Foreign investment lawyers aren’t expecting a big change in how the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. operates under a second Trump administration, although a new round of tariffs against China and the continued easing of export restrictions among close U.S. allies could change the investment landscape and the number of filings submitted to CFIUS.
The EU and the U.S. should tighten sanctions against both China and Russia, the EU’s next top foreign affairs official said, saying the two sides need to work closely to break up an emerging alliance between Moscow and Beijing.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to become the committee’s chairman when Republicans take control of the Senate in January, a Senate aide said Nov. 8. As ranking member, Risch has urged the Biden administration to counter China’s material support for Russia’s war machine, curb Chinese purchases of Iranian oil and implement new sanctions on Iranian oil (see 2407300033). The current chairman, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., is retiring from the Senate.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., President-elect Donald Trump’s reported choice to be secretary of state, and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump's selection to be national security adviser, have played active roles on export controls and sanctions while serving in Congress.
Companies using the State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System should take steps to avoid two common “oversights” that Wilmarth & Associates said often cause licensing and registration delays for defense exporters.
The U.N. Security Council on Nov. 8 sanctioned two people connected to the Rapid Support Forces, a militant group in Sudan that has been accused of human rights violations. The designations target Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla, a major general and West Darfur commander of the RSF, and Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed, also a senior official with the RSF. The U.S. sanctioned Barkalla this week and included several alternate spellings for his name (see 2411120006)
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a final rule this week to revise its sanctions regulations for Myanmar, releasing a “more comprehensive set of regulations” with more guidance and definitions. The rule, effective Nov. 13, also includes general licenses and “other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public,” OFAC said. The new regulations replace the rules that were published in “abbreviated form” in 2021.
The EU will use sanctions to penalize third countries helping Russia fight its war against Ukraine, including those that deliver weapons or other lethal aid to Moscow, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, warned this week.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Abdel Rahman Joma’a Barakallah for being the West Darfur commander of the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese militant group warring with the Sudanese Armed Forces. OFAC said he played a “key role” in the kidnapping and killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar and other human rights violations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week updated its “Don’t Let This Happen To You” guidance with new summaries and case examples of past export control investigations. The guidance now includes new case summaries of violations involving a Russia-related procurement network; a criminal case where export-controlled items were smuggled outside the U.S. and used in an assassination plot; a penalty against a semiconductor wafer manufacturing company for shipments to a party on the Entity List; violations of BIS antiboycott regulations; and more. “Exporters are encouraged to review the publication, which provides useful illustrations of the type of conduct that gets companies and universities in trouble,” BIS said.