The United Kingdom issued a July 9 guidance on its Somalia sanctions regime, which will take effect 11 p.m. Dec. 31. The guidance contains information on the sanctions, how companies can comply with the regulations and related sanctions documents.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed sanctions from Yemane Gebreab, an Eritrea government official and presidential adviser. The change took effect July 10 and removes Gebreab from OFAC’s Somalia sanctions.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls rescinded its policy for exports of firearms sound suppressors and will instead handle those shipments “in a manner consistent” with other U.S. Munitions List controlled technologies, DDTC said July 10. DDTC’s policy previously called for “enhanced guidelines” for approving export licenses for suppressors and restricted exports to “only official end users such as government or military entities,” the agency said.
The European Union is considering countermeasures, including export restrictions, in response to Beijing’s interference in Hong Kong’s autonomy, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said during a July 13 press conference. The measures will include a “package” of EU-wide restrictions, although some member states may announce their own national measures in the “coming days,” Borrell said.
China announced sanctions on U.S. lawmakers and a congressional commission in response to U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. China’s sanctions, which include travel restrictions, target Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.; U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback; and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said July 13. A ministry spokesperson said the U.S. has “no right and no cause to interfere” in Xinjiang and urged the U.S. to rescind its sanctions or it will issue a “further response.”
President Trump said he signed an executive order that ends Hong Kong’s preferential trade treatment and increases export restrictions on sensitive technologies. Trump also said he signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which authorizes sanctions against Chinese authorities and foreign banks associated with passing Hong Kong’s so-called national security law.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade issued a July 10 guidance on export licenses for a range of U.K. goods after the U.K. officially leaves the European Union on Jan. 1, 2021. The guidance contains links to licenses and further information for exporting animals, agricultural products, chemicals, waste, diamonds and controlled goods. The guidance also contains a section detailing how the U.K.’s new sanctions regime may affect exports.
China will take “reciprocal measures” in response to the U.S. imposition of sanctions against Chinese officials and a security agency involved in human rights violations in the Xinjiang region (see 2007090024). The U.S. sanctions are a “serious interference” in Chinese internal affairs, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a July 10 press conference, adding that the measures will cause “grave harm” to U.S.-China relations. China will impose similar measures against U.S agencies and people “with egregious practices on Xinjiang-related issues,” the spokesperson said. “The Chinese side will firmly fight back if the U.S. obstinately pursues such agenda.”
Companies affected by the Bureau of Industry and Security's recent rule on military-related exports (see 2004270027) were frustrated by the lack of a comment period before the rule was finalized and BIS’s decision not to postpone the effective date, industry officials said in interviews. Some officials said they were disappointed the new requirements were not first issued as a proposed rule, adding that smaller businesses with fewer compliance department employees have struggled to adjust.
Switzerland announced 11 new designations against government officials in Venezuela, according to an unofficial translation of a July 7 notice. The sanctions target: Jose Adelino Ornelas Ferreira, Gladys del Valle Requena, Tania Valentina Diaz Gonzalez, Elvis Eduardo Hidrobo Amoroso, Juan Jose Mendoza Jover, Jorge Elieser Marquez Monsalve, Farik Karin Mora Salcedo, Dinorah Yoselin Bustamante Puerta, Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero, Franklyn Leonardo Duarte and Jose Gregorio Noriega Figueroa.