Semiconductor industry officials are preparing to push for export control modernization over certain electronics on the Commerce Control List, which they say will help controls avoid unintended consequences on U.S. companies and more accurately reflect national security concerns. The effort, led by the Semiconductor Industry Association, will look to convince the Bureau of Industry and Security to update certain control parameters and definitions, and make technical changes in Category 3 of the CCL, which officials view as out of date.
Even as the U.S. and the European Union work privately to resolve their differences over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing, a U.S. representative at the World Trade Organization complained that the EU provided no status update on coming into compliance over Airbus subsidies. The EU said that the measures it took in August 2020 (see 2008280051) were more than enough to comply with a WTO ruling, according to a Geneva trade official.
The European Court of Justice annulled a 2018 decision by the General Court of the European Union to delist the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) from the terror-related sanctions regime. In an April 22 opinion, the ECJ found that the lower court should have considered the evidence relating to why the European Council decided to continue listing the PKK as subject to sanctions. Determining that not all the evidence had been considered, the ECJ remanded the case to the lower court.
The Justice Department hasn’t yet begun prosecuting cases involving violations of the Commerce’s Department's newly issued end-user restrictions but expects that to soon become a significant part of the agency’s focus, a senior Department of Justice official said.
At a webinar on U.S.-Vietnam economic relations, Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc said Vietnam is working to narrow the trade deficit with the U.S., whether by buying more American agricultural exports or encouraging Vietnamese businesses to open factories in the U.S. "I don’t think we can solve the problem overnight, with COVID-19 and the increased demand of the goods from Southeast Asia, and particularly Vietnam," he said April 27.
The Treasury Department applauded the United Kingdom’s enactment of its new anti-corruption sanctions regime this week (see 2104260019), saying the authority will allow the two countries to work together more closely on global sanctions issues. “U.S. sanctions are more likely to compel changes in behavior and disrupt threatening activities when pursued in concert with our allies,” Treasury said April 26, adding that sanctions can “incentivize businesses to adopt a more proactive corporate risk and due diligence approach.” But the agency also stressed that sanctions are just “one tool,” and the U.S. will continue to provide guidance and “engagement” to industry. “The United States looks forward to continuing our collaboration with the United Kingdom and other allies to defend human rights, support good governance, and impose tangible and significant costs on those who engage in corruption,” Treasury said.
The European Union announced that North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Iceland and Norway aligned themselves with the bloc's decision to sanction 11 individuals and four entities under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, in an April 27 news release. The 15 designations, along with the sanctioning of four Russian individuals in early March, constitute the first major listings under the new human rights sanctions regime and include individuals and entities from China, North Korea, Libya, Russia, South Sudan and Eritrea (see 2103220024). In its first step against Eritrea since fighting began over Ethiopia's Tigray region, the EU sanctioned the nation's National Security Office for extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests. The other sanctions target a Chinese entity, the Central Public Prosecutor's Office in North Korea and the Kaniyat militia in Libya.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation April 26 published a list of 22 individuals subject to an asset freeze under the new global anti-corruption sanctions regime. The individuals are from across the globe in places such as the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Central America. Included on the list are three South African Gupta brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh, for their corrupt relationship with former South African President Jacob Zuma. The brothers now live in the UAE, according to OFSI.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 26 sanctioned one current and one former Guatemalan official for corruption. The designations target Gustavo Adolfo Alejos Cambara, the former chief of staff for the Alvaro Colom presidential administration, and Felipe Alejos Lorenzana, an elected delegate to Guatemala’s Congress.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended its Somalia Sanctions Regulations and reissued them “in their entirety” to provide more guidance, general licenses and statements of licensing policy. The regulations outline new provisions surrounding blocked property, sanctions evasion attempts and new definitions to help industry comply with the sanctions. The new and revised general licenses authorize a range of activities, including certain investments, transactions related to legal payments and certain activities by the U.S. government. The new regulations take effect April 28.