The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 5 removed three entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List following the U.S.’s decision to rescind its sanctions regime targeting the International Criminal Court. President Joe Biden revoked a Trump-era executive order last week that had authorized the sanctions, which the State Department called “inappropriate and ineffective” (see 2104020046).
The Bureau of Industry and Security's decision to eliminate reporting requirements for encryption items (see 2103260019) should substantially ease reporting burdens for certain companies, law firms said. Although the changes will affect a narrow set of exports, they’re expected to provide significant relief for companies that ship mass market encryption items or publish source code software online, the firms said.
President Joe Biden revoked an executive order that authorized sanctions against the International Criminal Court (see 2006110028), reversing a Trump administration decision that sparked strong opposition from allies and human rights advocates (see 2011030007 and 2010020030). The move lifted sanctions against ICC prosecutors and officials (see 2009020049), the State Department said April 2, adding that the measures were “inappropriate and ineffective.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a cautionary letter but did not fine Asana, the U.S. company behind a team-management and organization app, Asana said in its March 30 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Asana said it submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to OFAC after possibly providing services to sanctioned parties and illegally exporting controlled software. OFAC told Asana in February that it wouldn't pursue a civil monetary penalty against the company or “take other enforcement action,” according to the filing. The company also disclosed export violations to the Bureau of Industry and Security, which also issued a warning letter with no fine (see 2012300067).
As commercial ships worldwide continue to try to evade sanctions, U.S. authorities are increasingly monitoring industry compliance with maritime sanctions regulations, compliance experts said. The U.S. underscored maritime sanctions compliance last year after it issued guidance on common evasion practices, setting high expectations for industry compliance, the experts said.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation published updates to its sanctions listings. For its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida listings, OFSI amended the information for Noureddine Ben Ali Ben Belkassem Al-Drissi. For Xinjiang, China-related restrictions, the agency amended the information for Mingguo Chen, Mingshan Wang, Junzheng Wang and Hailun Zhu.
The United Kingdom sanctioned Myanmar Economic Corp. for its role in making funds available to the Myanmar military and its association with senior military figures, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced in an April 1 news release. MEC becomes the latest to be sanctioned following the military coup in the Southeast Asian nation and the subsequent crackdown on peaceful protests (see 2102190057). The conglomerate's assets in the U.K. will be frozen, and U.K. nationals will be barred from dealing with funds owned or controlled by MEC, the release said. “The UK’s latest actions target one of the military’s key funding streams and impose a further cost on them for their violations of human rights,” Raab said.
The European Union extended its sanctions against Bosnia and Herzegovina for one year until March 31, 2022, according to a March 26 European Council decision. Although no one is listed under the sanctions regime, the EC said it is reserving its right to add names to the list should an individual or entity threaten Bosnia and Herzegovina's sovereignty or security. The council also extended until March 31, 2023, the mandate of Operation Irini -- an effort in the Mediterranean to implement the United Nations arms embargo on Libya. The extension of the operation, which also works to monitor and gather information on illegal Libyan exports of oil, was announced in a March 26 news release.
The U.S. is ceding its strategic and trade advantages in the Indo-Pacific to China, which is expanding its influence through technology exports and outbound technology investments, the Center for a New American Security said in a March 31 report. The Joe Biden administration can reverse the trend through closer cooperation with allies in the region, including Japan and India, which have been willing to deny certain Chinese investments and object to coercion attempts, CNAS said.
The United Kingdom's Department of International Trade published guidance on how academics should comply with export control measures for their research. The agency is especially concerned with how research could be co-opted for military purposes or for the development or delivery of weapons of mass destruction, and targeted its guidance to researchers who work with overseas colleagues on research, take their work overseas or export their technology. The guidance covers the areas in which research is at risk of requiring an export license, including aeronautical and space technology, nuclear technologies, applied physics, biotechnology, and telecommunications and information technology.