Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
The Trump administration is considering imposing new export controls and sanctions against China in the coming weeks, a senior administration official said. The moves are meant to further cement Trump’s China policies under the incoming Joe Biden administration, the official said, which may find the measures difficult to reverse.
More than a dozen countries officially signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Nov. 15 after years of negotiations (see 2005130018), paving the way for lower trade barriers for a range of countries throughout the Asia Pacific. The deal -- signed by the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states and China, Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand -- aims to become an “unprecedented mega regional trading arrangement,” the countries said in a joint statement, covering a market of about 2.2 billion people.
More than 20 industry groups urged the Bureau of Industry and Security to be cautious as it considers controls over foundational technologies (see 2008260045), saying the wrong approach could stifle innovation, damage U.S. competitiveness and lead to costly shifts in global supply chains. The groups said any new controls should only be imposed after a calculated process with significant input from industry, and should include license exceptions and exclusions.
When the Joe Biden administration takes office, it will likely continue the Commerce Department's emphasis on export controls and entity listings to stay ahead in technology competition with China, said Eric Sayers, an Asia-Pacific policy expert with the Center for a New American Security. Although both tools have been heavily used by the Trump administration, Biden might do more to convince allies to also impose those restrictions, especially as the U.S. fights to maintain commercial leadership in the semiconductor sector, Sayers said.
The Federal Maritime Commission plans to discuss a rise in non-compliance with its May rule (see 2004290037) on detention and demurrage charges after industry complained that the rule is being ignored, Rebecca Dye, an FMC commissioner, said during a Nov. 10 session at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade virtual conference. She said she will soon make “recommendations” to other commissioners to address the rule and other issues, including problems surrounding container returns.
The European Council and the European Parliament agreed to new export control regulations for dual-use goods and sensitive technologies, paving the way for the European Union to soon implement a host of updated export control policies, licensing procedures and enforcement methods. The regulations, which have been discussed for years (see 1911290006 and 1906050039), will lead to more “accountable, competitive and transparent” trade in dual-use items, the council said Nov. 9.
The European Union will officially increase tariffs Nov. 10 on about $4 billion in U.S. goods due to past tax breaks for Boeing, the European Commission said Nov. 9. The World Trade Organization in October granted the EU permission (see 2010130029) to levy the tariffs, which were also endorsed by WTO members (see 2010280047).
The Bureau of Industry and Security had planned to submit several export control proposals for the 2020 Wassenaar Arrangement but will have to wait another year due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 (see 2004290044). Matt Borman, the Commerce Department's deputy assistant secretary for export administration, said Wassenaar has been unable to meet this year and could not gather recommendations for dual-use controls from member states.
The European Union is increasingly losing out in technology competition with the U.S. and China, technology and trade experts said during a Nov. 6 event hosted by Chatham House. While they suggested more EU cooperation with the U.S., they also said Europe needs a different approach to technology regulation to keep from falling further behind.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is considering export controls on certain “software” that can be exploited to develop biological weapons (see 2010010003) and requested feedback from industry about the impact of the controls, the agency said in a Nov. 5 notice. The controls would target software “for the operation of nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers” that can design and build “functional genetic elements from digital sequence data.” The controls would fall under BIS’s emerging technology effort, and comments are due Dec. 21.