Export control lawyer Christopher Stagg recently launched a U.S. Munitions List revision tracker to capture updates made to USML categories within the International Traffic in Arms Regulations in recent years. The document reflects changes across all USML categories “since their revision under Export Control Reform,” Stagg said on LinkedIn, adding that he plans to update the tracker with future USML changes. Each category includes the Export Control Reform effective date, any completed regulatory changes along with their Federal Register citations, any proposed modifications and any expected future revisions.
Chinese President Xi Xinping raised concerns about U.S. export controls during what was expected to be his last meeting with President Joe Biden before Donald Trump takes office (see 2411140018), warning the U.S. against pursuing policies that could lead to the decoupling of the two economies.
Chinese and South Korean officials met in China last week for an export control “consultation” to share information about their respective export restrictions, according to an unofficial translation of a Chinese Ministry of Commerce notice. The officials also held “in-depth exchanges” with industry officials who also attended the meeting, China said. “The two sides agreed to further strengthen communication and cooperation, promote the development of bilateral compliant trade, and jointly maintain the stability and smoothness of the global industrial chain and supply chain.”
Correction: Mark Handley, a lawyer with Duane Morris, spoke about European sanctions and export control enforcement during a Nov. 12 virtual event hosted by the Sanctions Center (see 2411120019).
A Venezuelan national was sentenced Nov. 14 to 30 months in prison for his role in a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Petroleos de Venezuela, a Venezuelan state-owned oil company, DOJ announced.
The U.N. Security Council, which plans to draft a resolution this month on Sudan’s civil war, should “enforce accountability for member states violating” the arms embargo for Sudan’s Darfur region, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., said Nov. 14.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul., R-Texas, will not seek to lead the panel for another two-year term, a spokesperson said Nov. 15. McCaul had intended to request a waiver from term limits for House Republican committee leaders but has decided not to do so out of respect for his party's rules, the spokesperson said. As chairman, McCaul has advocated for tightening export controls on China, increasing enforcement of Iran sanctions and speeding up delivery of weapons to Israel. In the waning days of the current Congress, McCaul has been seeking to pass legislation restricting outbound investment in China (see 2410070008).
MetLife is “pleased” to have reached a settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control that resulted in a $178,421 penalty for alleged sanctions violations by its subsidiary, American Life Insurance Company (see 2411140052), a MetLife spokesperson emailed Nov. 14. The spokesperson added that the insurance company holds itself to “the highest professional and ethical standard.”
A letter reportedly sent by the Commerce Department ordering Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to stop shipments of advanced semiconductors to certain Chinese customers (see 2411120011) is a “serious violation of international economic and trade rules” and a “gross interference in free trade,” a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said last week.
China’s Ministry of Commerce released its new dual-use export control list Nov. 15 ahead of the Dec. 1 effective date for its recently issued dual-use export regulations, which outline how the ministry will approach dual-use licensing and export enforcement, detail possible extraterritorial impacts of the controls, and more (see 2410210042).