The Bureau of Industry and Security is issuing a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions with Huawei and 68 of its affiliates without new licensing requirements set by their recent addition to the Entity List. The general license authorizes exports, re-exports and in-country transfers under pre-listing conditions if they are related to the continued operation of existing networks and equipment; support for existing Huawei handsets; cybersecurity research and vulnerability disclosure; or engagement necessary for the development of 5G standards by a recognized standards body. The general license is scheduled for publication in the May 22 Federal Register, and will remain in effect from May 20 through Aug. 19.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control is issuing regulations for sanctions surrounding foreign interference in U.S. elections, according to an April 26 notice. The regulations require the director of national intelligence to investigate any information that points to the possibility of foreign interference within 45 days after the conclusion of U.S. elections and recommend “remedial actions” for the U.S. government to take, other than sanctions. The regulations also list provisions for sanctioning those involved in election interference, including blocking any U.S.-related “property and interest.”
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the Central Bank of Venezuela and its director, Iliana Josefa Ruzza Teran, for operating in the country’s financial sector and being used as a “tool of the illegitimate [Nicolas] Maduro regime,” OFAC said in a April 17 press release. Along with the sanctions, OFAC amended five Venezuela-related general licenses and issued two new general licenses that authorize certain dealings, bonds and transactions with Venezuela and several Venezuelan banks, including the Central Bank of Venezuela, according to an enforcement notice.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently issued a regulatory issue summary to clarify requirements for annual and quarterly reporting for exports of nuclear equipment and materials. According to the NRC, “based upon discussions with exporters that did not submit quarterly reports,” exporters may be confused about the different annual and quarterly reporting requirements. Annual reporting requirements are for exports under a general license for U.S.-origin goods listed in Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 110; quarterly licenses are for exports under a general or specific license for goods listed in Annex II of the Additional Protocol to the International Atomic Energy Agency agreement. “The two reporting requirements reference two distinct lists of equipment subject to reporting which share some items in common. Thus, the export of some components” may require both an annual report and a quarterly report because they appear on both lists, the NRC said. “Reporting under one of these requirements does not obviate the need to report under the other if both apply.”
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Venezuelan state-run bank and five related entities, OFAC said in a March 22 notice, increasing pressure on the Nicolas Maduro-led regime in potentially the most impactful move against the country since January, when the U.S. sanctioned Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A, the country's state-run oil company.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control amended a general license related to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, according to a March 14 OFAC notice. The license allows transactions with PDV Holding and CITGO Holding, two oil companies and subsidiaries of Petroleos de Venezuela, the U.S.-sanctioned and Venezuela state-owned oil company. The license also allows transactions with PDV Holding’s and CITGO Holding’s subsidiaries. The license changes the expiration date to automatically renew on the first day of each month, the notice said, and is “valid for a period of 18 months from the effective date” of the general license “or the date of any subsequent renewal of (the license), whichever is later.” The license, General License No. 7A, replaces General License No. 7, which was issued Jan. 28.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control amended two general licenses related to Venezuelan sanctions, OFAC said in a March 8 notice, extending the expiration date of provisions allowing transactions that involve the “wind down of certain financial contracts” with Venezuela. The first general license includes a provision that permits the divestment or transfer of Venezuelan-related bonds as long as the trades were placed before 4 p.m. on Feb. 1. The second general license allows “facilitating, clearing, and settling transactions” involving divestiture of holdings in Petroleos de Venezuela, the U.S.-sanctioned Venezuelan oil company, for all transactions that were placed before 4 p.m. on Jan. 28. Both authorizations are permitted only if divestments or transfers are made to a non-U.S. person, OFAC said. Transactions are authorized until May 10.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control extended the expiration date of two general licenses related to GAZ Group, allowing certain transactions involving the sanctioned company until July 6, 2019, OFAC said in March 6 notice. The previous expiration date, issued in a Jan. 16 notice, was March 7. The sanctions against GAZ Group are Ukraine-related, and the company was designated as an “oligarch-owned” entity after OFAC said in a April 2018 notice that the company was owned or controlled by “Russian Machines” and oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who also is identified as having a large stake in Russian aluminum producer Rusal. The notice said GAZ Group is Russia’s “leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles.”