The State Department is offering up to $10 million for information about Muhammad Kawtharani, a U.S.-sanctioned Specially Designated Global Terrorist, the agency said April 10. The offer, part of the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program (see 1911080020), will be awarded for information on Kawtharani’s “activities, networks and associates,” the agency said, which will lead to the “disruption of the financial mechanisms” for terrorist organization Lebanese Hizballah.
The U.S. should introduce support measures for U.S. technology industries that are “too critical to fail,” especially those competing for market share with China, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in an April 13 report. As the Commerce Department seeks to restrict sales of emerging technologies to counter Chinese technology theft (see 2004010007), Congress should task the administration with expanding funding for research in those key fields -- including robotics, artificial intelligence and semiconductors -- and target it to “maximize commercialization” of the technologies in the United States. Congress should also support an “industrial investment bank” to increase advanced production in the U.S. and “encourage” the relocation of critical technology production from China to the U.S., the ITIF said.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade issued an April 9 guidance on remote compliance checks during the COVID-19 pandemic, detailing what steps companies should take to complete the checks, access their export records and more.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended its Iran sanctions entries to reflect the European Union’s renewal of the sanctions until April 13, 2021, OFSI said in an April 9 notice. The renewal affects 82 entries under the U.K.’s human rights program for Iran (see 2004090024).
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control updated a Venezuela-related general license and amended a Venezuela-related frequently asked question, OFAC said in an April 10 notice. General License No. 5C authorizes certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela involving an 8.5% bond on or after July 22, 2020. The FAQ clarifies which transactions are authorized by the license.
After current and former lawmakers asked the Treasury Department to clarify its stance on humanitarian exports to sanctioned countries, the agency pushed back on accusations that sanctions are stopping those exports, saying it does not target legitimate exported aid. Some of those accusations are marred by a misunderstanding of Treasury’s general licenses and exemptions, said sanctions lawyer Doug Jacobson: they do allow a broad range of humanitarian exports to countries like Iran.
The European Union renewed its Iran human rights sanctions, the EU said in an April 8 notice. The sanctions were renewed until April 13, 2021.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control updated the North Korean Sanctions Regulations by adding new sanctions provisions and exemptions and amending the definition for “luxury goods,” according to a notice in the Federal Register. OFAC also made several technical edits to three definitions, revised an “interpretive provision” and updated the “authorities and delegations sections” of the regulations.
Switzerland recently amended its Goods Control Act to include export controls for surveillance goods, according to an unofficial translation of a March notice from the Swiss Federal Assembly. Although Switzerland previously had the authority to control exports of surveillance equipment, that authority was outlined in a temporary legislation, according to an April 8 post from the European Sanctions blog. The blog referred to “goods which could be used for internet or mobile phone surveillance.” The amendment will create a “legal basis” for surveillance export controls and will “transpose the current temporary regulation into ordinary law,” Switzerland said.
The European Union is considering amending rules that will allow it to take action in international trade disputes despite the “paralysis” of the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement body, according to an April 8 EU notice. The rules will make it easier for the EU “to protect its trade interests and rights” while the WTO is unable to deliver binding dispute settlement decisions due to an appointment blockade by the Trump administration (see 1912170035), the European Council said. The amended rules would allow the EU to impose certain sanctions, such as customs duties and trade restrictions, in cases in which dispute settlement procedures are blocked. The rules will also give the European Commission the ability to take countermeasures when a trade agreement partner imposes “illegal trade measures” and “blocks the dispute settlement process under that agreement.” The council said it is “ready to start negotiations” on the rules with the European Parliament.