The European Parliament passed a series of new rules requiring EU-based companies to identify and, where needed, end the "negative impact of their activities on human rights and the environment." Such activities include child labor, slavery, pollution and environmental degradation. In addition, these companies would have to "monitor and assess the impact on their value-chain partners," including suppliers, distribution and storage, the parliament said June 1.
Lawmakers this week previewed two bills that could expand U.S. export controls, including one that could require the U.S. to impose new license requirements on certain data exports and another that would require the administration to create a tool to counter economic coercion.
Canada this week sanctioned seven people and one entity in Moldova for acting as “Russian collaborators,” including Moldovan oligarchs, business people, parliamentarians and politicians. Also designated was the Shor Party, a political party “closely connected” to Ilan Mironovich Shor -- who is also being sanctioned -- and which works to “destabilize Moldova’s democratically elected government in favour of Russia.” The designations follow similar sanctions by the EU (see 2305310036).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned members and affiliates of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC-Qods Force who have ties to the groups’ terrorist and assasination plots in the U.S. and abroad. The designations target various IRGC officials and associates, along with Rey Havacilik Ithalat Ihracat Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, a Turkey-based airline, for assisting the group’s operations. Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said they help Iran target “those they deem enemies of the Iranian regime.”
The U.S. this week issued its first set of Sudan sanctions since a May executive order expanded U.S. sanctions authority against the country (see 2305040037), designating four companies, including its largest defense firm, earning revenue or contributing to Sudan’s ongoing military conflict. The designations, announced June 1 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, include four new general licenses to authorize certain essential transactions, including for humanitarian aid.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has seen a recent spike in completed end-use checks in China after years of dormancy, which has allowed the agency to verify controlled items went to their intended destination, said Matthew Axelrod, top export enforcement official at BIS. Axelrod, speaking during a Senate Banking Committee hearing this week, said the agency has completed more than 90 checks in the last seven months, a stark turnaround from a government in China that hadn’t “scheduled a single end-use check for us in over two years.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security doesn't have a draft rule in place to increase export licensing requirements for Huawei despite rumors this year that new restrictions for the Chinese technology company were imminent, said Thea Kendler, BIS assistant secretary for export administration. Kendler also said the agency has seen a sharp decline in China-related license applications, is spending more time reviewing those applications and is prioritizing reviews of artificial intelligence items, quantum computing technology and biotechnology for new export controls.
The EU added seven people to two different sanctions regimes for their role in threatening the sovereignty of Ukraine, the European Council announced.The designated parties are "politicians and businessmen with Moldovan or Russian nationality that have engaged in destabilising activities," the council said. Some are tied to a "Bank Fraud" case that led to "huge losses" for the Moldovan state, while others were listed for their role in the Russian plot to destabilize Moldova through the planning of "violent demonstrations, financial misconduct, unauthorised export of capital and support for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) projects," the council said.
The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit released a notice detailing the compound penalties issued since January. Revenue and Customs issued settlement offers to four exporters related to unlicensed exports of dual-use and military goods, with the largest -- more than $1.1 million -- related to dual-use goods. Another settlement involved dual-use export violations and resulted in a fine of about $270,000, while the other two involved illegal exports of military goods and resulted in fines of about $5,000 and $3,600.
The EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council agreed on export control and investment screening concepts, but no specific policies were arrived at during the fourth meeting of the group that ended May 31 in Sweden.