The U.S. this week sanctioned two leaders of the Islamic State group, designating both as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The designations target Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufay’i, a leader of the Iraq-based Islamic State group’s Bilad al-Rafidayn office, and Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Mainuki, a Sahel-based senior leader of the group’s al-Furqan office, the State Department said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on June 7 withdrew a final rule from interagency review that could have expanded its nuclear nonproliferation export controls, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. BIS had sent the rule for review June 5 (see 2306060015). A BIS spokesperson didn’t comment.
The European Union needs to better coordinate with its member states on potential export controls against China’s chip industry, said Noah Barkin, a Europe-China relations expert with the Rhodium Group. Barkin, speaking during a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing this week, said the EU is still grappling with how to best impose dual-use export controls and isn’t yet at a place where it can match U.S. restrictions.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated two General Licenses under its Russia sanctions regimes, one covering London Court of International Arbitration payments and the other on transactions linked to agricultural commodities, including the provision of insurance and other services.
China leads in a range of technologies that will be “highly relevant” to technology sharing capabilities under the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership, including hypersonics, electronic warfare and autonomous underwater vehicles, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said this week. ASPI, which released the data as part of an update to its critical technology tracker, which ranks leaders in various advanced technologies, said AUKUS related critical technologies “are a two-horse race between China and the US,” but China holds a "convincing" lead in 19 of the 23 technologies newly evaluated by the think tank and "has built the foundations to position itself as the world’s leading science and technology superpower."
The State Department’s recently announced debarment of VTA Telecom (see 2305310040) highlights how cooperation with the government can lead to lower penalties, Miller & Chevalier said in a June 6 client alert. Although the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls didn’t “award credit” for VTA's disclosure, it did credit it for cooperating with DDTC’s investigation, which led to a debarment but no fine, the firm said. DDTC could have imposed a maximum $7.2 million penalty against the company.
A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate and House could lead to new sanctions on entities that process or trade Iranian oil, including through ship-to-ship transfers. The Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act would also require the Biden administration to report on the “increase of exports of petroleum and petroleum products from Iran.”
Think tank scholars said the World Trade Organization isn't well suited to deal with technology sharing restrictions, but that the G-7 and coordinated bilateral actions have been effective so far.
Technology academics and industry officials this week cautioned Congress about potential U.S. export controls over quantum technologies and research, saying new restrictions without clear guidance could hamper U.S. competitiveness and innovation. But one current government official suggested the administration needs to be more “proactive” in protecting the most sensitive research from being stolen.
Trade attorney Dariya Golubkova, former associate at Holland & Knight, moved to Kasowitz Benson, she recently announced on LinkedIn. Golubkova worked in Holland & Knight's international trade and national security practice and will move to Kasowitz Benson's litigation and sanctions practices. According to her new firm, Golubkova's practice centers on "complex commercial and international litigation," given her experience with "compliance, licensing and enforcement issues" stemming from U.S. sanctions and import and export control laws.