Australia and Canada announced new sanctions that target Russia for its illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea, the countries said March 29. Australia said it designated one Russian person and four Russian entities involved in the construction of the Kerch Strait Railway Bridge, which links Russia to Crimea and Sevastopol, Ukraine, while Canada designated two people and four entities. Australia and Canada said they collaborated on the measures, which further aligns their sanctions regimes with those administered by the U.S. and the European Union.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for March 22-26 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. shouldn't pursue sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and instead should focus on working with European countries to find an alternative to the Russian gas pipeline project, said Daniel Fried, the former senior director of the National Security Council for presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Although Fried said the project is a “dumb idea,” he also said he’s “not a big fan of trying to kill Nord Stream 2” with sanctions. “Let's find another way than a sanctions war with Germany,” Fried said during a March 30 event hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.
The Joe Biden administration’s trade agenda should prioritize export control cooperation with Europe, work to remove trade barriers for U.S. exporters in Asian markets and address unfair Chinese trade practices, a U.S. technology industry group said. If U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai promotes the right trade “goals,” the U.S. can “re-establish” its technology leadership and boost export competitiveness, the Information Technology Industry Council said in a March 30 letter to Tai.
The U.S. renewed the national emergency authorizing sanctions against South Sudan, the White House said March 29. The White House said South Sudan continues to be “marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability” of the country and surrounding region. The emergency was extended for one year beyond April 3.
A meningitis vaccine shipment is being held up by Italy's customs agency over suspicions that drugmakers are attempting to circumvent COVID-19 vaccine export controls in the European Union, two people familiar with the matter said, Bloomberg reported. The shipment comes from GlaxoSmithKline Plc and is worth about $10 million. It has been sitting at Rome's airport for about a week awaiting testing to determine the true contents of the vaccines. The delayed shipment may turn out to be collateral damage from the EU's ramped up export control regime, which the bloc extended on March 24 due to concerns that vaccine commitments between developers and the government would not be met (see 2103240016).
Five Republican senators recently introduced a bill that would loosen restrictions on certain gas exports to countries that don’t have a free trade agreement with the U.S. The Natural Gas Export Expansion Act would “expedite” permits for exports of liquefied natural gas to non-FTA countries by treating those license reviews the same as shipments to FTA countries, the senators said March 25. LNG exports reached “all-time highs” in November and December, the lawmakers said, but the export permit review process for those shipments can sometimes take years, placing “onerous regulations” on the LNG industry.
The United Nations Security Council extended the mandate of the panel that advises and recommends sanctions actions against North Korea, it said March 26. The panel was renewed until April 30, 2022, and will provide a midterm report on North Korean sanctions to the Security Council Committee by Aug. 3 and a final report by Feb. 25, 2022, to the UNSC.
China imposed sanctions on nine British nationals and four businesses that “maliciously spread lies and disinformation” about the serious human rights violations by China against the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a March 26 news release. The sanctions, which take the form of an asset freeze and travel ban, come as a response to the United Kingdom's own sanctions against Chinese individuals or entities on March 23 that the kingdom coordinated with the European Union and the U.S. (see 2103220034). Five members of Parliament were included in the Chinese sanctions: Iain Duncan Smith, Tom Tugendhat, Neil O'Brien, Nusrat Ghani and Tim Loughton. The other four individuals are House of Lords members David Alton and Helena Kennedy, lawyer Geoffrey Nice and Joanne Nicola Smith Finley of New Castle University. The four entities are the China Research Group, Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, Uyghur Tribunal and Essex Court Chambers.
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for five people after they were convicted of violating various export control laws, including illegal shipments of guns, ammunition and other military items, BIS said in March 25 orders.