The European Union on Dec. 14 updated its list of dual-use items subject to export controls. The 280-page document lists a range of items and decisions reached for various multilateral export regimes during 2019, including the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group and the Chemical Weapons Convention. The regime also includes new controls on precursors for Novichok nerve agents, which was agreed to by the Australia Group in 2020, according to Stephane Chardon, the European Commission’s chief export control official.
China is a threat to the U.S., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said, and he said there's a risk that “the next administration could roll back much of the progress we’ve made the past few years, in an attempt to return to the failed dream of engaging and accommodating China.” Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Subcommittee on Economic Policy, led a subcommittee hearing Dec. 16 on U.S.-China Economic Competition. Cotton said during the hearing that export controls must be tightened.
The Joe Biden administration should expect immediate bipartisan pressure from Congress to tackle human rights issues in China, including calls for potential sanctions and other restrictive measures, said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. Although observers and officials have said they expect Biden to continue many of the current administration’s China trade restrictions (see 2011250054 and 2011250019), Congress will likely call for more actions, Larsen said. “There's not a lot of wiggle room on the role of human rights,” Larsen said during a Dec. 15 online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And there's not a lot of wiggle room on the issue of technology.”
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade issued a guidance Dec. 11 on how the U.K.’s departure from the European Union will affect certain export controls and SPIRE, the country’s online export licensing system. EU regulations for strategic export controls will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, the guidance said, and certain rules for controlled exports will depend on whether they were exported from Britain or Northern Ireland.
Switzerland announced sanctions Dec. 11 on 15 people in Belarus, including President Alexander Lukashenko, for human rights violations in the wake of the country’s contested elections earlier this year. Switzerland also announced an embargo on certain “armaments and goods” shipped to Belarus that may be used for “internal repression.” The country said it is “deeply concerned by the ongoing tensions” in Belarus and urged the country to “respect its international human rights obligations.” The sanctions add to Switzerland's previous sanctions (see 2010150005) and align it with some European Union sanctions measures (see 2010050010).
The European Council renewed sanctions against the Democratic Republic of Congo for one year until Dec. 12, 2021, it announced Dec. 11. The DRC sanctions list contains 11 people. The council said it will continue to “review the restrictive measures” against the DRC and “stands ready to adjust them accordingly.”
The U.S. designated the Saraya al-Mukhtar group, an Iran-backed terrorist organization, as a specially designated global terrorist, the State Department said Dec. 15. The group is reportedly backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has plotted attacks against U.S. personnel in Bahrain, the State Department said.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is establishing an industry working group to receive regular feedback on the Defense Export Controls and Compliance System, DDTC said Dec. 14. The agency said it is looking for 50 industry volunteers for the DECCS “User Group,” which will “identify functional and technical challenges” with DECCS and recommend system improvements. The group’s first virtual meeting is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2021. DDTC said the “initial plan is for the User Group to span one calendar year.” Applicants should email PM_DDTCProjectTeam@state.gov with their name and affiliation by Dec. 23. The agency said it will choose members by Jan. 11.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls Dec. 14 issued guidance on the recently imposed U.S. sanctions against Turkey, detailing how it will implement various export restrictions. DDTC said it will not approve “any specific license or authorization” for exports or reexports for transactions where Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) is a party, including for “defense articles,” technical data or defense services. While the restrictions do not apply to “temporary import authorizations” or current and valid reexport authorizations, they do apply to all new export and reexport authorizations, DDTC said. That includes “amendments to previously approved licenses or agreements and licenses in furtherance of previously approved agreements.”
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