The upcoming year will produce “record” results for U.S. agricultural exports as agreements with Japan and China take effect and as the U.S. Department of Agriculture aims to increase U.S. exports to countries “around the world,” Secretary Sonny Perdue said. Speaking during a Jan. 20 event hosted by the American Farm Bureau, Perdue said agriculture exports will significantly increase in 2020, particularly due to the phase one agreement with China (see 2001150073). “If you made 200 bushels this year, think about making 400 next year,” Perdue said. “We’re talking about doubling the number of [agricultural imports] that China has ever done throughout the whole agricultural sector.”

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 13-17 in case you missed them.

The Commerce Department released its final rule for transferring export controls of firearms, ammunition and other defense items from the State Department to Commerce. The rule revises the Export Administration Regulations to transfer items that no longer “warrant control” on the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List. The rule will be published alongside a final rule from the State Department, which details the changes made to Categories I, II and II of the USML and describes “more precisely” the items that warrant “export or temporary import control” on the USML. The rules, which have been highly anticipated by the firearms industry (see 1908130066), will be published Jan. 23 and take effect March 9.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has done little to define the broad scope of the Iranian executive order issued earlier this month that expanded sanctions authority for the Treasury and State departments, according to trade lawyers. The order (see 2001100050) -- which authorized both primary and secondary sanctions against Iran’s construction, mining, manufacturing and textiles sectors -- did not define the scope of the Iranian sectors that may be subject to sanctions, and OFAC has yet to release guidance. OFAC did, however, issue a frequently asked question that provided a 90-day wind-down period (see 2001160011).

The Senate overwhelmingly passed the new NAFTA, though it wasn't by quite as wide a margin as in the House, where more than 95 percent of votes were for the trade pact. The vote, which happened just before the reading of the impeachment articles against President Donald Trump on Jan. 16, was 89-10, with only one Republican voting no. Most of the Democrats who voted no did so because the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement doesn't address climate change.

The Commerce Department is close to publishing a rule that will expand its authority to block shipments of foreign made goods to Huawei, according to a Jan. 14 Reuters report. The rule would lower the U.S.-origin threshold on exports to Huawei to 10 percent, Reuters said, and expand the purview to include “non-technical goods like consumer electronics” and “non-sensitive chips.” Commerce sent the rule to the Office of Management and Budget after an interagency meeting last week, the report said. A top Commerce official recently confirmed the agency was considering a range of expanded restrictions of foreign exports to Huawei, including changes to the Direct Product Rule and a broadened de minimis level (see 1912100033).

China agreed to purchase a range of U.S. goods as part of the phase one deal signed Jan. 15, totaling about $200 billion worth of U.S. goods and services over the next two years. The deal covers a long list of agricultural products -- including pork, beef, processed meats, dairy and seafood -- along with increased Chinese imports of U.S. rice, energy products and $120 billion in purchases of U.S. manufactured goods this year.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 6-10 in case you missed them.

The Treasury Department’s final regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act made several changes to the proposed rules based on public comments and provided more clarity about FIRRMA’s “excepted foreign states” concept. But Treasury did not provide a more specific definition for “critical technologies” despite several requests from industry.

The Treasury Department released final regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 on Jan. 13, along with a fact sheet and a set of frequently asked questions. The regulations, which will take effect Feb. 13, grant expanded authorities to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. Treasury said the final regulations made several changes to the agency’s proposed regulations, released in September (see 1909180018), including defining additional terms and introducing an interim rule for a new definition of “principal place of business.”