The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 2 announced new export controls (see 2008100013 and 2005190052) on six emerging technologies. The controls, which were agreed to by Wassenaar Arrangement members during its 2019 plenary, include:
A former U.S. official and a Senate staffer who worked closely with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. criticized the Bureau of Industry and Security’s handling of emerging and foundational technologies, saying the lengthy process is impeding the work of CFIUS. David Hanke, the former staffer and architect of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, called CFIUS’s reliance on BIS’s export control effort a “deeply flawed system,” while Nova Daly, the Treasury Department’s former deputy assistant secretary for investment security and policy, acknowledged the process is difficult but said BIS should move faster.
The State Department may intervene in certain patent applications if they contain technical data controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said in guidance issued Sept. 30. While DDTC said it does not “restrict” the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from publishing patents, it may impose an “invention secrecy order” on the patent application if it contains ITAR-sensitive information. That secrecy order would force the USPTO to “withhold the publication of the application or the grant of a patent.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 30 sanctioned a Cuban national for helping his country’s government oppress Cubans and Venezuelans. The designations targeted Luis Alberto Rodriguez Lopez-Calleja, the head of the Cuban military-owned conglomerate Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A., the State Department said. Funds generated from the conglomerate are used to “oppress the Cuban people and to fund Cuba’s parasitic, colonial domination of Venezuela,” the State Department said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a New York travel services company nearly $5.9 million for violating U.S. sanctions against Cuba, OFAC said in an Oct. 1 notice. The company, Generali Global Assistance, Inc. (GGA), used a Canadian affiliate to evade U.S. sanctions, OFAC said.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Sept. 30 completed an interagency review for a proposed Bureau of Industry and Security rule (see 2007210033) to control “software” for the operation of certain “automated nucleic acid assemblers and synthesizers.” BIS will request comments on the proposed export controls, which fall under the agency’s effort to control emerging technologies. OIRA received the rule July 20. On its spring agenda, BIS said the software can be used to produce pathogens and toxins that potentially can be used in biological weapons (see 2007140027).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued guidance Oct. 1 on the sanctions risks of facilitating ransomware payments. The guidance urged companies to refrain from facilitating payments “on behalf of victims” of cyberattacks because they encourage future payment demands and may risk sanctions violations.
The administration should increase export controls and sanctions pressure on China, place more scrutiny on Chinese foreign direct investment and push for the modernization of multilateral export regimes, the House’s Republican-led China Task Force said in a Sept. 30 report. It urged the administration to act quickly, saying China and other U.S. “adversaries” are flouting international export control laws and undermining U.S. technology industries.
The United Kingdom and Canada on Sept. 29 imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials (see 2009250010) for human rights violations related to the country’s rigged elections. The U.K. sanctioned eight officials and Canada listed 11. Both lists include Aleksandr Lukashenko, who claimed victory in the recent presidential election.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended its Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations and its Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, the agency said in a notice released Sept. 30. The final rule revises a note that describes how people designated under the WMD regulations for North Korea are identified in OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals List and amends the ITSR to “refine” a general license. The rule is effective on Oct. 1.