The United Kingdom Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation designated seven people under its Syrian sanctions regime, it said Oct. 16. The move follows the European Union's designation of the same seven Syrian government officials (see 2010160020).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated 490 entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List to reflect April changes made to the North Korea Sanctions Regulations (see 2004090026), OFAC said in an Oct. 19 notice. OFAC updated the entries to show they may be subject to a prohibition on “persons that are owned or controlled by a U.S. financial institution and established or maintained outside” the U.S.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 19 sanctioned three people and seven entities for counter-terrorism and Iran-related reasons. The first set of designations target Australia-based al-Qaida-associated facilitator Ahmed Luqman Talib and his company, Talib and Sons, for supporting al-Qaida.
Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, told a business audience that his country and the U.S. have completed a trade facilitation agreement, an agreement on best regulatory practices, and an anti-corruption agreement. He said these treaties would “slash red tape and bring about even more growth to our bilateral trade with beneficial effects to the flow of investments as well.”
China enacted a new export control law to restrict sales of national security-related goods, mirroring steps taken by the U.S. to strengthen restrictions on sensitive exports to China. The law, which was passed by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee Oct. 17 and takes effect Dec. 1, creates an export control regime with control lists, compliance requirements for industry and a list of prohibited importers and end-users, somewhat similar to the U.S.’s Entity List.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company CEO C.C. Wei declined to comment on the “unfounded speculation” that it landed a Commerce Department license to ship to Huawei. “We are complying fully with the regulations,” he said during an Oct. 15 investor call. The company also won’t comment “on our status right now” with Huawei, he said. TSMC is “evaluating the impact to the semiconductor industry” from new export restrictions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International, China’s largest chipmaker (see 2009280022), Wei said. Its factory “capacity planning” is based on “the long-term demand profile” in 5G and high-performance computing as a hedge against unexpected disruptions, he said.
The United Kingdom signed an economic and trade deal with Cote d’Ivoire to continue existing trade agreements after the end of the Brexit transition period, the U.K. said Oct. 15. The agreement will allow businesses “to trade as freely as they do now, without any additional barriers or tariffs,” the U.K. said, including “tariff free market access.”
The United Kingdom on Oct. 16 updated its list of imports from the European Union that will be controlled after the end of the Brexit transition period. The list now provides “more detail” about which goods will be controlled beginning next year, including information on controlled drugs, excise goods, drug precursor chemicals, toxic chemicals, fishery products, explosives, firearms, military goods and nuclear materials.
The United Kingdom issued Oct. 16 guidance on exporting dual-use goods to the European Union after Brexit and reminded exporters to register for an open general export license. U.K. exporters should check whether their items are on the dual-use control list, which includes goods relating to nuclear materials, electronics, telecommunications, navigation equipment, marine equipment, software and technology. An exporter whose goods are captured by that list needs to register for an OGEL, which will “enable multiple shipments of these controlled items to any EU member state,” the U.K. said. The license does not expire, but exporters may be “audited on its use” by U.K. compliance officers. Dual-use items that do not have the license may be stopped at customs, the U.K. said.
China is “discouraging” its cotton mills from importing and using Australian cotton, two Australian cotton trade groups said Oct. 16. The groups said they are unsure why China has made “changes to export conditions for Australian cotton” to China and said that they are working with the Australian government to investigate. “Our industry’s relationship with China is of importance to us and is a relationship we have long valued and respected,” the Australian Cotton Shippers Association and Cotton Australia said in a joint statement. “To now learn of these changes for Australian cotton exports to China is disappointing, particularly after we have enjoyed such a mutually beneficial relationship with the country over many years.” The groups said they will continue “meaningful conversations with stakeholders to fully understand this situation” and “find a resolution.” During an Oct. 16 news conference, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said he was “not aware” of the situation and referred further questions to “the competent authorities.”