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:
- EU Commission: “EU and Canada Celebrate Third Anniversary of Comprehensive Trade Agreement”; Tuesday, 22 Sep 2020; Item #8
- EU Council: “Libya: EU Imposes Additional Sanctions for Human Rights Abuses and Arms Embargo Violations”; Tuesday, 22 Sep 2020; Item #9
- Treasury/OFAC Continues Pressure on Illegitimate Regime Officials Undermining Democracy in Venezuela; Wednesday, 23 Sep 2020; Item #4
- Commerce/Office of the Secretary: “Identification of Prohibited Transactions to Implement EO 13942 and Address the Threat Posed by TikTok and the National Emergency”; Thursday, 23 Sep 2020; Item #2
- EU Commission Publishes Notice on Dual-use Exports After Brexit Transition Period; Thursday, 23 Sep 2020; Item #8
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EU Commission: “EU and Canada Celebrate Third Anniversary of Comprehensive Trade Agreement”
(Source: European Commission, 21 Sep 2020)
Today is the third anniversary of the provisional entry into force of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The balance of these three years is very positive: bilateral trade between the EU27 and Canada has increased by 27% for goods and 47% for services as compared to the situation before CETA entered into force. This is much better than similar trends between the EU and the rest of the world over the same period of time.
Executive Vice President and acting Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said: “Over the last three years, CETA has proved its value many times over – not alone in increasing trade and economic opportunities for companies and workers in the EU and Canada, but also by providing a framework for stronger cooperation on sustainability and climate action. This demonstrates the enduring power of trade to deliver added value in a range of areas. My job as Executive Vice President of the Commission is to make sure we have an economy that works for people; it is clear that CETA contributes to that objective – and many more.”
CETA is a progressive agreement, which creates opportunities for sustainable growth and reflects our shared values. Key areas of work in the framework created by the agreement are now how to use CETA to contribute to effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, how to make trade policy more responsive to gender issues, and how to best support our smaller businesses using the trade opportunities with Canada.
CETA is a cornerstone of our bilateral relation with Canada, which we use as a platform to address together challenges in international trade system and the post-COVID global economy.
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EU Council: “Libya: EU Imposes Additional Sanctions for Human Rights Abuses and Arms Embargo Violations”
(Source: Council of the European Union, 21 Sep 2020)
The Council today decided to impose targeted restrictive measures on two persons responsible for human rights abuses in Libya and three entities involved in violating the UN arms embargo in place for Libya. They will be added to the EU’s list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures related to the Libyan conflict. The sanctions imposed comprise a travel ban and an asset freeze for natural persons, and an asset freeze for entities. In addition, EU persons and entities are forbidden from making funds available to those listed. With these new designations, the EU now has travel bans on 17 listed persons and has frozen the assets of 21 persons and 19 entities.
The EU imposes restrictive measures on persons and entities whose actions threaten the peace and security of Libya or obstruct the successful completion of its political transition. The EU has repeatedly called on all parties to respect human rights and international law and is committed to holding anyone violating them accountable. The EU is also determined to see the UN arms embargo in Libya fully respected. These new listings show the EU’s strategic use of its sanctions regime and ability to react to developments on the ground in support of the political process and to deter past and present perpetrators from further violations.
The EU’s sanctions complement and reinforce the sanctions adopted by the UN, which include an arms embargo and individual measures, including for human rights abuses. The UN has imposed a travel ban on 28 persons and an asset freeze on 23 persons.
The relevant legal acts, including the names of the persons and entities concerned, have been published in the Official Journal.
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Treasury/OFAC Continues Pressure on Illegitimate Regime Officials Undermining Democracy in Venezuela
(Source: Treasury/OFAC, 22 Sep 2020) [Excerpts]
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated five key figures that have facilitated the illegitimate Maduro regime’s efforts to undermine democracy in Venezuela. These individuals, including Maduro-supporting members of the Venezuelan National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional or AN), have acted as part of a broader scheme to manipulate parliamentary elections taking place in December 2020 by placing control of Venezuela’s opposition parties in the hands of politicians affiliated with Nicolas Maduro’s regime, undermining any credible opposition challenge to that regime.
“The United States remains committed to holding the Maduro regime and its supporters accountable for their blatant corruption to ensure that the Venezuelan people secure the free and fair election they deserve,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. These individuals are being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13692, as amended. …
View identifying information on the individuals designated today.
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Commerce/Office of the Secretary: “Identification of Prohibited Transactions to Implement EO 13942 and Address the Threat Posed by TikTok and the National Emergency”
(Source: Federal Register, 24 Sep 2020) [Excerpts]
85 FR 60061: Rule
* AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce.
* ACTION: Identification of prohibited transactions.
* SUMMARY: Pursuant to Executive Order 13942, the Secretary of Commerce is publishing the list of prohibited transactions 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, including TikTok Inc., in which any such company has any interest, to address the national emergency with respect to the information and communications technology and services supply chain declared in Executive Order 13873, May 15, 2019 (Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain), and particularly to address the threat identified in Executive Order 13942 posed by mobile application TikTok.
* DATES: Transactions identified in paragraph 1 below will be prohibited at 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on September 27, 2020; transactions identified in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5 below will be prohibited at 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on November 12, 2020.
* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Smith, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1859.
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EU Commission Publishes Notice on Dual-use Exports After Brexit Transition Period
(Source: European Commission, 16 Sep 2020)
See the notice to stakeholders here.