The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended two entries on its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions list, according to a March 2 notice. The changes affected the entries for the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and the Islamic State West Africa Province. The two groups were sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council in February (see 2002260038).

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Chinese nationals who laundered stolen cryptocurrency, Treasury said in a March 2 news release. The two people, Tian Yinyin and Li Jiadong, were responsible for a 2018 “cyber intrusion” linked to Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored “malicious cyber group” sanctioned in September for cyber espionage and data theft (see 1909130039). Tian and Li were also designated for providing financial, material or technological support for Lazarus Group.

The Treasury Department’s recent settlement with a Swiss telecommunications and information technology organization highlighted the agency’s ability to “effectively” impose primary sanctions obligations on a non-U.S. person, according to a Feb. 28 post from MassPoint Legal and Strategy Advisory. It also showed how the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control can base sanctions jurisdiction on the “involvement in foreign transactions of U.S.-origin software and technology and telecommunications hardware” located in the U.S.

Companies looking to comply with U.S. sanctions should use screening programs from trusted third parties instead of trying to build their own, according to Brian Grant, head of global compliance of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The need for companies to have robust compliance programs has grown “significantly” over the last several years, he said, and using screening software and procedures from experienced companies creates less risk.

The United Kingdom plans to keep a countervailing duty on imports of rainbow trout from Turkey after it leaves the European Union, according to a Feb. 28 notice from the Department of International Trade. But if the EU terminates this measure before the Brexit transition period ends, the measure will not be transitioned, the notice said.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Feb. 28 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

At least three Mexican ports are requiring 48 hours' notice before ships arrive from China, in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus through crew members, according to a Feb. 27 report from Mexico Today. The “detection protocol” is being carried out at the Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas and Ensenada ports along the Pacific coast, which all have “direct trade links” to China, the report said. The Manzanillo port is Mexico's largest port by volume, the report said, moving more than 3 million containers per year. Manufacturers in northwestern Mexico have reported interruptions in production lines for a variety of goods -- including in the electric, auto, aerospace and medical equipment industries -- due to Chinese supply chain delays, the report said.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is conducting “consultations” with small and medium-size Japanese companies impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, according to an unofficial translation of a Feb. 28 notice. The “management consultation” aims to help businesses manage the outbreak’s effect on business.

The U.S. and Latvia issued a joint declaration agreeing to source only from “trusted” 5G suppliers, saying those efforts will improve national security and benefit their private sectors. “The United States and Latvia believe that it is critical for countries to transition from untrusted network hardware and software suppliers in existing networks to trusted ones,” the declaration, released Feb. 27 by the State Department, said. The declaration comes as the U.S. lobbies other countries to reject Huawei technology and seeks to further restrict foreign sales containing U.S. goods to Huawei (see 2002050047).

The State Department approved three potential military sales worth more than $700 million total, to Jordan, the Netherlands and Tunisia, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Feb. 26. The sale to Jordan would include $300 million worth of “Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data” systems, while the sales to the Netherlands and Tunisia would include $85 million worth of “torpedo conversion kits” and $325.8 million worth of “Wolverine Light Attack” aircraft, respectively. The prime contractors for the Jordan sale are Raytheon and the Harris Corporation. The prime contractor for the Netherlands sale is also Raytheon, and the prime contractor for the Tunisia sale is Textron Aviation Defense.