A client alert this month from law firm Bracewell includes a table of Russian energy-related general licenses recently issued by the U.S., the U.K. and the EU, what they authorize and their expiration dates. The licenses cover certain transactions in light of sanctions against major Russian energy firms Rosneft, Lukoil, their subsidiaries, and other Russia-related transactions (see 2510290011, 2510220012 and 2510230014).
The Trump administration is examining a recommendation by Senate Democrats to sanction Chinese individuals and entities that buy liquefied natural gas from the U.S.-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia, the State Department said in a letter publicly released Nov. 24.
EU ministers and Parliament members this week urged the bloc to respond forcefully to China’s rare earth export restrictions if Beijing doesn’t repeal them or swiftly grant export licenses to European companies. Some also said they’re skeptical Beijing’s one-year suspension for some of its export controls will last.
The U.K. on Nov. 25 extended the antidumping duties on ceramic tableware and kitchenware from China for an additional five years, pushing them to July 16, 2029, at existing AD rates. Guangxi Sanhuan Enterprise Group Holding will be subject to a 13.1% rate; Hunan Hualin China Industry and its affiliates will be subject to an 18.3% rate; and all other overseas exporters will receive a 36.1% rate. Various other respondents are subject to a rate of either 17.6% or 17.9%, according to a list of those separate companies found on the U.K. Department for International Trade's website.
Countries reported 250 policy initiatives related to research security this year, an increase from last year and almost 10 times more than 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a study released last week. Over that same period, OECD said, the number of countries with research security measures rose from 12 to 41, highlighting a "major policy shift" in which governments are increasingly viewing science and technology as "pillars of national and economic security."
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, introduced a bill Nov. 20 that would require the administration to determine whether certain Iranian clerics should be labeled Specially Designated Global Terrorists for calling for the death of President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other political leaders. The legislation was referred to the House Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Ways and Means committees.
House Delegate James Moylan, R-Guam, introduced a bill Nov. 21 that would require the Commerce Department to annually assess China’s advanced AI capabilities. The legislation, which is co-sponsored by Reps. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., and Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Moylan, who revealed a day earlier that he planned to introduce the bill, said his proposal would help pinpoint loopholes in export controls (see 2511210027).
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said Nov. 21 that he plans to file a discharge petition to force a House vote on a bill to impose additional sanctions on Russia and new tariffs on countries that buy its oil and gas.
The U.K.'s National Crime Agency said billion-dollar money laundering networks working out of the U.K. bought a bank in Kyrgyzstan to evade sanctions against Russia.
The U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and the Netherlands issued a joint alert this month about the risks stemming from bulletproof hosting (BPH) providers, which are internet infrastructure providers that market and lease their infrastructure to cybercriminals, including those subject to sanctions.