The Department of Justice charged a California electronics company, its president and an employee with trying to illegally export chemicals to a Chinese company on the U.S. Entity List. President Tao Jiang, employee Bohr Winn-Shih and the company, Broad Tech System Inc., ordered the chemicals from a Rhode Island company before trying to ship the items to China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 55th Research Institute (aka NEDI) (see 2006030032), the Justice Department said July 20. The shipment would have violated the Export Control Reform Act.
The State Department sanctioned Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of the Chechen Republic, for human rights violations, a July 20 notice said. The designation also targets Kadyrov’s spouse, Medni Kadyrova, and daughters Aishat Kadyrova and Karina Kadyrova.
Germany, France and Italy said they will pursue sanctions against countries that continue to violate the United Nations arms embargo against Libya, a July 18 joint statement said. The countries urged “foreign actors to end their increasing interference” and said they are “ready to consider the possible use of sanctions should breaches to the embargo at sea, on land or in the air continue.” The statement came about a week after the U.S. threatened sanctions against foreign militaries interfering in Libya (see 2007150020).
A top Pentagon official said the U.S. needs to loosen export controls on certain defense items, adding that U.S. companies are losing customers to countries with less-strict export regulations. Ellen Lord, the Defense Department’s undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said she hopes to work with the Commerce, Treasury and State departments to rethink the administration’s export control strategy by year-end.
The Commerce Department will add 11 China-based entities to its Entity List for their involvement in human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, a notice released July 20 said. Nine of the entities are involved in the forced labor of Muslim minority groups and two conduct “genetic analyses” to “further the repression” of the minorities, Commerce said. The additions take effect July 22.
The State Department published its spring 2020 regulatory agenda. The agenda includes a new mention of a final rule to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations due to changes made by multilateral export regimes. The rule would update the U.S. Munitions List and “corresponding parts of the ITAR” based on “related treaties” and export regimes, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, that have updated their export controls. The agency is aiming to issue the rule this month.
The Philippines recently began authorizing exports of strategic goods, including military items and dual-use goods, under its new export control regime, a July 17 PricewaterhouseCoopers alert said. The authorization scheme, which took effect July 1, will initially focus on a limited set of “export activities” and will eventually expand to cover other activities, such as “transit/transshipment, re-export, reassignment, related services, and importation,” the alert said. Exporters of strategic goods must register with the Philippines’ Strategic Trade Management Office before submitting an export application, the alert added, and can apply for only three types of authorizations, depending on the shipment’s number of destinations or end-users.
The United Nations Security Council sanctioned the leader of a Taliban branch in Pakistan, a July 16 notice said. The designation targets Noor Wali Mehsud, leader of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan. The United Kingdom also added Mehsud to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.
The United Kingdom on July 17 issued guidance on post-Brexit sanctions regulations on Mali, Yemen and Iraq. The regulations will help ensure the U.K. continues to meet obligations under United Nations sanctions against the three countries and will replace the U.K.’s current regulations under European Union sanctions. The guidance also provides memorandums for Mali, Yemen and Iraq, detailing the purpose of the sanctions and how they will be applied.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 17 sanctioned four entities and one person for supporting a U.S.-sanctioned Chinese drug trafficking company. OFAC also sanctioned members of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s inner circle and two Nicaraguan companies.