The State Department approved two possible military sales to Taiwan, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Nov. 29. One sale includes $320 million worth of spare parts and support for F-16 aircraft, and the equipment will be transferred from U.S. government stock. The second sale includes $65 million worth of equipment and services related to the "Mobile Subscriber Equipment (IMSE) and Experimental Force (EXFOR) system," and the principal contractor will be General Dynamics Mission Systems.
A dual U.S.-Russian citizen was arrested Dec. 2 for trying to export two small aircraft to Russia, said DOJ, which also seized the aircraft.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., a senior member of the committee, urged the Biden administration Dec. 2 to impose sanctions in response to the Republic of Georgia’s violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in recent days.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a proponent of imposing more sanctions in response to Sudan’s civil war, said Nov. 29 that he plans to meet the week of Dec. 2 with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of state, to discuss several topics, including Sudan.
The Council of the European Union on Dec. 2 renewed its global human rights sanctions regime for another year, extending the restrictions until Dec. 8, 2025. The restrictions currently apply to 116 individuals and 33 entities.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three former Uzbekistan officials for their involvement in human trafficking and physical and sexual violence against children at a state-run orphanage. The designations, which mark the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, target Yulduz Khudaiberganova, Anvar Kuryazov and Aybek Masharipov, who OFAC said "participated in repeated physical abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking of orphan children" and other human rights abuses.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will hold a virtual public briefing 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST on Dec. 5 about its new export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment (see 2412020016). Registration closes at 1 p.m. EST on Dec. 5.
A new set of U.S. export controls announced this week target a range of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, chip software tools, high-bandwidth memory and more, including by introducing new license obligations on certain foreign-made tools that the Bureau of Industry and Security said can be used by China to make advanced chips for its military. BIS also added more than 100 entities to the Entity List, most based in China, for aiding Beijing's military technology goals.
Rachel Fredman Lyngaas, the Treasury Department’s chief sanctions economist, is leaving the government, she announced on LinkedIn. She said her next role will involve “economic security from another perch outside of public service.”
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed director-general of the World Trade Organization for a second four-year term to begin on Sept. 1, the WTO announced. Okonjo-Iweala was initially elevated to the position in 2021, becoming the first woman and first African to head the global trade body. In a statement on the reappointment, the director-general said she remains "firmly committed to delivering results that matter -- results that ultimately improve the lives of people around the world. By promoting trade as a driver of economic growth and resilience, the WTO will continue to provide a collaborative platform for Members to address shared global challenges."