The European Union announced that 10 third countries have aligned themselves with the EU's sanctions on Nicaragua. The third countries are North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
The European Commission updated the European Union dual-use export control list, bringing the list in line with decisions taken under the framework for the international nonproliferation regimes and export control agreements until December 2020, the commission said. The update consists of two main changes. The first includes a note for the control of biocontainment chambers, isolators or biological safety cabinets to include any isolator meeting all the mentioned characteristics in the description of the item, regardless of intended use, the commission said. The second altered the definition of "superalloys" to specify the ultimate tensile strength of the alloys. The new definition defines superalloys as "nickel, cobalt or iron base alloys having a stress rupture life greater than 1 000 hours at 400 MPa and an ultimate tensile strength greater than 850 MPa, at 922 K (649oC) or higher."
A Vietnamese oil tanker that was seized by Iran was released after being drained of its oil, having been seen in open water on Nov. 10, the Associated Press reported. Data the AP obtained from MarineTraffic.com showed that the ship, called The Sothys, left Iran's Bandar Abbas port and reached international waters in the Gulf of Oman, appearing to be anchored in the open waters. Iran's state-run IRNA news station said that the Revolutionary Guard Corps released the tanker after draining the alleged Iranian oil from it, under court order. The ship was suspected of shipping sanctioned Iranian oil to Asia.
The Bureau of Industry and Security extended the comment period for an information collection involving the Chemical Weapons Convention provisions in the Export Administration Regulations (see 2107200010), the agency said in a notice. The information collection describes U.S. reporting obligations and information on certain end-use certificates. BIS said it will allow an additional 30 days of public comments. Comments are due by Dec. 13.
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for Manuel Valencia-Hermosillo for illegally exporting ammunition and magazines to Mexico, BIS said in a Nov. 9 order. The agency said Valencia-Hermosillo violated the Arms Export Control Act when he shipped 11,000 rounds of Wolf 7.62 X 39mm ammunition, 100 Palmetto State Armory 5.56 rifle magazines and 100 Korean 7.62 X 39 rifle magazines, all of which were controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. Valencia-Hermosillo was convicted Oct. 13, 2017, and sentenced to 15 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 fine. BIS denied Valencia-Hermosillo’s export privileges for seven years from the date of conviction.
President Joe Biden on Nov. 10 signed a bill into law that will impose additional sanctions against the Daniel Ortega regime in Nicaragua. The legislation would require the Biden administration to examine whether sanctions are sufficiently applied to government officials and businesses that are “obstructing the establishment of conditions necessary for the realization of free, fair, and transparent elections” in Nicaragua. It also encourages the administration to work more closely with other countries on coordinated Nicaragua sanctions and adds Nicaragua to a list of countries subject to certain corruption-related sanctions. Lawmakers have previously called on the U.S. to impose more sanctions against the Ortega regime (see 2111090012).
The former minister counselor for trade affairs in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing told an audience that in the last few years, Chinese government officials "feel like they've outflanked us on the trade front." James Green, who was speaking on a Flexport webinar on the future of U.S.-China trade policy, said that officials were pleasantly surprised that the tariffs on most exports to the U.S. did not hurt their economy more. And, he said, between sealing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and applying to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, they also feel like they have other options for exporting when things with the U.S. sour.
President Joe Biden extended a national emergency that authorizes certain sanctions against Iran, the White House said. U.S. relations with Iran “have not yet normalized,” the White House said Nov. 9, and the country’s government still poses a threat to U.S. national security. The emergency was extended for one year beyond Nov. 14.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Cambodian government officials for corruption, the agency said Nov. 10. The designations target Chau Phirun, the director-general of the defense ministry’s material and technical services department, and Tea Vinh, the country’s navy commander.
The Economic Community of West African States, responding to political upheavals in Mali and Guinea, said it will impose sanctions on Malian transition authorities, transition entities and the family members of those identified. The restrictive measures include a travel ban and asset freeze. ECOWAS also said that it will maintain sanctions on members of Guinea's National Committee of Reconciliation and Development -- which staged a coup earlier this year -- and their family members "until constitutional order is restored." The decisions follow the Nov. 7 ECOWAS summit on both countries' situations.