House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is “glad” the Biden administration is moving forward with a final rule that will restrict U.S. outbound investment in China’s AI, quantum and semiconductor sectors, a spokesperson for the committee’s majority said Oct. 30.
The Financial Action Task Force recently updated its list of jurisdictions with “deficiencies” in combating terrorism financing, weapons proliferation and other sanctions-related issues, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Oct 30. The FATF added Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire and Lebanon to its list of "Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring" and removed Senegal from the list. The FATF’s list of "High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action" remains the same and still lists Iran, North Korea and Myanmar.
A new proposed rule from the Census Bureau could change how the agency regulates in-transit shipments that travel through the U.S. from foreign countries before being exported to another foreign destination.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is imposing export controls on nine “key” precursors that Russia has used in chemical weapons against Ukraine, the agency said in a final rule that becomes effective Nov. 1. The rule also updates certain language in BIS regulations that it said will reduce the “licensing burden” for certain government entities located in Russia and Belarus, and it clarifies the scope of the agency's foreign direct product rules.
The U.S. this week unveiled new trade and financial restrictions against people and companies across more than 17 countries for helping Russia evade sanctions or for supporting the country’s military, adding nearly 400 to the Treasury Department’s sanctions list and more than 40 to the Commerce Department’s Entity List. Another move by Commerce will tighten existing controls on nearly 50 entities that it said are procuring U.S.-branded microelectronics for Russia.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., urged the Biden administration last week to impose “terrorism sanctions” on the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), citing the humanitarian aid agency’s ties to Hamas.
The Treasury Department's new final rule for outbound investment received mixed reviews from Congress this week.
The U.K. on Oct. 28 designated three entities and three people that it said are working in Russia's information, communications and digital technologies sector, including Moscow-based firms Structura, the Social Design Agency and Ano Dialog. The U.K. also sanctioned Ilya Andreevich Gambashidze, director of Structura and the Social Design Agency; Andrey Naumovich Perla, program director of the Social Design Agency; and Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tupikin, the general director of Structura.
An updated general license issued by the U.K. this week increases the cap on fees that can be paid to British law firms by parties subject to Russia-related sanctions, clarifies how the license applies to in-house lawyers, and more.
The EU, the U.K. and Canada this week announced new, coordinated sanctions against Myanmar to target people and entities supplying controlled items to the military or for their involvement in human rights violations in the country.