Although the new U.S. export controls against China are likely to have minimal impacts on the U.S. semiconductor industry, a broader implementation of the controls could quickly raise costs on U.S. and allied suppliers and hurt the domestic chip industry, the Rhodium Group said in a report this month. The research firm said damages to semiconductor companies “could balloon quickly under a tightening of controls,” which it believes is “highly plausible.”
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
The U.S. this week charged several Chinese nationals, including Chinese government intelligence officers, for their efforts to obstruct a federal prosecution of Huawei and illegally acquire U.S. technology. In one indictment, DOJ charged two Chinese intelligence officers with trying to steal federal prosecution documents relating to the Huawei case. A second indictment charges four Chinese nationals, including three Ministry of State Security (MSS) intelligence officers, for their involvement in a “long-running intelligence campaign” to acquire sensitive U.S. technology, information and assistance.
The EU is hoping for concrete input from the U.S. by year-end on changes to the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement system (see 2210180006), an EU official said, adding member states are growing increasingly impatient about the U.S.’s lack of action. Sabine Weyand, the European Commission’s director-general, also said the discussions within the EU on extending WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS waiver) have become more difficult.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is hoping the recent changes to its administrative enforcement policies help clear a “backlog” of minor cases that had been taking up too much of the agency’s time and resources, said Matthew Axelrod, BIS’s top enforcement official. Axelrod, speaking during an event last week hosted by the Massachusetts Export Center, also said the agency is making progress on establishing a multilateral export enforcement mechanism and urged exporters to make sure they are continuously screening suppliers and customers.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed by one month a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced Oct. 21. The ports had planned to begin imposing the fee in November 2021 but postponed it each week until July 29, when the ports announced their first one-month postponement (see 2207290053). The latest one-month extension delays the effective date until Nov. 18.
The Treasury Department this week released its first ever enforcement and penalty guidelines for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., detailing how it decides on violations, where the committee gets its information and other steps it takes during the penalty process. The committee -- which has been criticized for lacking transparency by lawyers and companies looking to comply with its requirements (see 2208050028 and 2008240031) -- also outlined various aggravating and mitigating factors it considers when calculating a penalty amount.
Artificial intelligence export controls should only be imposed multilaterally and should contain no ambiguity in order to minimize harm on U.S. competitiveness, trade groups told the Commerce Department this week. They said the controls also should clearly distinguish between “general purpose” and “application specific” AI software so the restrictions only cover items that pose genuine national security concerns.
Globerunners, a California-based shipper, said Texas-based Hoyer Global may have overcharged it in wharfage fees for a container held for years at a South Korean port. In a complaint this month to the Federal Maritime Commission, Globerunners said Hoyer never provided it with a copy of the detention and demurrage invoice Hoyer was given by the South Korean port. Globerunners believes Hoyer passed along fees higher than what the South Korean port charged.
The Federal Maritime Commission should exclude non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCC) from the scope of a rule that could define a set of factors the commission will consider when determining whether a carrier is violating certain shipping regulations, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said. The group stressed that it supports the rule if it helps to hold ocean common carriers accountable, including in situations in which they unfairly refuse space to U.S. exporters.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a temporary denial order for Russian airline Ural Airlines after it violated U.S. export controls by flying multiple aircraft to Russia, BIS said. Under the order, Ural Airlines’ export privileges will be revoked for at least 180 days.