The Census Bureau published a blog post Dec. 15 on submissions of “suppression requests” related to an “unresolved fatal error” in the Automated Export System. AES users can submit suppression requests to manually remove the fatal error for a specific Shipment Reference Number “that appears in an AES Fatal or Compliance Report,” Census said. The blog post details how and when users can submit the requests.
The U.S. and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding that will extend trade financing and investment support to companies in both countries, the Commerce Department said Dec. 15. The MOU, which was signed by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, will help Singapore importers “finance the purchase” of U.S. exports, Ross said. He said it will also help draw more Singapore investment to the U.S. Commerce said the MOU will be in place for two years and is renewable.
The State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency approved a potential sale to Italy worth about $500 million, the DSCA said Dec. 15. The sale includes Gulfstream G550 Aircraft and “Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Electronic Warfare (AISREW) Mission Systems.” The principal contractor will be L3Harris.
The U.S. should work more closely with Japan on international standards setting to counter Chinese attempts to dominate a range of technology sectors, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a December report. Increasing U.S.-Japan technological cooperation is “fundamental to the alliance,” CSIS said, calling on the U.S. to more proactively partner with Japan to engage with standard bodies. “The United States needs to up its game in international standards setting, working with Japan and others to foster more effective public-private partnerships,” the report said. Both countries have “a critical interest in collaborating to ensure that the technical standards and rules governing new technologies are open, inclusive, and promote interoperability.” A congressional commission on China said this month the U.S should dedicate more resources to its participation in standards bodies (see 2012010043).
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Dec. 11 began reviewing a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that will implement more export controls agreed to at the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement plenary. BIS published the first set of controls from the plenary in October (see 2010020042) but has since experienced rulemaking delays (see 2012080046).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service released an exporter guide on trading with Hong Kong, and called the region an “attractive market” for U.S. food and beverage exporters. The guide, released Dec. 8, includes “business tips” or exporters, an overview of Hong Kong food import regulations, recent market trends and details about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Hong Kong's agricultural imports.
CBP is looking to expand its electronic export manifest pilot in “several environments and ports” but does not yet have a time frame for doing so, a CBP spokesman said Dec. 9. He said the agency “is in discussion with ports and carriers to expand the pilot,” which may include a rail EEM pilot through the Port of Buffalo, adding to the existing rail pilot in Port Huron. “Other rail carriers are currently programming and testing with their assigned CBP client representative,” the spokesman said in an email. He clarified “there is no set limit for pilot participants” for ocean EEM “and carriers can submit for all ports.” He added that CBP does not yet have a timeline for expanding the air EEM pilot, “but air carriers can work with their CBP client representatives if they elect to submit air EEM.” CBP and the Census Bureau are unclear about the timeline for the full release of the EEM system (see 2003110038).
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for more vigilance on college campuses to prevent technology theft by Chinese interests (see 2008130036) and warned of increasing attempts by China to recruit professors, researchers and students. Pompeo said some of China’s “high-end industrial base” is “based on stolen technology,” including research theft from American universities. “We cannot allow this tyrannical regime to steal our stuff, to build their military might and brainwash our people, or buy off our institutions to help them cover up these activities,” Pompeo said Dec. 9 at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “We need researchers to be vigilant against fraud and theft, and the academic community to reject [China’s] financial siren songs.”
The Federal Maritime Commission is probing whether ocean carriers are refusing to supply containers to inland U.S. agricultural exporters in order to send more empty containers to Asia, FMC Chairman Michael Khouri said. Those actions may violate FMC regulations, he said, including the Shipping Act. “This abandonment of a significant U.S. export industry -- the American agricultural industry -- is shutting them out of global markets,” Khouri said during the Dec. 8 Global Maritime Conference. “We are looking into all potential -- I repeat -- all potential responsive actions.”
The State Department approved a potential military sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. worth about $280 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Dec. 7. The proposed sale to Taiwan includes a “Field Information Communications System” and related equipment. The principal contractor is unknown pending “open competition for selection,” DSCA said.