China sanctioned Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, following his visit last week to Taiwan. McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was subjected to an asset freeze and travel ban, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said April 13, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said his leadership of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan and previous comments on Taiwan interfere with Chinese internal affairs.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is looking for new candidates to serve on each of its six technical advisory committees, the agency said this week. The TAC members -- selected from industry, academia and government -- will help advise the Commerce Department on export controls and may serve terms of not more than four consecutive years. Applicants should send a resume and other required information to Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov by June 13.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list nine fentanyl-related substances -- meta-fluorofentanyl, meta-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, para-methoxyfuranyl fentanyl, 3-furanyl fentanyl, 2′,5′-dimethoxyfentanyl, isovaleryl fentanyl, ortho-fluorofuranyl fentanyl, alpha′-methyl butyryl fentanyl, and para-methylcyclopropyl fentanyl -- under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice published April 13. The four substances are already temporarily controlled under a 2018 order that has been most recently extended until the end of 2024. "If finalized, this action would make permanent the existing regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possess), or propose to handle these nine specific controlled substances," DEA said. Comments are due by May 15.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is finalizing controls on 4-piperidone as a list I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act. The chemical is used in the manufacture of fentanyl, DEA said. The agency is not setting a threshold for domestic and international transactions for these chemicals, so “all transactions involving 4-piperidone, regardless of size, shall be regulated and are subject to control under the CSA," and "chemical mixtures containing 4-piperidone are not exempt from regulatory requirements at any concentration." The listing takes effect May 12.
The U.S., the Netherlands and Japan need to prepare for “expanded” Chinese retaliation as a result of their pact to impose new export controls on advanced semiconductor equipment (see 2303310031 and 2303090032), the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a commentary this week, adding that China has “long put national security goals above those of market efficiency.”
The Biden administration’s October semiconductor chip controls against China (see 2210070049 and 2211010042) are expected in the short term to “constrain” the country’s access to the most advanced chips “used in computationally intensive subfields” of artificial intelligence, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said in an April report. But the controls could spur Chinese AI researchers toward “subfields that are less computationally demanding” and lead them to develop “new competitive advantages” in those areas, the report said.
The U.S. should create an outbound investment screening regime that focuses on capturing “smart money” investments in critical technology industries in China, said Emily Kilcrease, a senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security and former National Security Council official. Smart money investments would include those that are “accompanied by managerial expertise or other intangible benefits” that could advance China’s “indigenous technology capabilities,” she said.
Public U.S. companies should update their China-related risk disclosures to factor in a range of potential trade restrictions on the horizon, including possible U.S. sanctions against Beijing for aiding Russia and new outbound investment restrictions, said Carl Valenstein, a trade lawyer with Morgan Lewis.
The U.K. updated its industry guidance on its Russia maritime services ban and oil price cap, noting the cap will stay under review and will be updated subject to the agreement of the Oil Price Cap Coalition. It also explains that, for the maritime services ban, a person supplying or delivering goods by ship includes a person who owns, controls, charters or operates a ship on which those goods are being carried from or to which those goods are being transferred, the EU Sanctions blog said April 12.
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a notice April 12 adding 10 people and four entities to its Russia sanctions regime. The new designations target various Russian business and banking executives and other people with ties to Russia, including Felix Evtushenkov, Tatiana Evtushenkova, Natalia Evtushenkova, Nariman Gadzhiev, Demetris Ioannides, Gulnara Kerimova, Oksana Marchenko, Vladimir Skoch, Varvara Skoch, Christodoulos Vassiliades. The four entities are Curzon Square Ltd., Hanley Ltd., Meritservus HC Ltd. and USM Holdings Ltd. OFSI also amended the entry for Nikolay Bortsov, member of Russia's State Duma.