Drawback

Airbnb may have violated U.S. sanctions laws and submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Office of Foreign Assets Control in September, the company said in a Nov. 16 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Airbnb said it began an internal review in 2019 and has been cooperating with OFAC “regarding certain user activity on our platform” that was “inconsistent with our policies” and U.S. sanctions laws. The company said those activities involved Ukraine's Crimea region, Cuba and certain OFAC specially designated nationals.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Nov. 9-13 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The Bureau of Industry and Security amended and clarified provisions in the Export Administration Regulations to promote compliance and better enforce the Export Control Reform Act. BIS also amended other EAR provisions related to licenses, denial orders and civil penalty payments. The changes, outlined in a final rule issued Nov. 17, take effect Nov. 18.

The European Commission on Nov. 16 updated its guidance for providing COVID-19-related humanitarian aid to sanctioned countries. The guidance now includes a chapter on Nicaragua and clarifies the “responsibilities and the processes” to help “facilitate activities of humanitarian operators” in that country, the commission said. “The present [Guidance] Note replaces Commission Notice C(2020) 3179 final, adopted on 11 May 2020 which was focused on Syria only. The part related to Syria remains the same,” it said. The notice addresses questions the EC received regarding “exports of, and payments for protective gear, medicines, medical equipment” and medical assistance “to the population in need” in areas subject to EU sanctions.

The European Union threatened to impose further sanctions (see 2010050010) against Belarus after a peaceful protester died due to injuries caused by plain-clothes police. Raman Bandarenka's death was “an outrageous and shameful result of the actions by the Belarusian authorities,” who are violating human rights, the EU said Nov. 13. “The European Union has already imposed sanctions on 55 individuals responsible for violent repression and intimidation, and stands ready to impose additional sanctions,” the EU said.

The United Nations Security Council extended the mandate for the Panel of Experts on Somalia until Dec. 15, 2021, and renewed the “partial lifting” of the arms embargo on the country's security forces, the UNSC said Nov. 12. The arms embargo exempts deliveries of arms, technical advice, financial assistance or training intended for Somali security forces, and prohibits the resale or making available to outside entities of weapons and military equipment “supplied to the Somali National Security Forces or Somali security sector institutions.” The UNSC also condemned exports of charcoal from Somalia, which are banned, as “illicit flows that may finance terrorist activities.” It also cautioned against transactions that might involve “direct or indirect sale or transfer of items that could be used in manufacturing ... [improvised explosive] devices” used in the escalating number of attacks undertaken by Al‑Shabaab, the East African terrorist fundamentalist group.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a financial sanctions guidance for charities on Nov. 13. The agency stressed that charitable organizations are responsible for complying with sanctions, applying for licenses and reporting “suspected breaches of financial sanctions to OFSI at the earliest opportunity.”

The European Union removed Neda Industrial Group from its Iranian sanctions regime, it said Nov. 13. The company had supplied electricity to Iran, but the European General Court found the company’s “provision of services” to an Iranian uranium enrichment plant “was not sufficient to support its designation,” a Nov. 13 EU Sanctions blog post said.

Corey Stewart, a trade lawyer and supporter of President Donald Trump who lost a 2018 Senate race in Virginia, was named to a “newly created” senior position in the Commerce Department to oversee export regulations, Reuters said in a Nov. 16 report. Stewart will hold the post of principal deputy assistant secretary for export administration, Reuters said, which is above the post of Matthew Borman, the deputy assistant secretary for export administration. Stewart is being brought in to help “push through hardline policies on China” before the Joe Biden administration takes over, the report said. Stewart is expected to serve in the role until the end of the Trump administration on Jan. 20, 2021. The Commerce Department and its Bureau of Industry and Security did not immediately comment. The announcement came about four months after Rich Ashooh, former Commerce assistant secretary for export administration, resigned in July (see 2007020027).

The Trump administration is considering imposing new export controls and sanctions against China in the coming weeks, a senior administration official said. The moves are meant to further cement Trump’s China policies under the incoming Joe Biden administration, the official said, which may find the measures difficult to reverse.