The State Department is expected to follow through with a rule that would permanently revise the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to allow employees involved in ITAR-related activity to work remotely. The rule, crafted under the Trump administration, was sent for interagency review in December but was withdrawn in January as part of the Biden administration's regulatory freeze on the previous administration’s pending regulations (see 2101210013).
Germany will now generally issue export permits electronically, using the platform to issue permits, null notifications, trade information and extensions, and changes to notices in foreign trade law, the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control said, according to an unofficial translation. The switch, effective March 1, takes place on Germany's ELAN-K2 filing portal. The German government will still issue general permits, permits for repeated export after previous import and transit permits in writing, and it reserves the right to issue any approval in writing if it is needed, it said.
The European Union is extending sanctions it has in place on 88 individuals and 7 entities until Feb. 28, 2022, for their roles in enacting electoral fraud and the current regime's violent repression of the opposition and protesters in Belarus. In a Feb. 25 press release, the European Council announced the continuation, which includes President Alexandr Lukashenko and consists of a travel ban and asset freeze on listed individuals and an asset freeze on the entities. The sanctions were initially put in place following the fraudulent presidential election in August 2020 and ensuing wave of violently repressed demonstrations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's effort to control emerging and foundational technologies is creating “substantial uncertainty” in the technology sector, Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Senate Armed Services Committee Feb. 23, according to his prepared testimony. Smith urged BIS and the Commerce Department to create a “balanced and coherent framework” to protect U.S. technologies without “isolating” U.S. companies, including from working with China.
In a case against an Iranian banker accused of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, Judge Alison Nathan for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lambasted federal prosecutors over their mishandling of evidence and dereliction of responsibility. Stopping short of finding them guilty of knowingly withholding crucial information or intentionally misrepresenting facts to the court, Nathan in a Feb. 22 ruling called for a full investigation of the prosecutors' actions by the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility and said she hopes the government's reforms on evidence handling training will ensure that similar action is not repeated.
Democratic senators introduced a bill that would impose sanctions on the Honduran president and suspend certain export licenses for controlled defense shipments to Honduras. Under the bill, introduced Feb. 23, the U.S. would designate Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernandez for “significant corruption” and human rights abuses, the lawmakers said. It would also block the U.S. from issuing export licenses for shipments of controlled defense items, services and munitions to Honduran police or military forces.
The U.N. Security Council amended 92 entries on its sanctions list for entries associated with ISIL (Da’esh) and al‑Qaida, the UNSC said Feb. 23. The update made “technical amendments” to the entries.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs began a review of a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that will amend the Export Administration Regulations to expand controls on Myanmar. OIRA received the rule Feb. 23. BIS recently announced increased restrictions on exports to Myanmar, including a more strict licensing policy and the suspension of certain license exceptions (see 2102170005).
The Biden administration plans to coordinate more closely with Congress on U.S. weapons sales than the previous administration did, including on potentially controversial exports to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Closer coordination on weapons sales would be a departure from some sales under the Trump administration, which was criticized by House and Senate Democrats for stonewalling congressional oversight of emergency arms transfers (see 2008110027).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions at a record pace during the Trump administration but saw a significant decline in enforcement actions and relied more heavily on voluntary disclosures as opposed to its own investigative resources, researchers said. Under President Donald Trump, OFAC also shifted its focus away from large financial institutions and instead targeted businesses in trade, manufacturing, travel and technology sectors, a trend that could promote more sanctions compliance across various industries.