Recent updates to the U.S. Munitions List (see 2508260011) may be causing error messages for licenses submitted in the State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System, State said this week.

The U.K. on Sept. 18 amended the entry for China-based Autel Robotics under its Russia sanctions regime. The listing was revised to remove Autel Intelligent Technology as Autel Robotics' parent company.

Australia this week announced new sanctions against Russia and also said it's lowering its price cap on Russian oil from $60 per barrel to $47.60 per barrel, following a similar move by other nations imposing the cap (see 2507180017 and 2509120045). The new designations target 95 Russian "shadow fleet" vessels that are helping Moscow evade international sanctions, Australia said. "We will continue to take coordinated and decisive action to disrupt Russia's ability to fund its invasion, including through constraining its oil revenues."

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Los Mayos, an affiliate of the designated Sinaloa Cartel, for producing and trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine from northwest Mexico into the U.S. OFAC also sanctioned five people and 15 companies aiding Los Mayos just south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Planet Labs, a California-based Earth imaging company, disclosed this month that it has submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Bureau of Industry and Security about potential export control violations.

The increasing trend by Wassenaar Arrangement members, including those in the EU, of adopting export controls outside the regime reflects a shift away from multilateral bodies and “increases the risk of a patchwork of controls within the EU single market,” Akin said in a client alert.

To crack down on Hong Kong’s significant role in sanctions evasion, the U.S. should increase funding for the Bureau of Industry and Security’s budget, pass pending anti-money laundering legislation and sanction banks involved in the Chinese territory’s illicit trade, a Hong Kong expert said Sept. 18.

Beijing’s directive this week that banned its top technology companies from buying certain Nvidia chips could be aimed at boosting its leverage amid trade negotiations with the U.S., technology policy analysts said. But they also said the U.S. shouldn’t assume the ban is just a negotiating tactic, arguing that it may signal that China is doubling down on efforts to reduce its dependence on advanced U.S. chips and other technologies.

EcoBamboo, an Oklahoma-based importer of bamboo products used in privacy fencing and construction, has accused non-vessel-operating common carrier Ship4wd of violating the Shipping Act by failing to properly handle a shipment from Indonesia to the U.S., according to a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission on Sept. 2.

The European Commission on Sept. 16 proposed a new agenda to "raise bilateral relations with India to a higher level." The proposal includes measures to boost defense industrial cooperation, and the commission said it supports launching negotiations for a "Security of Information Agreement to facilitate classified information exchange," which "will support closer security and defence cooperation." The commission also called for closer cooperation in addressing Russia's war in Ukraine, "shadow fleets, and sanctions." The proposal also mentions finalizing the ongoing EU-India Free Trade Agreement talks and reinforcing supply chains "while promoting critical emerging technologies and engagement on digital issues, with particular attention to strengthening economic security within the Trade and Technology Council."