David Spooner, Washington counsel for the U.S. Fashion Industry Association, said that while the U.S. trade representative's China policy speech was underwhelming, he doesn't think the possibility of renewing 549 exclusions that expired at the end of last year will be the only olive branch to importers hurt by the China trade war. "Will we see other [expired] exclusions open to renewal? A new window open for exclusions? I hear 'yes.' When that will happen, and what that will look like, remains unclear," Spooner said at a virtual USFIA conference Nov. 9.
The State Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control recently announced a series of sanctions against Russia, including import restrictions on firearms and the designation of entities and individuals connected the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Aleksey Navalny. Coming on the one-year anniversary of Navalny’s poisoning with Novichok nerve agent, the new sanctions are being carried out “in concert” with the United Kingdom, State said.
Andrea Delisi, former assistant chief counsel in the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, joined Morrison & Foerster in its National Security and Global Risk + Crisis Management groups, the firm announced Feb. 10. She previously advised OFAC on legal issues including the office's economic sanctions programs involving Venezuela, Syria, Iran, human rights, corruption and terrorism.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced new restrictions on U.S. imports of Cuban cigars and alcohol as part of a broader set of measures to increase Cuba sanctions. The restrictions, outlined in a final rule effective Sept. 24, will revise four import-related authorizations in OFAC’s Cuban Assets Control Regulations. The authorizations apply to imports in “accompanied baggage” for personal use; by non-U.S. citizens or residents “not in commercial quantities” and not for resale; in accompanied baggage by or on behalf of a Cuban national “who is present” in the U.S.; and as accompanied baggage of Cuban origin purchased in a third country for personal use. Importers will no longer be able to use the authorizations for Cuban alcohol and tobacco products without specific licenses.
The International Trade Today editorial team today announced the launch of a new information service, Export Compliance Daily, that will deliver a concise, daily email summary of global export regulatory developments, in-depth PDF edition and full website access at exportcompliancedaily.com beginning on March 5th, 2019.
A cosmetics importer will pay $996,080 to settle charges that it violated sanctions on North Korea by bringing in false eyelash kits from China that contained North Korean materials, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a document posted Jan. 31 to its website. ELF Cosmetics imported 156 shipments of the eyelash kits worth $4,427,019.26 from two Chinese suppliers before becoming aware of the violations and voluntarily disclosing them to OFAC in January 2017, the document said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Nov. 5 issued a final rule implementing the “snap back” of its Iran sanctions regulations following the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in May (see 1805080056). The agency is also re-adding more than 700 persons to its Specially Designated Nationals list that had been removed as a result of the now-defunct Iran nuclear deal. The actions come at the end of a 180-day “wind-down” period of phased reimplementation of the Iran sanctions, with many provisions on trade having already come into effect in August. This final phase mostly affects Iranian shipping, petroleum and financial institutions. OFAC also updated its frequently asked questions document on the Iran sanctions with new information related to the return of sanctions, including on provisions related to payments for goods or services already provided before sanctions were reinstated.
Morrison & Foerster added John Smith, previously director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, as a partner in the firm's National Security Practice, it said in a news release.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is amending its regulations on trade in rough diamonds to update requirements for Kimberly Process Certificates. OFAC’s final rule incorporates recent changes to Census Bureau requirements for submission of Kimberly Process Certificates for imports and exports of rough diamonds (see 1804230045), and also clarifies which entity may issue Kimberly Process Certificates for rough diamond exports. OFAC is also adding definitions for rough diamond packaging requirements and voided certificates, and making “certain technical and conforming changes” to penalty provisions. The final rule takes effect June 19, 2018.
President Donald Trump on May 8 withdrew U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, setting the stage for sanctions suspended under the agreement to once again take effect. In a presidential memorandum announcing the decision, Trump directed the State and Treasury departments to “immediately begin taking steps to re-impose” all U.S. sanctions “waived in connection with the JCPOA,” and do so “as expeditiously as possible.” The memo set a deadline of November 2018 for putting the sanctions back in place.