The Bureau of Industry and Security revised the Commerce Control List and the Export Administration Regulations to implement changes made during the 2019 Wassenaar Arrangement plenary, the agency said in a final rule released March 26. Along with revising various Export Control Classification Numbers and correcting language in the EAR, the rule eliminated certain reporting requirements for encryption items, which BIS expects to “reduce the regulatory burden” for U.S. exporters. The changes take effect March 29.
Baker McKenzie has promoted partner Sunny Mann to global chair of the firm's International Commercial & Trade Practice Group, effective July 1, it announced in a March 23 press release. Mann, currently in the firm's London office, has been with Baker McKenzie for 21 years and has worked on a host of international trade issues, including compliance with sanctions, export controls and foreign investment rules.
In a joint communication to the European Council on the state of European Union-Turkey relations, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell floated the possibility of expanding the sanctions framework on Turkey, additional sanctions listings and restrictions of the European Investment Bank, among other options to curb any Turkish breaches of international law. Other potential countermeasures against Turkey could involve targeting important sectors of the Turkish economy, including “a prohibition to supply of tourism services” and “import/export bans on certain goods and technologies” key to the energy sector. In the same communication, Borrell discussed expanding and modernizing the current EU-Turkey Customs Union as already proposed by the European Commission as a way to strengthen economic ties between the two sides.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added the Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Ltd. to its sanctions list, subjecting it to an asset freeze, it said in a March 25 Financial Sanctions Notice. The major Myanmar conglomerate, owned by the Myanmar military, contributed to a series of fundraising events, which provided financial support to military personnel engaged in genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Southeast Asian nation.
The Justice Department and Homeland Security Investigations can do more to track, analyze and disrupt illegal smuggling of guns into Mexico, the Government Accountability Office said in a March 24 report. The GAO said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives often receives incomplete data on thousands of U.S.-origin guns recovered in Mexican states, and said “additional data and analysis” by HSI “could enhance U.S. efforts to understand firearms sources and smuggling routes.” As a result, both agencies are “unable to assess” their progress toward stopping illegal gun exports and haven’t “fully developed performance measures” for those efforts.
President Joe Biden plans to continue to address Chinese human rights violations and unfair trade practices, and soon will host an “alliance of democracies” to discuss how to better hold China accountable, he told reporters March 25. Speaking during his first formal news conference as president, Biden didn’t say when the meeting with allies will take place but said he will push partners to make China “follow the rules.”
Wally Adeyemo was confirmed as deputy treasury secretary on a voice vote March 25. Adeyemo, whose nomination hearing was held a month ago, said there would be a comprehensive review of sanctions under the new administration (see 2102230047). Even though there was no recorded opposition to his nomination, Republicans required the cloture process to go forward, which delayed the vote by a week.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated the sanctions listings for one individual subject to Venezuela sanctions, three entities subject to Iran nuclear sanctions, two entities subject to Syria sanctions, and eight individuals subject to sanctions on ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida.
The Magnitsky Act is set to sunset in 2022, and the bipartisan authors of the original sanctions bill asked civil society representatives in the U.S. and Africa how the renewal should be shaped.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two more Myanmar entities, issued four new general licenses and published two new frequently asked questions to provide guidance on certain exempted transactions with Myanmar. The sanctions and guidance, issued March 25, came days after OFAC designated entities and officials associated with the country’s military-led coup last month (see 2103220036) and about three weeks after the Commerce Department increased export restrictions for shipments to Myanmar (see 2103040075).