Daily Trade News · Sanctions & Import Compliance
OFAC Expands Sanctions Screening Risk
Xinbi Guarantee and two technology providers are blocked, while four trade-remedy reviews remain preliminary.
September 10, 2026OFAC added a Southeast Asia-facing digital-asset network and an Ecuadorian criminal organization to the SDN List on September 9. The blocking consequences are immediate; by contrast, the duty percentages published in four September 10 administrative reviews are preliminary and do not automatically replace current cash-deposit rates.
OFAC blocks Xinbi network and Los Tiguerones
On September 9, the Office of Foreign Assets Control added four entities to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. Xinbi Guarantee—also identified in Simplified Chinese as 新币担保—is listed across Burma, Thailand and Laos. OFAC also designated Singapore-based SafeW Technology and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology for links to Xinbi. The SDN entry for Xinbi includes numerous TRON digital-currency addresses.
Treasury describes Xinbi as a Chinese-language guarantee platform and illicit marketplace supporting cyber scams, fraud and money laundering. According to Treasury, the platform processed the equivalent of more than $24 billion in digital assets and fiat currency since approximately 2022. Treasury says SafeW supplied encrypted messaging capabilities and Anwen supported wallet and payment tools, including XinbiPay and NewPay.
Los Tiguerones, active in Ecuador and Peru, was added as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, with secondary-sanctions risk identified in the SDN entry.
Primary sources (September 9, 2026): OFAC SDN update and Treasury enforcement release.
OFAC updates the licensing workflow
Two new FAQs clarify mechanics rather than expand an authorization. FAQ 1269 distinguishes an OFAC Case ID from a Reference ID or Application Alias used in the online licensing portal. FAQ 1270 says an amendment or renewal request should be filed as the same application type as the underlying license and should cite the current authorization in the “Previous License Number” field.
For licenses nearing expiration, OFAC recommends filing a renewal request at least 60 days before the expiration date. This is planning guidance, not an automatic extension: an expired license cannot be treated as valid merely because a renewal application is pending.
Primary sources (September 9, 2026): OFAC FAQ 1269 and FAQ 1270.
Four trade-remedy reviews: percentages are preliminary
The September 10 Federal Register contains one countervailing-duty and three antidumping-duty preliminary results. These notices invite comment and set the direction of the reviews, but company-specific deposit changes take effect only upon publication of final results. Existing deposit instructions continue in the meantime.
| Product / country | Preliminary result | Current operational status |
|---|---|---|
| Brass rod / South Korea CVD review |
Booyoung: 0.29% for 2023 and 0.52% for 2024. Daechang group: 0.47% for 2023 and 0.20% for 2024. The sub-0.50% results are de minimis. | Preliminary No company deposit reset until final results. The existing all-others rate remains 2.87%. |
| Prestressed concrete steel wire strand / Malaysia AD review |
Kiswire 1.29%; Southern PC Steel 1.42%; Wei Dat Steel Wire 1.36%. Review rescinded for Southern Steel Sdn Bhd because there were no reviewable suspended entries. | Preliminary Existing rates continue; the all-others rate remains 5.13% pending final results. |
| Prestressed concrete steel wire strand / Ukraine AD review |
PJSC Stalkanat: 0.00%. | Preliminary The zero rate is not a new deposit rate unless confirmed in final results. The all-others rate remains 19.30%. |
| Cased pencils / China AD review; HTSUS 9609.10.00 |
Shanghai Yover, Yiwu Huijie Make Pens, Zhejiang Pengsheng and Zhejiang Sinopencil were preliminarily placed in the China-wide entity after not filing separate-rate materials. | Existing rate unchanged The 114.90% China-wide rate is not under review. If the treatment is maintained at final, it will govern assessment of the four companies’ review-period entries. |
Interested parties in the pencil review have 21 days from publication to file case briefs and 30 days to request a hearing. Importers should also preserve the antidumping-duty reimbursement certificate required before liquidation; failure to comply can lead to a presumption of reimbursement and double assessment.
Primary sources: Korea brass rod, 91 FR 57540; Malaysia PC strand, 91 FR 57542; Ukraine PC strand, 91 FR 57538; and China cased pencils, 91 FR 57545 (all published September 10, 2026).
Mexico winter-strawberry case enters the final injury phase
The U.S. International Trade Commission scheduled the final phase of antidumping investigation 731-TA-1770 following Commerce’s affirmative preliminary less-than-fair-value determination. The scope covers fresh and chilled strawberries from Mexico entered from November 1 through March 31, including retail-packed, organic, sliced and specified coated products, and is referenced under HTSUS 0810.10.40.
This scheduling notice is not an antidumping-duty order and does not itself establish a new cash-deposit rate. The Commission must determine whether the domestic industry is materially injured or threatened by the subject imports.
| Milestone | Date and time |
|---|---|
| Prehearing staff report placed in the nonpublic record | December 18, 2026 |
| Prehearing briefs due | December 29, 2026, 5:15 p.m. |
| Requests to appear at the hearing due | December 30, 2026 |
| USITC hearing | January 6, 2027, 9:30 a.m. |
| Posthearing briefs and nonparty statements due | January 13, 2027, 5:15 p.m. |
| Final comments on newly released information due | February 1, 2027, 5:15 p.m. |
Primary source (published September 10, 2026): USITC scheduling notice, 91 FR 57652.
Two FTZ production proposals open for comment
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board published two proposed production activities with an October 20 comment deadline. Neither notice is an authorization yet.
- Catalina Cylinders, FTZ 50 in Garden Grove, California: proposed production of aluminum gas cylinders, a finished product with a 5% ordinary duty rate, using duty-free unwrought aluminum alloys. Section 232-covered inputs must be admitted in privileged foreign status when the applicable decision requires it.
- Dongjin Semichem Texas, FTZ 183 in Killeen, Texas: proposed production of duty-free semiconductor-grade photoresist thinner using foreign-status chemical inputs with ordinary duty rates ranging from duty-free to 5%.
Primary sources (published September 10, 2026): Catalina Cylinders, 91 FR 57538 and Dongjin Semichem Texas, 91 FR 57538.
What compliance teams should do now
- Refresh sanctions screening immediately. Load all four new SDN records, Xinbi’s aliases and digital-currency addresses, and screen beneficial ownership under OFAC’s 50 Percent Rule.
- Trace funds as well as vendors. Review payment processors, wallets, encrypted-communications providers and intermediaries connected to Southeast Asian counterparties; escalate exact and credible partial matches before release.
- Do not preload preliminary duty rates. Flag the reviewed suppliers and periods, but keep current deposit instructions until Commerce publishes final results and CBP issues corresponding instructions.
- Preserve review-period records. Validate producer/exporter combinations, suspended-entry data and reimbursement certificates for pencils, brass rod and PC strand.
- Calendar the strawberry proceeding. Importers, retailers and industry participants seeking party status should evaluate the appearance, APO, briefing and hearing deadlines now.
- Assess the FTZ proposals only as proposals. Interested parties should submit comments by October 20; do not book a duty benefit before Board authorization and product-specific admissions analysis.
Concrete watchlist
- Any OFAC enforcement guidance, address updates or ownership disclosures tied to Xinbi, SafeW, Anwen or Los Tiguerones.
- Commerce final results in the four administrative reviews, generally expected within 120 days unless extended.
- USITC’s final injury determination in fresh winter strawberries from Mexico after the January 2027 hearing schedule.
- October 20 FTZ comment deadline and any subsequent Board authorizations.
- CBP implementation guidance for the September 8 Canada actions reported previously.
- The next USITC HTS revision and Modification Sources; Revision 18 remains the latest as of this report.
Frequently asked questions
Does OFAC’s action ban all trade with the countries named in the listings?
No. It blocks the designated persons and entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons. Other dealings still require normal program, ownership and transaction screening.
Should importers change deposits to the new preliminary percentages?
No. The review notices state that new cash-deposit requirements take effect with final results. Existing instructions continue until then.
Is Stalkanat’s 0.00% rate already operative?
No. It is a preliminary review result. It becomes the new company rate only if confirmed in the final results and implemented through the normal deposit process.
Is the China-wide pencil rate new?
No. The existing 114.90% China-wide rate is not under review. The new issue is the preliminary treatment of four companies as part of that entity.
Are duties now imposed on Mexican winter strawberries?
The September 10 item only schedules the USITC final injury phase. It is not a duty order and does not itself create a new deposit rate.
Primary-source record
- OFAC and Treasury, September 9, 2026: SDN additions, Treasury enforcement release and license-application FAQs 1269–1270.
- Commerce / Federal Register, September 10, 2026: preliminary reviews covering Korea brass rod, Malaysia and Ukraine PC strand, and China cased pencils.
- USITC / Federal Register, September 10, 2026: final-phase schedule for fresh winter strawberries from Mexico.
- Foreign-Trade Zones Board / Federal Register, September 10, 2026: Catalina Cylinders and Dongjin Semichem Texas proposed production notices.
This publication is for general trade-compliance information and is not legal advice. Product descriptions and sanctions consequences are condensed for readability; the controlling legal text, tariff classification, ownership analysis and agency instructions must be reviewed for each transaction.