Japan’s export restrictions on South Korea have had a minimal impact on the South Korean industry, a State Department official said during a Jan. 7 press conference. The official said that both Japan and South Korea are participating in “ongoing discussions” about the trade dispute (see 1912160011). “As far as I can tell, the impact, if any, on the South Korean industry has been limited to negligible,” the official said. Japan recently eased export controls against South Korea for one of the three chemicals it had imposed restrictions on, according to a December report from the Associated Press.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended five entries under the European Union’s Mali sanctions regime, according to a Jan. 8 notice. The notice amends entries that were added to the list by the United Nations Security Council on Dec. 19 and by the U.K. on Dec. 20, the notice said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Taban Deng Gai, the first vice president of South Sudan, for human rights violations, Treasury said Jan. 8. Gai was involved in silencing human rights lawyers and advocates to solidify his position within the government, Treasury said.
The U.S. will impose further sanctions against Iran in response to its recent missile attacks on a U.S. military base in Iraq, President Donald Trump said Jan. 8. Trump called the measures “punishing economic sanctions,” which will “remain until Iran changes its behavior,” including abandoning its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Details of the sanctions were not immediately released.
The United Kingdom officially updated its list of dual-use items subject to export controls (see 1912310021), the Department for International Trade said in a Jan. 8 notice. The DIT said it will soon update and republish any affected open general export licenses. The amended list of export controlled items was the result of agreements recently made by international export regimes. All items on the list require an export license by the U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit.
Companies should be mindful of complying with U.S. export controls when exhibiting products at air or trade shows, which could lead to export violations due to increased inspections from U.S. Customs officials, according to a Jan. 8 post from Wilmarth & Associates. Companies should ensure that military and defense-related products or parts are not taken with company employees to the shows without first receiving a license from the State or Commerce department, the post said. Companies must also review technical data or technology that may be provided to foreign people or companies during the trade shows to ensure it does not require a license. U.S. Customs inspectors and agents “have an increased awareness” of trade shows held for the aerospace and defense industry, the post said, and “there is an increased scrutiny of export documents and interviewing of returning travelers.”
The Trump administration should sanction Chinese officials and companies responsible for human rights violations against the country's Uighur population, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China said in a Jan. 8 report. The U.S. should also place export controls on a wide range of emerging technologies, add more Chinese agencies to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and make these issues key components of trade negotiations with China, the report said.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade plans to launch a new online sanctions platform to improve the process for making sanctions inquiries and applying for licenses. The platform, called Pax, is scheduled for launch in “early 2020,” Australia said, and replaces the Online Sanctions Administration System (OSAS), Australia’s previous online sanctions system. Australia said it will issue “user guides” to “ease this transition and all existing applications will remain in OSAS until finalised.”
The Commerce Department is seeking comments on an information collection related to voluntary self-disclosures of Export Administration Regulations violations, Commerce said in a Jan. 8 notice. Comments are due March 8.
The U.S. is actively seeking to impose more sanctions on Venezuela and the Nicolas Maduro-led regime, a top State Department official said during a Jan. 6 press conference. “We are looking at additional sanctions, personal sanctions, economic sanctions that we think will bring more pressure yet on the regime,” said Elliott Abrams, the U.S.’s special representative for Venezuela. That effort involves urging Venezuela’s neighbors to pressure the country with their own sanctions, Abrams said. Abrams’s comments have been echoed by other Trump administration officials, who have said the Venezuela program is one of its most active sanctions regimes and expect sanctions to continue (see 1911190028). Abrams has said he feels no pressure from U.S. companies to lift Venezuela sanctions (see 1912200049).