A European Union proposal to restrict imports of goods that contribute to deforestation could place broad and “onerous” due diligence requirements on EU importers and their foreign suppliers, law firms said. Although the rules aren’t yet final and may be loosened, they will inevitably increase enforcement risks for companies that trade a range of products, the firms said, including soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned an additional 20 people, 12 entities and three aircraft for aiding the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus. The agency also imposed new restrictions on dealings in Belarusian sovereign debt, and issued a new general license and 10 new frequently asked questions to provide guidance on the new sanctions.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is violating Belgian shipping company Exmar Marine's Fourth and Fifth amendment rights by blocking its ability to sell an aircraft it owns, Exmar alleged in a Dec. 1 complaint. Arguing its case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Exmar said BIS has no legal authority to stop the sale of the aircraft and that such action to do so cuts against constitutional protections against unreasonable seizure and violations of due process (Exmar Marine, NV v. Bureau of Industry and Security, D.C. Cir. #21-3141).
While the U.S. and the European Union should continue to collaborate on export controls and investment screening efforts, cooperation on financial sanctions may be more difficult and may not be feasible in some cases, panelists said. Any trade or investment restrictions that rely on financial market leverage will be more difficult for the EU to implement, they said.
The U.S. and the European Union should pursue multilateral export controls, reexamine restrictions on certain munitions-related items and work together to better harmonize decisions on license denials, industry and academia said. The U.S. and EU released a joint summary Dec. 1 of those recommendations, which were made during an Oct. 27 virtual meeting on dual-use export controls (see 2110190020) to discuss areas of priority for the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council.
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European Union officials are seeing a steady uptick in notified transactions under its new foreign direct investment screening regime and expect the trend to continue into next year, said Denis Redonnet, the European Commission’s chief trade enforcement official. As more member states continue to screen FDI, Redonnet said the EC plans to issue a set of common guidelines for reviewing investments and will work closer with the U.S., Japan and others to share best practices.
Officials are hopeful the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (see 2108180020) will continue to facilitate more trade next year, but several obstacles are still hindering the deal, including a lack of customs infrastructure and export capacity among some member states. Wamkele Mene, secretary general of the AfCFTA secretariat, said members are continuing to show progress but much more work needs to be done, even as the AfCFTA inches closer to full ratification among the African Union's 55 states.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on areas and priorities for export control cooperation between the U.S. and the European Union, the agency said in a notice. The comments will help inform the work of the recently established U.S-EU Trade and Technology Council and its export control working group, including efforts to harmonize controls over dual-use items and emerging technologies (see 2109290083 and 2110010036). Comments are due Jan. 14, 2022.
Several companies disclosed their filings with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. or updated the status of their ongoing CFIUS reviews this month. The filings describe one CFIUS notification involving a Taiwanese technology company, three CFIUS clearances, a transaction involving a U.S. email encryption company and more.