The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 24 sanctioned four entities and four vessels for operating in Venezuela's oil sector.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 16-20 in case they were missed.
L3 Harris Technologies reached a $13 million settlement with the State Department for violating the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, according to an order released Sept. 23 by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. The violations by Harris Corporation, a technology and defense contractor, occurred before it officially merged in July with L3 Technologies, an aerospace and defense company.
CBP will eliminate penalties for minor violations of Census Bureau export filing requirements as part of its upcoming electronic export manifest rollout, said Jim Swanson, director of CBP’s Cargo and Security Controls Division.
The European Parliament called on the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions and a “comprehensive” arms embargo on anyone accused of human rights violations against the Rohingya population in Myanmar, the parliament said Sept. 19. The parliament called on the EU “to promote the adoption of a resolution on Myanmar” during the next UN Human Rights Council session.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a Sept. 23 notice reminding blocked-property holders to submit their Annual Report of Blocked Property by Sept. 30. A report must be submitted of all blocked property held as of June 30, OFAC said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a $4 million settlement with British Arab Commercial Bank plc for 72 violations of the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, OFAC said in a Sept. 17 notice.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on Iran two days after President Donald Trump instructed the Treasury to increase pressure on the country. The sanctions target the Central Bank of Iran, the National Development Fund of Iran and Etemad Tejarate Pars Co. for funding Iran’s military and contributing to terrorism, Treasury said in a Sept. 20 press release.
It may only be a matter of time before countries create a trade payment system to avoid U.S. sanctions, said David Mortlock, a trade lawyer and senior fellow with the Atlantic Council.
A House bill would increase export controls on defense items to Hong Kong police, including “nonlethal crowd control items.” The bill, introduced Sept. 10, would require the Trump administration to restrict export license approvals of certain “covered defense articles and services” to the Hong Kong Disciplined Services. If the bill is passed, the covered items would be determined by the Commerce and State departments and sent in a report to Congress. The bill mentions “water cannon trucks, tear gas, rubber bullets, sponge grenades, beanbag rounds, batons, pepper spray, pepper balls and projectile launchers,” as possible options. “I am deeply concerned that American-made police equipment is being used to violently crack down on peaceful protesters in Hong Kong,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who helped introduce the bill, said in a statement. “We ought not to allow American companies to sell this equipment to foreign governments when we see evidence that it is being used for immoral and unjust purposes.” The bill is titled the “Placing Restrictions on Teargas Exports and Crowd Control Technology to Hong Kong Act,” or the PROTECT Hong Kong Act.