The Commerce Department published its spring 2021 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including two new mentions of emerging technology rules and new export controls on certain camera systems.
European and U.S. former government officials said they think the U.S. and European countries will find much common ground in efforts to make trade work for working people, but that getting on the same page with China will be a challenge.
The European Union General Court annulled the sanctions listing of Sayed Shamsuddin Borborudi, the former deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, in a June 9 judgment. Borborudi was originally listed under the EU's Iranian nuclear sanctions regime for his position with AEOI and his work with Iran's nuclear program since 2002. The general court said he stopped working for AEOI in 2013, and the European Council failed to show evidence of his continued involvement in Iran's nuclear program. His prior work did not justify a continued listing, the court said.
The State Department on June 10 released its annual report to Congress of authorized exports of defense goods and services to foreign countries and international organizations during the 2020 fiscal year. The report covers direct commercial sales of licensed items for permanent export under the Arms Export Control Act and includes export statistics for each country and organization, including aggregate dollar values of the exports, their quantities and data on the actual shipments of those licensed exports.
The Environmental Protection Agency will allow submission of Toxic Substances Control Act notifications for chemical exports, it said in a notice. Beginning June 14, the agency will allow submissions required under TSCA Section 12(b) through its Central Data Exchange document submission system, it said. Export notifications will still be allowed in hard-copy form.
The U.S. lifted sanctions against three former Iranian government officials and two companies last week but said they were unrelated to U.S. efforts to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal. The delistings were the “result of a verified change in status or behavior on the part of the sanctioned parties,” the State Department said June 10. The agency said the people and companies previously helped buy, sell, transport or market Iranian petrochemical products, but sanctions are no longer warranted. “These actions demonstrate our commitment to lifting sanctions in the event of a change in status or behavior by sanctioned persons,” Secretary Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The Treasury Department is dedicating “significant” resources to sanctioning international fentanyl traffickers and is committed to maintaining strong sanctions against the Venezuela government for human rights violations, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a House Appropriations subcommittee June 10.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated people and entities involved in a smuggling network that funds Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Houthis in Yemen, OFAC said June 10. The agency sanctioned seven people, four entities and one vessel, including Iran-based Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal. The network helps generate tens of millions of dollars from the sale of petroleum and other commodities, OFAC said.
The Congressional Research Service on June 7 published a report on U.S. sanctions against Russia, detailing recent designations and moves by the Biden administration to expand sanctions authorities. The report describes current U.S. sanctions targeting Russia for cyber activities, corruption, use of chemical weapons, “coercive use” of energy exports and human rights violations.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen declined to say whether the Biden administration will continue its strong sanctions against Cuba and suggested the agency's Cuba program may be reworked. Yellen, speaking during a June 10 House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, said Treasury is reviewing its Cuba sanctions as part of a broad agencywide sanctions review begun earlier this year (see 2106070007 and 2105280004).