The partial amendment to the Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items ("Public Notice"), announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy ("MOTIE") on May 3, 2024, came into effect on June 21, 2024 (the "Amended Notice"). Subsequently on June 28, 2024, the MOTIE also announced a draft partial amendment to the Public Notice, newly adding 243 items to the items subject to the catch-all license requirement for export to Russia or Belarus (the "Draft Partial Amendment").
An overview of the Draft Partial Amendment and the Amended Notice is as follows:
1. Overview of Draft Partial Amendment
Certain items subject to the U.S. catch-all controls but not previously covered in the Public Notice have been added to the list of items subject to the catch-all license requirement for export to Russia or Belarus, as provided in Annex 2-2 of the Draft Partial Amendment. Specifically, a total of 243 items have been added across materials and chemicals categories based on HS codes (Nos. 1,160 to 1,402).
Annex 24 of the Draft Partial Amendment provides that an application for a catch-all export license for any of these items may be subject to an exceptional case-by-case review for catch-all license, provided that a relevant trade agreement has been executed before the enforcement date of the Draft Partial Amendment. According to the MOTIE press release, the Draft Partial Amendment is expected to come into force in late August following regulatory review and other related procedures. We will promptly issue a follow-up newsletter once the exact enforcement date is confirmed.
The following table lists the newly added items subject to a catch-all export license, along with examples based on HS codes.
| No. | HS Code Description | Examples |
| 1160 ~ 1177 | Chapter 25 Salt; sulphur; earths and stone; plastering materials, lime, and cement | Clays, chalk, gypsum, lime, and mica |
| 1178 ~ 1191 | Chapter 32 Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments, and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks | Tanning substances, colouring matter, pigments, and glazes |
| 1192 | Chapter 35 Albuminoidal substances; modified starches; glues; enzymes | Dextrin and starches |
| 1193 ~ 1210 | Chapter 37 Photographic or cinematographic goods | Photographic/cinematographic film and papers |
| 1211 ~ 1228 | Chapter 38 Miscellaneous chemical products | Rosin, wood tar, agents/dye carriers for textile, plasticisers, preparations for fire-extinguishers, anti-freezing fluids, biodiesel, reaction initiators, reaction accelerators, and catalytic preparations |
| 1229 ~ 1258 | Chapter 39 Plastics and articles thereof | Polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl acetate (PVA), Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polylactic acid (PLA), polyamide (PA), and other plastic materials; Pipes, hoses, plates, sheets, bidets, doors, window frames, and other plastic products |
| 1259 ~ 1293 | Chapter 40 Rubber and articles thereof | Butadiene, isobutene, latex and other rubber materials; Plates, sheets, strip, belts, tubes, hoses, pneumatic tyers (retreaded or used), and other rubber products |
| 1294 | Chapter 58 Special woven fabrics; tufted textile fabrics; lace; tapestries; trimmings; embroidery | Gauze |
| 1295 ~ 1297 | Chapter 64 Footwear | Ski/snowboard boots and rubber/plastic footwear |
| 1298 | Category 65 Headwear | Safety helmets |
| 1299 ~ 1303 | Category 69 Ceramic products | Bricks, tiles, roofing tiles, and chimney liners |
| 1304 ~ 1319 | Category 70 Glass and glassware | Glass rods, glass balls, glass tubes, glass sheets, and laminated safety glass |
| 1320 | Chapter 71 Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin | Unwrought silver |
| 1321 | Chapter 72 Iron and steel | Ferrovanadium |
| 1322 ~ 1327 | Chapter 74 Copper and articles thereof | Copper bars and rods, copper wire and copper plates, sheets, strips, etc. |
| 1328 | Chapter 78 Nickel and articles thereof | Nickel powders and flakes |
| 1329 | Chapter 80 Tin and articles thereof | Tin alloy |
| 1330 ~ 1334 | Chapter 82 Tools, implements, cutlery, spoons and forks, of base metal; parts thereof of base metal | Saw blades and cutting blades |
| 1335 | Chapter 83 Miscellaneous articles of base metal | Flexible tubing |
| 1336 ~ 1381 | Chapter 84 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof | Boilers, pumps, machine-tools, welding machinery and apparatus, and fluid projectors for semiconductor manufacturing |
| 1382 ~ 1390 | Chapter 85 Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles | Magnets, lamps, electric heating resistors, automobile radios, circuit breakers, and display tubes |
| 1391 | Chapter 86 Railway or tramway locomotives, rolling-stock and parts thereof; railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings and parts thereof; mechanical (including electro-mechanical) traffic signalling equipment of all kinds | Diesel electric locomotives |
| 1392 ~ 1394 | Chapter 87 Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof | Fire fighting vehicles / concrete mixer trucks |
| 1395 ~ 1402 | Chapter 90 Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof | Lenses, cinematographic cameras, machines and appliances for testing material property, and hydrometers |
2. Overview of the Amended Notice
Annex 24 of the Amended Notice has newly included "(11) publications, cinematograph films, music CDs, tapes, etc." as a category of "trade of consumer telecommunications products" exempted from the catch-all export license requirement. Additionally, through mutatis mutandis application of Article 26 "Exemption of Individual Export License," Paragraph (1), Subparagraphs 7 and 15, the grounds for exemption from the catch-all license requirement now include: (1) re-importing and repairing export items due to their failure or breakdown and then re-exporting them; and (2) exporting containers for the purpose of transporting other items and then, within one year thereof, re-importing or destroying them at the overseas site (both of which were originally grounds for exemption from the individual export license requirement). If you intend to export any items to Russia or Belarus, it would be worthwhile to examine whether such items qualify for the new exemption from the catch-all license requirement.
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Appendix 24 – Guidelines on License for Export to Russia or Belarus for Cooperation with International Export Controls |
Further, the Amended Notice reflects the changes in the strategic items subject to export controls, as agreed upon by the member states of the international export control regimes, such as WA, NSG, MTCR, and AG. As a result, three (3) items below have been newly added as dual-use items. Amendments to Annexes 1 through 4 resulting from these additions will come into force three (3) months after the enforcement of the Amended Notice on June 21, 2024, i.e., September 21, 2024.
- (Compound) 1C011.e Iodine pentafluoride (CAS 7783-66-6)
- (Chemical substance) 1C350.90 Dipropylamine (CAS 142-84-7)
- (Pathogens and toxins harmful to humans and animals) 1C351.d.24 Neosaxitoxin
As discussed above, the Amended Notice has newly added items eligible for catch-all license exemptions and grounds therefor, while the Draft Partial Amendment has added a significant number of items subject to the catch-all license requirement. Given the frequent changes to the Public Notice, driven by global demands for cooperation with export controls as well as the geopolitical situations surrounding Korea, companies engaged in relevant businesses are advised to thoroughly verify the HS codes of their export items and regularly check for updates to the Public Notice. Extra caution is recommended when determining whether export items fall under strategic items and/or items subject to catch-all license. Companies should also double-check the risk of items entering Russia, Belarus or other countries of concern through a third country.
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#Patent #Industrial Security and Export Control #Trade Secret #2024 Issue 2
