President Joe Biden said he has no immediate plans to reverse Trump-era sanctions on Cuba, including restrictions on sending remittances to the island, because the Cuban government likely would intercept the money. “I would not do that now because the fact is it’s highly likely that the regime would confiscate those remittances or big chunks of it,” Biden told reporters July 15. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control in October amended the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to further deny the Cuban government’s access to remittance-related funds (see 2010230024).
The U.S. released an advisory to highlight the sanctions and export controls risks for companies doing business in Hong Kong and announced a new set of Hong Kong designations July 16. The advisory, issued by the State, Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security departments, describes “considerations” for businesses operating in “this new legal landscape,” which includes several sanctions regimes targeting Beijing and Hong Kong.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added six Russian entities to the Entity List for activities that threaten U.S. national security and foreign policy, the agency said in notice. The entities operate in Russia’s technology sector and support the country’s intelligence services, BIS said. The Treasury Department sanctioned all six companies in February under President Joe Biden’s executive order that targeted Russia’s defense and technology sectors and its attempts to influence foreign elections (see 2104150019). BIS also corrected one existing Russian entry on the Entity List. The rule is effective July 19.
A bipartisan group of senators urged President Joe Biden to consider sanctions if Turkey continues to interfere in Cyprus' territory. The U.S. should work with the European Union to “make clear” that Turkey’s continued attempts to develop the Varosha coastline will be met with multilateral sanctions, the senators said in a July 14 letter. “The U.S. and the EU should make clear to President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan that continuing to violate [United Nations Security Council] Resolutions and the rule of law is unacceptable,” said the senators, headed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J.
The U.S. should impose sanctions against Russia for the Kremlin’s efforts to shelter cybercriminals responsible for a recent wave of ransomware attacks, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said. In a July 13 letter, Menendez urged the State Department to use the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act provisions to impose penalties on the Russian government. “[W]ithout significant pressure from the United States and its allies,” Menendez said, “the Kremlin is unlikely to curb the cybercriminals it currently shelters.” The State Department declined to comment.
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review concerning firearms and other related articles that no longer warrant control on the U.S. Munitions List. The rule, received by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs July 13, would also issue corrections to those controls.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is again considering a rule that would make changes to its Strategic Trade Authorization license exception. The proposed rule, which was sent for interagency review June 13, would clarify the availability and expand restrictions on the availability of license exception STA under the Export Administration Regulations. BIS sent the rule for review last year but eventually withdrew it to conduct “further informal interagency consultation” (see 2011130008). STA authorizes certain exports, reexports and transfers of software source code and technology to foreign nationals in lieu of a license that would normally be required.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will add six Russian entities to the Entity List for activities that threaten U.S. security and foreign policy, it said in a notice released July 16. The entities, previously sanctioned by the Treasury Department under President Joe Biden’s February executive order, operate in Russia’s technology sector and support the country’s intelligence services, the agency said in the notice, which is scheduled to take effect upon publication of the notice July 19. BIS will impose a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations and a license review policy of presumption of denial. No license exceptions will be available. BIS also corrected one existing Russian entry on the Entity List.
Companies are continuing to see heavy U.S. enforcement surrounding Chinese attempts to steal U.S. trade secrets, and the government is increasingly expecting U.S. companies to voluntarily disclose violations surrounding those and other cases, lawyers said. The U.S. is hoping to increase enforcement by incentivizing companies to self-disclose sanctions and export control compliance mistakes, especially through the Department of Justice's revised disclosure policy guidelines (see 1912130047), the lawyers said.
European Union candidate countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania along with the European Free Trade Association nations of Iceland and Norway aligned their sanctions regimes with that of the European Union on Belarus, the European Council said in a July 13 news release. The newest wave of sanctions on Belarus banned the sale, transfer or export of dual-use goods and technologies for military use to anyone in Belarus (see 2106250009). The sanctions concern the May 23 forced landing of a Ryanair flight and subsequent arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega.