The Bureau of Industry and Security this week suspended the export privileges of one person for illegally exporting technology to Hong Kong, eight people for illegally exporting guns and ammunition to Mexico and two people for illegally sending firearms to the Dominican Republic.
The U.S. ended the Group of 7 summit in Japan with an agreement by member countries to explore new restrictions on outbound investments into China and a strategy to de-risk with regard to certain aspects of the country’s economy, a result President Joe Biden said “showcased the unity of purpose” of the G-7 leaders toward Beijing. The countries also emphasized the importance of multilateral export controls, agreeing to increase cooperation on restrictions over dual-use technologies.
The U.K. added 86 new entries to its Russia sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The listings cover 42 people and 44 entities linked to Russia's energy, metals, defense, transportation and financial sectors, including Oleg Romanenko, head official at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, 13 members of the Gazprom Neft board of directors and five members of the Transneft board of directors.
Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department last week issued a notice to update its export and import controls to cover items regulated under the multilateral Arms Trade Treaty. The effective date of the changes, which outlined goods that will require licenses, will be announced at a later date, the notice said.
Members of Congress need to be mindful of what their proposals to regulate outbound investment might mean for U.S. businesses, one of the experts on a Washington International Trade Association webinar cautioned.
The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific are trying to pass legislation to give the president the ability to respond to economic coercion of allies, but Chair Young Kim, R-Calif., asked witnesses at a subcommittee hearing she convened to advise what else could be done to stand up to China's economic aggression.
The U.S. and Taiwan completed five chapters of a trade agreement similar to the issues under discussion in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the U.S. announced late May 18.
After settling with the Treasury Department for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Iran (see 2305180028), U.S. skin care company Murad is “committed to complying with U.S. economic sanctions laws,” a spokesperson said, adding that it has since “adopted appropriate sanctions and export control policies and procedures.” The company “extended our full cooperation to US authorities to resolve this matter."
The Treasury Department ‘understands” the challenges faced by banks, law firms, companies and others in trying to comply with multiple Russian sanctions regimes across the U.S., the EU and elsewhere, and is working to better align those restrictions to alleviate some headaches, said Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Nelson, speaking during a law conference in Washington last week, said the agency is “working hard” to harmonize “our actions, our targets, the guidance that we're providing so that they are consistent across our jurisdictions.”
Companies should be constantly assessing their export control compliance procedures because of the unprecedented pace of regulatory changes, which makes it “easier to be caught,” said Tamer Soliman, a Mayer Brown trade lawyer, speaking during a law conference hosted by the law firm last week. He said the government is “scrutinizing more and more transactions,” particularly as it tries to target Russian sanctions evasion attempts.