The U.S. seized its largest-ever shipment of Iranian fuel aboard four tankers illegally shipping oil to Venezuela, according to an Aug. 14 Justice Department press release. The agency said the U.S. seized about 1.116 million barrels of petroleum, part of a multimillion-dollar fuel shipment from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The U.S. filed the forfeiture warrant July 2 (see 2007060012).
European countries need to increase sanctions against Venezuela to force a regime change and limit Nicolas Maduro’s ability to evade U.S. restrictions, said Carrie Filipetti, the State Department’s assistant secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. Filipetti also said more U.S.-European cooperation can help limit the Maduro regime’s access to gold supply chains, which it uses for funding.
Export control experts advocated for more effective U.S. controls, saying the U.S. should pursue more multilateral support and may need to rethink its strategy toward China. In a series of short essays published Aug. 13 by the Center for a New American Security, experts and former policymakers dive into how the controls can be more effective, what they should target, and how the controls are viewed by U.S. allies and adversaries.
Taiwan wants to begin negotiations on a free trade deal with the U.S., Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said Aug. 12, in a speech for think tanks the Hudson Institute and the Center for American Progress. The president said a trade deal with the U.S. is among her priorities during her second term, saying it will help increase Taiwan’s supply chain security.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated its sanctions entry for Bi Sidi Souleman, who leads a militia group in the Central African Republic (see 2008060019), an Aug. 13 notice said. It updated identifying information for Souleman.
The Chinese government is placing more of an emphasis on infiltrating U.S. companies and universities to steal export controlled technologies, said John Demers, the U.S. assistant attorney general for national security. China has increasingly turned to its intelligence agencies, such as the Ministry of State Security, to embed officials in U.S. institutions, Demers said.
The U.S. should stop restrictive trade measures against China, which are hindering the phase one trade deal between the two countries, China’s Assistant Commerce Minister Ren Hongbin told told reporters Aug. 13.
Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority and Securities and Futures Commission warned entities to assess whether recent U.S. sanctions could affect them (see 2008070039), warning that financial institutions should be “fair” in dealing with their customers. The SFC Aug. 8 said entities should “carefully assess any legal, business and commercial risks that they may be exposed to.” The HKMA said institutions should “assess all risks involved and endeavour to treat customers fairly.”
The European Union is considering sanctions against Belarus for human rights violations and unfair elections earlier this month, an Aug. 11 notice said. The Belarus government “deployed disproportionate and unacceptable violence” to restrict freedom of expression and media, the notice said. The EU will conduct an “in-depth review” of relations with Belarus. “This may include, inter alia, taking measures against those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests, and falsification of election results,” the EU said.
The worsening U.S.-China trade relationship is continuing to hurt U.S. companies, which are increasingly losing Chinese customers to European, Japanese and domestic Chinese firms, U.S.-China Business Council officials said. But despite the rising tensions, USCBC President Craig Allen said he is hopeful China will meet its phase one purchase commitments, and said the two sides should begin discussing phase two during an expected meeting between trade officials this week.