The EU updated frequently asked questions pages under its Russia sanctions regime relating to media and medicines and medical devices.
The EU said it's ready to impose additional restrictive measures on Myanmar, given the continued "absence of any swift progress on the situation," EU High Representative Josep Borrell said on the second anniversary of the military coup in the Southeast Asian country. Borrell said the EU will pass new sanctions on "those directly responsible for and those abetting the undermining of democracy and the serious human rights violations in the country."
Canada added new sanctions barring the export or sale of aviation fuel “to the Myanmar military regime,” it said in a Jan. 31 news release. At the same time, Canada designated six senior Myanmar military figures under its Myanmar sanctions: Htein Win, Htin Latt Oo, Than Hteik, Nyunt Win Swe, Phone Myat and Thet Pon. The announcement came on the second anniversary of a Feb. 1, 2021, military coup d’etat in the country, and was joined by similar actions from the U.S. and the U.K. (see 2301310020 and 2301310023).
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., introduced a bill that would require the administration to keep export controls on Huawei. Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., and Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, co-sponsored the measure.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., introduced a bill directing the administration to impose sanctions on an Iraqi militia group, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, which he said conducted attacks against U.S. soldiers in Baghdad. The bill is called the Sanctioning Iranian-Backed Militia Terrorist Act.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 10 individuals and 12 entities the agency said are related to a global sanctions evasion network that supports Russia’s military-industrial complex. The designations are part of a "strategy to methodically and intensively target sanctions evasion efforts around the globe, close down key backfilling channels, expose facilitators and enablers, and limit Russia’s access to revenue," OFAC said in a Feb. 1 news release.
Although those on the Senate Agriculture Committee hailed the 14% surge in agricultural exports in 2022, when the value reached an all-time high of $196 billion, a half-dozen senators pressed USDA Undersecretary of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor on Mexico's plan to block the import of genetically modified corn.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added two individuals and two entities to its Myanmar sanctions regime, it said in a Jan. 31 notice. OFSI subjected Win Kyaw Kyaw Aung, former director and shareholder of Asia Sun Trading, and Zaw Min Tun, member of Asia Sun Trading, to a travel ban and asset freeze. The agency also imposed sanctions on Asia Sun Trading and Cargo Link.
The U.K.'s Commercial Court in a Jan. 27 judgment let a proceeding involving PJSC National Bank Trust and PJSC Bank Otkritie Financial Corp. be taken to the Court of Appeal, finding it raises key questions of law concerning the impact of the U.K.'s Russia sanctions on ongoing litigation involving a designated party.
The EU added Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries to its Russia sanctions regime in a Jan. 30 decision from the European Council. The Iranian drone manufacturer was listed for its alleged involvement in developing unmanned aerial vehicles for Russia's war in Ukraine. The company was designated in 2010 under the Iran nuclear proliferation sanctions.