Japan issued statements clarifying its position under its new export restrictions against South Korea, saying certain export conditions will be tightened but others will not be impacted. The measures, which took effect Aug. 28, place restrictions on chemicals -- and other goods -- used to make computer chips and other high-tech products (see 1908020023).
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned five entities and five people for their involvement in procurement networks for Iran’s military, Treasury said in an Aug. 28 press release. The sanctions target two major networks led by Iranian nationals Hamed Dehghan and Seyed Hossein Shariat.
ExxonMobil is requesting that a court vacate a $2 million penalty imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control for doing business with Rosneft, a Russian oil company, according to a brief filed Aug. 26 with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
In the Aug. 27 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
U.S. and foreign companies have “struggled” to interpret the scope of the U.S.’s most recent executive order and subsequent general licenses for Venezuela, leading some to submit requests for more guidance, according to an Aug. 22 post on the Winston & Strawn website.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 19-23 in case they were missed.
Violations of the Arms Export Control Act require knowledge that the unlicensed exports were unlawful, and not just that the exporter knew their general conduct was illegal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in an Aug. 20 decision. Vacating the conviction of a forwarder for Arms Export Control Act violations, the appeals court held that the lower court’s jury instructions were not specific enough and could have been misinterpreted to include knowledge of import violations in another country.
Adrienne Braumiller and George Alfonso will offer trade-related lobbying through a new lobbying firm founded by the pair, Braumiller said in an Aug. 26 email. Braumiller, who started the Braumiller Law Group, and Alfonso, who also founded The Law Offices of S. George Alfonso, said the two will partner to create a new lobbying firm called Reigncore. The pair "have combined their unique talents and experiences in international trade and artful persuasion to form the cornerstone of Reigncore, in order to provide the consulting and lobbying services best suited for each client’s specific objectives and goals," Braumiller said in the email. Alfonso will be president and Braumiller will be CEO, though neither will "provide legal counsel or representation," Reigncore said on its website. Lobbying areas include the new NAFTA, Section 301 tariff exclusions, and export control reform efforts, it said.
The U.S. is not expecting major companies to use INSTEX, the European payment system designed to allow countries to trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions, said Brian Hook, a State Department senior policy adviser. Hook also said INSTEX will likely never be fully operational.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated is sanctions guidance on ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida, the OFSI said Aug. 21. The guidance contains a list of sanctioned persons and recent HM Treasury notices on the terrorist organizations. The most recent notice, dated Aug. 21, includes individuals recently added to a United Nations Security Council Sanctions List (see 1908160019).