Every Monday we post the highlights out of last week’s FCC Export/Import Daily Update (“The Daily Bugle”). Send out every business day to approximately 8,500 readers of changes to defense and high-tech trade laws and regulations, The Daily Bugle is a free daily newsletter from Full Circle Compliance, edited by James E. Bartlett III, Salvatore Di Misa, and Elina Tsapouri.
We check the following sources daily: Federal Register, Congressional Record, Commerce/AES, Commerce/BIS, DHS/CBP, DOE/NRC, DOJ/ATF, DoD/DSS, DoD/DTSA, FAR/DFARS, State/DDTC, Treasury/OFAC, White House, and similar websites of Australia, Canada, U.K., and other countries and international organizations. Due to space limitations, we do not post Arms Sales notifications, Denied Party listings, or Customs AD/CVD items. To subscribe, click here.
Last week’s highlights of The Daily Bugle included in this edition are:
- Treasury/OFAC: “Issuance of Iran-related Frequently Asked Questions”;Monday, 8 June 2020; Item #5.
- UK DIT: “UK and Japan Start Trade Negotiations”; The Daily Bugle; Tuesday, 9 June 2020; Item #4.
- State/DDTC: Requests Comments Regarding Temporary Suspensions, Modifications, and Exceptions to Several Provisions of the ITAR; The Daily Bugle; Wednesday, 10 June 2020; Item #1.
- EU Publishes Notice to Exporters Concerning the Application of REX System for the Purpose of its FTA With Vietnam; The Daily Bugle; Thursday, 11 June 2020; Item #5.
- State Department Updates the List of Entities and Subentities Associated with Cuba (Cuba Restricted List); The Daily Bugle; Friday, 12 June 2020; Item #2
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Treasury/OFAC: “Issuance of Iran-related Frequently Asked Questions”
(Source: Treasury/OFAC, 6 Jun 2020)
Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is issuing new Frequently asked questions related to Executive Order 13902, “Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran.”
Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, “Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran”
Q. Will OFAC target Iranian manufacturers of medicines, medical devices, or products used for sanitation or hygiene or as personal protective equipment for use in Iran pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902 for continuing to manufacture these items?
A. No. For the purposes of evaluating sanctions pursuant to E.O. 13902, persons in Iran manufacturing medicines, medical devices, or products used for sanitation, hygiene, medical care, medical safety, and manufacturing safety, including soap, hand sanitizer, ventilators, respirators, personal hygiene products, diapers, infant and childcare items, personal protective equipment, and manufacturing safety systems, solely for use in Iran and not for export from Iran, will not be considered to be operating in the manufacturing sector of the Iranian economy. Note that persons conducting or facilitating transactions for the provision, including any sale, of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices to Iran will not be subject to sanctions under E.O. 13902.
E.O. 13902 imposes sanctions with respect to any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to operate in the construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles sectors of the Iranian economy, and any additional sectors of the Iranian economy as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State. Iranian and non-Iranian persons operating in these sectors could be subject to sanctions pursuant to E.O. 13902.
The United States maintains broad exceptions and authorizations that allow for the commercial sale and export of humanitarian goods, including medicine and medical devices, to Iran or the Government of Iran from the United States or by U.S. persons or U.S.-owned or -controlled foreign entities. However, these authorizations and exceptions do not apply to transactions involving persons on OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List) that have been designated in connection with Iran’s support for international terrorism or proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including designated Iranian financial institutions or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), or in connection with activity that is subject to other sanctions not specific to Iran. For further guidance related to humanitarian trade with Iran and the provision of humanitarian assistance to Iran please see FAQ 828. [06-05-2020]
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UK DIT: “UK and Japan Start Trade Negotiations”
(Source: UK Department for International Trade, 8 Jun 2020) [Excerpts]
The UK and Japanese governments will today (Tuesday 9 June) start negotiating a UK-Japan Free Trade Agreement.
The agreement will build on the existing EU-Japan deal. It will go further by securing additional benefits in areas such as digital trade, and providing support for the UK’s 5.9 million small businesses.
It will allow the UK and Japan to set new standards in areas of digital technology and e-commerce, helping to establish our position as a global technology superpower.
Last year, UK trade with Japan was worth over £30 billion and 9,500 UK based businesses exported goods to the country, helping to employ 2.4 million people across the UK. A bespoke free trade agreement with Japan will help generate significant opportunities throughout the economy, creating jobs, boosting wages and diversifying choice for consumers.
UK-Japan trade talks are also an important step towards our joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a key UK priority, which will help us diversify our trade and grow the economy.
The UK and Japan are committed to an ambitious timeline to secure a deal that will enter into force by the end of 2020. Both countries are also dedicated to leading the global response to the economic challenges posed by coronavirus, making international trade easier and fairer and avoiding a retreat into protectionism. …
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State/DDTC: Requests Comments Regarding Temporary Suspensions, Modifications, and Exceptions to Several Provisions of the ITAR
(Source: Federal Register) [Excerpts]
85 FR 35376: Request for comments
* AGENCY: Department of State.
* ACTION: Request for comments.
* SUMMARY: The Department of State, is requesting comment from the public regarding certain temporary suspensions, modifications, and exceptions to several provisions of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) recently issued in order to ensure continuity of operations within the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and among entities registered with DDTC pursuant to the ITAR during the current SARS-COV2 public health emergency.
* DATES: Comments are due by June 25, 2020.
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EU Publishes Notice to Exporters Concerning the Application of REX System for the Purpose of its FTA With Vietnam
(Source: Official Journal of the European Union, 11 Jun 2020)
This notice is addressed to exporters in the European Union exporting originating products to Vietnam and declaring the origin of their products for the purpose of benefitting from the preferential tariff treatment of the Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam (EVFTA).
Protocol 1 of the EVFTA concerns the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation. Article 15 of that Protocol defines the general requirements in relation to the proofs of origin required to benefit from the preferential tariff treatment. In particular, Paragraph 1 of that Article provides that products originating in the European Union shall, on importation into Vietnam, benefit from the tariff preference of the EVFTA upon submission of any of the following proofs of origin:
(a) a certificate of origin (movement certificate EUR.1) issued by the competent authorities of the exporting Party, made out in accordance with Articles 16 to 18 of Protocol 1 (Article 15(1)(a));
(b) an origin declaration made out by an approved exporter within the meaning of Article 20 of Protocol 1 for any consignment regardless of its value, or by any exporter for consignments the total value of which does not exceed 6 000 euros (Article 15(1)(b));
(c) a statement of origin made out by exporters registered in an electronic database, in accordance with the relevant legislation of the Union after the Union has notified to Vietnam that such legislation applies to its exporters. Such notification may stipulate that points (a) and (b) shall cease to apply to the Union (Article 15(1)(c)).
The electronic database referred to above is the ‘REX system’, in accordance with the relevant EU legislation (Article 68(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447).
The European Union notified Vietnam on 8 April 2020 that point (c) of Article 15(1) of Protocol 1 of the EVFTA will apply as from the date of entry into force of the EVFTA, and that point (a) and point (b) of the same paragraph will not apply. Therefore, products originating in the European Union shall, on importation into Vietnam, benefit from the tariff preference of the EVFTA upon submission of statements on origin made out by registered exporters or by any exporter for consignments the total value of which does not exceed EUR 6 000. Certificates of origin EUR.1 and origin declarations will not be issued or made out in the European Union to benefit from the preferential tariff treatment in Vietnam.
As provided for in Article 19(6) of Protocol 1 of the EVFTA, the conditions for making out an origin declaration referred to in paragraphs 1 to 5 of that Article apply mutatis mutandis to statements of origin. In particular, the text of the statement of origin shall be the text of an origin declaration laid down in Annex VI of Protocol 1 of the EVFTA.
European Union operators who are already registered for the purpose of benefitting from other preferential arrangements shall use the REX number which is already assigned to them.
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State Department Updates the List of Entities and Subentities Associated with Cuba (Cuba Restricted List)
(Source: Federal Register, 12 Jun 2020)
85 FR 35972: Notice
* ACTION: Updated publication of list of entities and subentities; notice.
* SUMMARY: The Department of State is publishing an update to its List of Restricted Entities and Subentities Associated with Cuba (Cuba Restricted List) with which direct financial transactions are generally prohibited under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR). The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) generally will deny applications to export or reexport items for use by entities or subentities identified by the Department of State in the Federal Register or at https://www.state.gov/cuba-sanctions/cuba-restricted-list/, unless such transactions are determined to be consistent with sections 2 and 3(a)(iii) of NSPM-5.
* DATES: Applicable on June 12, 2020.
* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Belson, Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation, 202-647-6526; Robert Haas, Office of the Coordinator for Cuban Affairs, tel.: 202-453-8456, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520.