In other news, the Trump regime is reportedly seeking to fine immigrants for failing to self-deport.
The Department of Homeland Security sent out a batch of notices across the country to targeted individuals ordering them to pay fines of up to nearly $500,000 for "failing to depart the U.S. as previously agreed," among other factors.
"It is the intention of ICE to order you pay a fine in the amount of $497,777," Lisa Hoechst, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, wrote to Edith Espinal Moreno in a letter dated June 25, 2019, obtained by NPR from lawyers for Moreno. [...]
"It's almost half a million dollars. Are they for real? Do they really think that she's going to pay this?" [Moreno's attorney] said. "I laughed, because there has to be someone in some basement in D.C. thinking, 'Oh, what else can I do to mess with immigrants? What else can I do to hurt them?'"
Meanwhile, the European Union has signed a free trade deal with Vietnam that will eliminate tariffs on 99 percent of all goods traded between the two. The EU is making deals all over the place while Trump sputters.
Finally, Trump announced that he would lift export controls on Huawei as part of his truce with China, but that may not actually happen. Government staff are being told to treat Huawei as if it were still blacklisted.
In an email to enforcement staff on Monday that was seen by Reuters, John Sonderman, Deputy Director of the Office of Export Enforcement, in the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), sought to clarify how agents should approach license requests by firms seeking approval to sell to Huawei.
All such applications should be considered on merit and flagged with language noting that “This party is on the Entity List. Evaluate the associated license review policy under part 744,” he wrote, citing regulations that include the Entity List and the “presumption of denial” licensing policy that is applied to blacklisted companies. [...]
A person familiar with the matter said the letter was the only guidance that enforcement officials had received after Trump’s surprise announcement on Saturday. A presumption of denial implies strict review and most licenses reviewed under it are not approved.
So, does the White House think China won't notice that Huawei is still blacklisted?
Tomorrow is the 4th of July and also my 35th birthday. I have no idea where the time goes. I was 24 years old when I started commenting here and 26 when I started contributing.
Enjoy the long weekend and I'll see you all here on Monday. Thank you very much to everyone who donated during the summer fundraiser.