The Daily Bugle Weekly Highlights: Week 33 (10 – 14 Aug 2020)

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.

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Last week’s highlights of The Daily Bugle included in this edition are:

  1. DHS/FEMA: FEMA Modifies Temporary Requirement for Approval by FEMA for Exports of PPE; Monday, 10 Aug 2020; Item #1
  2. Presidential Document Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok, and Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain”; Tuesday, 11 Aug 2020; Item #1
  3. Treasury/OFAC: “Issuance of new Sudan Program and Darfur Sanctions Guidance and Related FAQ”; Wednesday, 12 Aug 2020; Item #5
  4. Commerce/BIS Announces Virtual Conference on Export Controls on 2 Sep; Thursday, 13 Aug 2020; Item #3
  5. Presidential Documents: “Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Export Control Regulations (IEEPA)”; Friday, 14 Aug 2020; Item #5

 

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DHS/FEMA: FEMA Modifies Temporary Requirement for Approval by FEMA for Exports of PPE

(Source: Federal Register, 10 Aug 2020) [Excerpts]

 

85 FR 48113-48119: “Prioritization and Allocation of Certain Scarce and Critical Health and Medical Resources for Domestic Use”

* AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

* ACTION: Temporary final rule; extension of effective date with modifications.

* SUMMARY: In April, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a temporary final rule to allocate certain health and medical resources for domestic use, so that these resources may not be exported from the United States without explicit approval by FEMA. The rule covered five types of personal protective equipment (PPE), outlined below. While this rule remains in effect, and subject to certain exemptions stated below, no shipments of such designated materials may leave the United States without explicit approval by FEMA. Through this extension, FEMA modifies the types of PPE covered and extends the duration of the temporary final rule.

* DATES: This rule is effective from August 10, 2020 until December 31, 2020.

* ADDRESSES:  You may review the docket by searching for Docket ID FEMA-2020-0018, via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel McMasters, Office of Policy and Program Analysis, 202-709-0661, FEMA-DPA@fema.dhs.gov.

 

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Presidential Document Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok, and Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain”

(Source: Federal Register, 11 Aug 2020) [Excerpts]

 

85 FR 48637: Executive Order

   I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that additional steps must be taken to deal with the national emergency with respect to the information and communications technology and services supply chain declared in Executive Order 13873 of May 15, 2019 (Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain). Specifically, the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China (China) continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. At this time, action must be taken to address the threat posed by one mobile application in particular, TikTok.

   TikTok, a video-sharing mobile application owned by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd., has reportedly been downloaded over 175 million times in the United States and over one billion times globally. TikTok automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users, including internet and other network activity information such as location data and browsing and search histories. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information-potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.

TikTok also reportedly censors content that the Chinese Communist Party deems politically sensitive, such as content concerning protests in Hong Kong and China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. This mobile application may also be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the Chinese Communist Party, such as when TikTok videos spread debunked conspiracy theories about the origins of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

   These risks are real. The Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, and the United States Armed Forces have already banned the use of TikTok on Federal Government phones. The Government of India recently banned the use of TikTok and other Chinese mobile applications throughout the country; in a statement, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asserted that they were “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India.” American companies and organizations have begun banning TikTok on their devices. The United States must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security. 

Accordingly, I hereby order:

Section 1. (a) The following actions shall be prohibited beginning 45 days after the date of this order, to the extent permitted under applicable law: Start Printed Page 48638any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd. (a.k.a. Zìjié Tiàodòng), Beijing, China, or its subsidiaries, in which any such company has any interest, as identified by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) under section 1(c) of this order.

(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) of this section applies except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the date of this order.

(c) 45 days after the date of this order, the Secretary shall identify the transactions subject to subsection (a) of this section.

Sec. 2. (a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate the prohibition set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

Sec. 3. For the purposes of this order:

(a) the term “person” means an individual or entity;

(b) the term “entity” means a government or instrumentality of such government, partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization, including an international organization; and

(c) the term “United States person” means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.

Sec. 4. The Secretary is hereby authorized to take such actions, including adopting rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to me by IEEPA as may be necessary to implement this order. The Secretary may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions within the Department of Commerce. All departments and agencies of the United States shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to implement this order.

Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

 

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Treasury/OFAC: “Issuance of new Sudan Program and Darfur Sanctions Guidance and Related FAQ”

(Source: Treasury/OFAC, 11 Aug 2020)

 

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is publishing Sudan Program and Darfur Sanctions Guidance and a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) and removing eleven Sudan-related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).  OFAC is amending the following FAQs pertaining to the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (TSRA) as it applies to Sudan and five general and compliance FAQs to reflect that Sudan has not been a comprehensively sanctioned country since October 12, 2017.

 

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Commerce/BIS Announces Virtual Conference on Export Controls on 2 Sep

(Source: Commerce/BIS)

 

   The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will offer a virtual conference on export control policy on Wednesday, 2 September 2020. This full day virtual experience will include keynote speakers, plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and live Q&A with BIS and other agency experts.

   The planned agenda for this conference includes sessions on:

  • Executive Order 13873: Securing the Telecommunications Supply Chain
  • The Transition of USML Categories I-III to the CCL (Firearms)
  • Military End Use and End User Controls
  • Export Controls in Academic and Research Environments
  • CFIUS/FIRRMA Update
  • Regulatory Updates
  • Anatomy of an Export Enforcement Investigation
  • License Exceptions in the EAR and Country Groups – Update
  • Semiconductors: What the Controls Look At
  • Sanctions & Foreign Policy-based Export Controls
  • DDTC Updates
  • The Entity List: Understanding and Managing the Impact
  • Registered attendees will be able to access recorded sessions for a month after the date of the conference.

To register and for more information CLICK HERE.

For additional information on the BIS 2020 Virtual Conference, you may contact the Outreach and Educational Services Division at: virtualevent@bis.doc.gov.

 

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Presidential Documents: “Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Export Control Regulations (IEEPA)”

(Source: Federal Register, 14 Aug 2020) 

 

85 FR 49939: Notice

  On August 17, 2001, the President issued Executive Order 13222 pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [IEEPA](50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). In that order, the President declared a national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States related to the expiration of the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended (50 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.). Because the implementation of certain sanctions authorities, including sections 11A, 11B, and 11C of such Export Administration Act of 1979, consistent with section 1766(b) of Public Law 115-232 (50 U.S.C. 4601 note), is to be carried out under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the national emergency declared on August 17, 2001, must continue in effect beyond August 17, 2020. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13222, as amended by Executive Order 13637 of March 8, 2013.

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