US ECONOMICS

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

DoC. USITC. May 22, 2020. Trade enforcement. Department of Commerce Asks for Public Input on Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Exclusion Process. Wilbur Ross, Secretary

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking public comments on how to improve the exclusion process for tariffs and quotas imposed on steel and aluminum imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (“Section 232”). The notice of inquiry, which went on public display today at the Federal Register, states that BIS will accept comment submissions from May 26, 2020 through July 10, 2020.

“The Department of Commerce is continually looking for ways to improve the exclusion process for Section 232 tariffs and quotas,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “We want these critical national security measures to be applied effectively while avoiding unnecessary impacts on downstream American industries.”

Since the tariffs and quotas for steel and aluminum were instituted in 2018, Commerce has developed a process for manufacturers to request exclusions from the tariffs and quotas if those products cannot be produced in a sufficient quantity or quality in the U.S. or for national security reasons. The exclusion process also allows domestic steel and aluminum producers to object to an exclusion request by demonstrating they can provide the steel or aluminum item subject to the exclusion request, in a satisfactory quantity and quality. The Department conducts a thorough analysis of each exclusion request, objection, rebuttal, and surrebuttal it receives. This analysis assesses, on a case-by-case basis, whether the article at issue is produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount and of a satisfactory quality. All decisions are available on publicly available websites.

In the notice of inquiry, BIS is seeking public input on a number of topics related to the exclusion process including the appropriateness of the information requested and considered in applying the exclusion criteria and the process employed in rendering decisions on requests for exclusions.

Comments may be submitted to the Federal rulemaking portal (www.regulations.gov).
The regulations.gov ID is: BIS-2020-0012. Commenters should refer to RIN 0694-XC058 in all comments and in the subject line of e-mail comments. Rebuttal comments will be accepted until August 10, 2020. Rebuttal comments may only address issues raised in comments filed on or before July 10, 2020.

FULL DOCUMENT: https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2020/05/department-commerce-asks-public-input-section-232-steel-and-aluminum

CHINA

DoC. USITC. May 22, 2020. Commerce Department to Add Nine Chinese Entities Related to Human Rights Abuses in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Entity List

The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the impending addition of the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science and eight Chinese companies to the Entity List, which will result in these parties facing new restrictions on access to U.S. technology. These nine parties are complicit in human rights violations and abuses committed in China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). This action will supplement BIS’s first tranche of Entity List designations in October 2019 involving 28 parties engaged in the XUAR repression campaign in Xinjiang.

The Entity List additions restrict the export of U.S items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to persons or organizations reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of being of becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. The EAR imposes additional license requirements on, and limits the availability of most license exceptions for, exports, re-exports, and transfers (in-country) to listed entities.

The listing will identify China’s Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science and Aksu Huafu Textiles Co. for engaging in human rights violations and abuses in the XUAR. An additional seven commercial entities will be to the list for enabling China’s high-technology surveillance in the XUAR: CloudWalk Technology; FiberHome Technologies Group and the subsidiary Nanjing FiberHome Starrysky Communication Development; NetPosa and the subsidiary SenseNets; Intellifusion; and IS’Vision.

FULL DOCUMENT: https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2020/05/commerce-department-add-nine-chinese-entities-related-human-rights

DoC. USITC. May 22, 2020. Commerce Department to Add Two Dozen Chinese Companies with Ties to WMD and Military Activities to the Entity List

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced it will add 24 governmental and commercial organizations to the Entity List for engaging in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. The entities, based in China, Hong Kong, and the Cayman Islands, represent a significant risk of supporting procurement of items for military end-use in China.

“The new additions to the Entity List demonstrate our commitment to preventing the use of U.S. commodities and technologies in activities that undermine our interests,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. 

This action will prohibit the export, re-export, or in-country transfer of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to these entities without Department of Commerce authorization.

Pursuant to Section 744.11(b) of the EAR, the Entity List identifies persons or organizations reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. The EAR imposes additional license requirements on, and limits the availability of most license exceptions for, exports, re-exports, and transfers (in-country) to listed entities.

The 24 entities to be added to the Entity List are:

• Beijing Cloudmind Technology Co., Ltd.
• Beijing Computational Science Research Center
• Beijing Jincheng Huanyu Electronics Co., Ltd.
• Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research
• Chengdu Fine Optical Engineering Research Center
• China Jiuyuan Trading Corporation
• Cloudminds (Hong Kong) Limited
• Cloudminds Inc.
• Harbin Chuangyue Technology Co., Ltd.
• Harbin Engineering University
• Harbin Institute of Technology
• Harbin Yun Li Da Technology and Development Co., Ltd.
• JCN (HK) Technology Co. Ltd.
• K Logistics (China) Limited
• Kunhai (Yanjiao) Innovation Research Institute
• Peac Institute of Multiscale Science
• Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd.
• Qihoo 360 Technology Company
• Shanghai Nova Instruments Co., Ltd.
• Sichuan Dingcheng Material Trade Co., Ltd.
• Sichuan Haitian New Technology Group Co. Ltd.
• Sichuan Zhonghe Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd.
• Skyeye Laser Technology Limited
• Zhu Jiejin.

FULL DOCUMENT: https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2020/05/commerce-department-add-two-dozen-chinese-companies-ties-wmd-and

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LGCJ.: