International Trade Law News
May 20, 2004
Long-Awaited Regulation to Transfer Iraq Licensing Jurisdiction to BIS Expected in June
Peter Lichtenbaum, Assistant Secretary for Export Administration, indicated today that the long-awaited regulation that would transfer jurisdiction on Iraq-related export controls and licensing from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) should have inter-agency clearance by the end of this month and would be published in the Federal Register in June 2004.
U.S. economic sanctions on Iraq were substantially lifted in May 2003 after President Bush suspended most of the provisions of the Iraq Sanctions Act of 1990. At that time the administration indicated that primary licensing jurisdiction over exports and reexports to Iraq would be returned to BIS. Treasury and Commerce staff have encountered numerous delays while drafting the implementing regulations over the past twelve months. Until the regulations that transfer licensing jurisdiction to BIS are published, exporters must continue to obtain licenses from OFAC to export or reexport controlled goods or technology to Iraq.
May 17, 2004
Commerce Department Will Soon Issue Antidumping Duty Orders on Color Televisions From China
As a result of the U.S. International Trade Commission's final affirmative injury determination on May 14, 2004, the U.S. Department of Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order on imports of certain color television receivers (CTVs) from the People's Republic of China on May 21, 2004.
The antidumping duty order will impose antidumping duties ranging from 5.22% to 78.45%
on CTVs imported from China. Two of China's largest and most well-known manufacturers and exporters of CTVs, Haier Electric Appliances International Co. and Konka Group Company, Ltd., will be subject to antidumping duties in the amount of 22.94% and 9.69%, respectively.
This antidumping investigation was commenced in May 2003 after an antidumping petition was filed by Five Rivers Electronic Innovations, LLC and two labor unions.
The value of U.S. imports of CTVs from China increased from $23,907,845 in 2001 to $276,432,525 in 2003.
BIS Imposes $24,500 Penalty for Antiboycott Violations
The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a $24,500 civil penalty on Input/Output Exploration Products (UK), Inc., the foreign subsidiary of a Texas-based U.S. manufacturer of seismic imaging technology, to settle charges that the company violated the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
In its charging letter, BIS alleged that in 1999 Input/Output Exploration Products (UK), Inc., violated the EAR when it provided answers to questions from a customer about its business with or in Israel and the business relationships of its parent company with or in Israel. BIS also charged that in 1999 Input/Output Exploration Products (UK), Inc. unlawfully agreed to refuse to do business with companies on lists maintained by Arab League countries that boycott Israel, and failed to report its receipt of boycott requests received in three transactions. The charges involved transactions with Syria, which the company voluntarily self-disclosed to BIS.
The antiboycott provisions of the EAR prohibit U.S. persons from complying with certain
requirements of unsanctioned foreign boycotts, including providing information about business relationships with Israel and refusing to do business with persons on boycott lists. In addition, the EAR requires that persons report their receipt of certain boycott requests to the Department of Commerce. Under the antiboycott provisions of the EAR, a controlled-in-fact foreign subsidiary of a domestic U.S. company is considered a U.S. person.
U.S.-Cuba Trade Alliance Formed
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), USA*Engage, and the Association of Travel-Related Industry Professionals (ATRIP) have created an alliance to address U.S. sanctions policy on Cuba. The alliance was formed in an effort to discourage the U.S. from imposing further restrictions on Cuba as proposed by a recent report issued by the President's Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. The report's initiatives, which President Bush has directed be implemented, include a number of changes to current U.S. policy that may be harmful to Cuban Americans. The proposed actions include:
* Further limitation of family visits and humanitarian remittances to Cubans. The proposed regulations will limit visits to once in any three-year period and require travelers to obtain a specific license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to do so. Obtaining licenses from OFAC can be a time-consuming process.
* Elimination of the "fully-hosted" travel category. Fully-hosted travel permits travel to Cuba, provided that those traveling do not spend any money while there; under current OFAC regulations, individuals who travel to Cuba fully-hosted do not violate any of the
existing U.S. embargo prohibitions.
* Restrictions on passengers' charter-flight baggage to 44 pounds.
The alliance notes that, while the report issued by the President's Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba is to promote democratic reform in Cuba, these regulations do more to impede that goal than to realize it. Instead, they state that the "new regulations will restrict Americans' freedoms, cause substantial harm to American businesses and be especially harmful to Cuban families on both sides of the Florida Straits." Jody Frisch, newly-named Executive Director of ATRIP and the alliance said that we "are especially troubled by the Administration's efforts to eliminate the fully hosted provision for travel to Cuba, since the original Cuba embargo is predicated on the government's authority to restrict commercial and financial transactions. We question the legal authority to restrict travel that does not involve financial transactions, and we will take a hard look at all available remedies to ensure that the government does not overstep its legal authority."
