scope o reexports subject to the EAR and discussed license requirements and exporter...
BIS Update 2007, Day 1, Breakout Session: Foreign Nationals and Deemed Exports
Posted on November 01, 2007Deemed exports are obviously a hot topic in industry right now, as evidenced by the fact that the foreign nationals and deemed exports breakout session was standing room only. Alex Lopes, Director of BIS's Deemed Exports and Electronics Division, introduced the program by joking that items...
BIS Update 2007, Day 1, Breakout Session: Foreign Policy Controls & Economic Sanctions Q's & A's
Posted on November 01, 2007Susan Hutner, one of two licensing division chiefs at OFAC led the session on Foreign Policy and Economic Sanctions. Distinguishing OFAC from other enforcement agencies of sanctions programs, Ms. Hunter explained that the agency administers politically-based sanctions against targeted governments...
BIS Update 2007, Day 1, Breakout Session: Antiboycott Compliance
Posted on November 01, 2007In the morning breakout session on antiboycott compliance, Fred Davidson, Assistant Director for Policy of the Office of Antiboycott Compliance, started the program by noting that BIS's role in antiboycott compliance is based on the antiboycott regulations set forth in Part 760 of the EAR...
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Is a child fathered out of wedlock by an American diplomat to a foreign women on foreign soil entitled to US Citizenship by jus sanguinis?
This is a very tough situation your friend is in. It is difficult to know the ex...
Can a former employee use photographs of jobs completed whie working for me in marketing material for a new business?
There are several issues here
1. Sub contractor started up a compe...
My grandmother-in-law came to US for a short visit on a visitor visa for tourism. Due to some complications we had to take her to hospital in emergency. She was in hospital for 13 days & had a pacemaker put in. My granny
Having collections experience for over ten years, I can say that you are in no w...
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As a trade creditor you will unfortunately be grouped with all the other parties...
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