The US Administration has taken a series of actions in recent days to tighten US export controls for Hong Kong and to sanction Chinese government officials in response to the decision of the Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”) to impose a new national security law for Hong Kong. Most significantly, these actions put Hong Kong on a par with China with respect to license exception eligibility under the US Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) by suspending all…
METI (the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) announced two amendments to the export control regulations on 1 July 2019.
On April 22, 2019, the Trump Administration announced that the US government will not reissue the significant reduction exceptions (“SREs”) that have allowed energy companies in China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey to purchase Iranian oil without being subject to relevant US sanctions. The current waivers will expire on May 2, 2019.
On April 19, the US Government issued a fact sheet outlining a new policy (the “New UAS Policy”) on exports of US-origin unmanned aerial systems (“UAS”) and a new National Security Presidential Memorandum (“NSPM”) updating the United States Conventional Arms Transfer Policy (the “New CAT Policy”). These changes do not directly impact the export licensing requirements on UAS under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). However, according to statements made in a press briefing on these developments, the new policies reflect the Trump Administration’s interest in enabling US manufacturers of UAS to “level the playing field” and increase exports of these products to US allies and partners. They also evidence a broader effort to increase considerations of economic interests in arms transfer decisions.