The leaders of the House Select Committee on China said Nov. 25 that they have asked for a briefing on how the Treasury Department is responding to Hong Kong’s growing role in sanctions evasion.
The Treasury Department on Dec. 9 will hold an inaugural conference on its new outbound investment security program, which will place new prohibitions and notification requirements for U.S. outbound investments in China’s semiconductor, artificial intelligence and quantum sectors beginning in January (see 2410280043). Registration for the conference ends Dec. 2. It will be held at the Treasury building in Washington; an agenda hasn't yet been released.
A Treasury Department final rule that’s expected to expand the enforcement and monitoring powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. is scheduled to be officially published in the Federal Register Nov. 26 and take effect Dec. 26. The agency earlier this month issued a prepublication version of the rule, which will allow CFIUS to impose higher maximum penalties, collect a broader range of information from parties involved in non-notified transactions, fine companies and issue subpoenas in a wider set of circumstances, and more (see 2411180048).
The U.K. added two financial services companies to its Russia sanctions regime on Nov. 25. Alfastrakhovanie and VSK were listed for operating in the Russian financial services sector, which is a "sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia," OFSI said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is drafting a final rule that would make certain changes to U.S. export controls based on recent decisions made at the multilateral Australia Group. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Nov. 22.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is renewing a December change to the U.S. Munitions List that allowed U.S. manufacturers to apply for export licenses to participate in development of the KF-21 aircraft “without removing those defense articles from the USML simply because they are used in the KF-21” (see 2312010010). The revision, which was scheduled to expire Dec. 1, will now last through Dec. 1, 2026, or “when terminated by the Department, whichever occurs first,” DDTC said in a final rule released Nov. 25 and effective Nov. 26.
The Bureau of Industry and Security soon will place new export controls over certain scientific testing and industrial processing equipment destined to Pakistan that had not previously faced license requirements, saying the items have been diverted through Pakistan to companies on the Entity List.
China has been “consistently” building a set of policy tools it can use to retaliate against the U.S. and other countries in response to trade controls or other restrictions, and companies could soon start seeing China deploy those tools more frequently, said David Hathaway, a consultant on China issues for The Asia Group.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control will retire its RSS feed Jan. 31 but continue to provide updates about recent sanctions actions by email, the agency announced Nov. 22. OFAC website users can sign up for email updates here. Technical support questions should be sent to O_F_A_C@treasury.gov.
Richard Allen, a former Navy officer, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a scheme to steal more than $850,000 worth of military gear and sell it to bidders from China, Russia and dozens of other countries, DOJ announced last week.