American allies, including the EU, should introduce their own versions of the U.S. foreign direct product rule and the October 2022 U.S. persons controls that restricted additional sensitive semiconductor exports (see 2212210059), the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a new report.
New guidance published this week by the European Commission covers how EU sanctions apply to certain shipments of Russian liquified natural gas. The FAQs offer insight into how EU companies can determine whether the LNG they’re transporting is of Russian origin, how they can request permission to transport those shipments, and more.
The EU this week launched a new online sanctions help desk, featuring information on new sanctions, country-specific guidance, events, tips, compliance lessons learned and more. The help desk is geared toward helping small and medium-size companies carry out due diligence, and it will provide guidance on both EU and U.N. sanctions.
China this week published new rules, effective March 23, for the implementation of its anti-foreign sanctions law, clarifying what types of property Beijing can freeze in response to people and companies that violate the law, who China can target with the restrictions, and more.
The Senate voted 60-31 late March 24 to confirm former U.S. ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau as deputy secretary of state. Fifty Republicans, nine Democrats and one independent backed his nomination, while 31 Democrats were opposed. Nine senators didn’t vote. A State Department website indicates Landau was sworn in for his new role March 25. Landau testified at a hearing on his nomination in early March that the Trump administration plans to build international support for using sanctions to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons program (see 2503040038).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security officials who OFAC said were involved in the abduction, detention and "probable death" of former FBI agent Robert Levinson. OFAC said Iranian officials Reza Amiri Moghadam, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia and Taqi Daneshvar "all played a role in Mr. Levinson’s abduction, probable death, and Iran’s efforts to cover up or obfuscate their responsibility." Levinson disappeared in Iran in 2007 while on a CIA mission.
The U.K. this year plans to update its export controls to align them with changes recently made by the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement, Nuclear Suppliers Group and Australia Group. The updates include changes to the technical parameters for certain advanced artificial intelligence chip uses; revisions to the definitions for “spacecraft,” “satellite,” “space probe” and “space vehicle”; and more. The U.K. said it plans to make the changes this spring.
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The State and Treasury departments should form a task force to “robustly investigate and sanction” illicit gold trafficking networks, a watchdog group representative told a House panel March 25.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 82 entities, mostly in mainland China, to the Entity List, targeting technology companies, chip firms, electronics businesses and others for their ties to Chinese military end-users. The additions, the first since President Donald Trump took office in January, also target entities in Taiwan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Iran for a range of reasons that BIS said are “contrary to the national security and foreign policy” of the U.S.