In the April 8 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The U.S. designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, marking the first time the U.S. has labeled a government an FTO, according to an April 8 White House notice. The designation is designed to increase financial pressure on Iran and isolate it from military resources, which the notice said are used for “terrorist activities.” The designation will take effect April 15, according to a statement made at a State Department briefing April 8 by Assistant Secretary of State for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales: "With the announcement today, which will take effect a week from now, the legal status of the IRGC will change from an organization to a designated foreign terrorist organization."
The Trump administration is expected to complete a review of the current scope of U.S. export controls on countries subject to arms embargoes, including China, and may make potential regulatory changes by May 10, according to an April 5 blog post from Steptoe & Johnson. The administration’s review stems from a section of the 2018 Export Control Reform Act, which requires a “review relating to countries subject to comprehensive United States arms embargo.” The act specifically requires the Commerce, State and Defense departments, among others, to review export controls on trades with “military end uses and military end users,” according to the post.
In the April 5 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two oil companies operating in the Venezuelan oil sector and identified 34 ships associated with Petróleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), according to an April 5 press release. OFAC identified the two shipping companies as Liberia-based Ballito Bay Shipping Incorporated and Greece-based ProPer In Management Incorporated, and said one or both transported oil from Venezuela to Cuba during February and March using an oil tanker called Despina Andrianna. OFAC also named the 34 ships that are “blocked property” of PdVSA, a Venezuela state-run oil company sanctioned by the U.S.
The Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is requesting a nearly $25 million budget increase from the previous year, partly to help with staffing concerns, according to Treasury’s annual budget report. OTFI lists its “increasing role” in the Trump administration as justification for the increased budget. The agency is requesting about $165 million.
Treasury’s March settlement with Stanley Black & Decker serves as a compliance guide for U.S. companies and represents an important peek into how the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control plans to issue enforcement settlements throughout 2019, according to an April 1 report by WilmerHale.
A federal judge approved the civil forfeiture of nearly $150,000 that was said to be laundered "to further [business owner Tsai Hsien-Tsai's] exportation of goods for the benefit of North Korean and Syrian entities involved in the respective regimes’ weapons programs," the Department of Justice said in an April 3 news release. The complaint alleged that Taiwan-based Trans Multi and its owner, also known as Alex Tsai, had laundered U.S. money related to illegal dealings with Syria and North Korea, the DOJ said. “The Court found that these blocked funds were the product of Tsai’s attempts to sell tools to a Syrian company using U.S. Dollars and a series of front companies,” U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu said. “Sanctions laws are critical to our national security and foreign policy interests, and this case demonstrates that we will seek significant remedies against those companies that violate them.”
A Justice Department settlement with Honda Aircraft Company after Honda allegedly discriminated against non-U.S. citizens to try to comply with U.S. export laws serves as a cautionary tale for U.S. employers, according to an April 3 report from Covington & Burling. The case, announced in a Feb. 1 press release, resulted in a nearly $45,000 settlement payment from Honda Aircraft after it wrote in job postings that candidates were required to have a “specific citizenship status,” the press release said. The postings were based on the company’s “misunderstanding” of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations, the Justice Department said. Honda Aircraft was ordered to remove all “specific citizenship requirements from current and future job postings.”
In the April 2 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: