Russia and Iran are building a new trade route that runs from the eastern edge of Europe to the Indian Ocean, a path insulated from foreign intervention, Bloomberg reported Dec. 21. Using ship-tracking data, Bloomberg found that "dozens of Russian and Iranian vessels" are already trading in the route with tens of billions of dollars being invested to boost trading volumes. The goal is to circumvent sanctions by "creating trade networks protected from interdiction."
A new Senate bill could condition the removal of U.S. sanctions against Venezuela based on a “standards-based transition to democratic order.” The bill, introduced by Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., would maintain “current sanctions” on Venezuela “until there is a transition to democracy” and would require the U.S. to assess whether President Nicolas Maduro's regime should be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The bill also “reaffirms” that U.S. aid to Venezuela shouldn’t be restricted “except if there is a risk such aid could be used to torture or in activities related to illicit narcotics and mining.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated two entries and deleted three entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List. Both the updated entries are linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and the deleted entries include a Venezuelan aircraft and two people with Nicaraguan addresses. OFAC didn't provide more information.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added an Iranian prosecutor general, key military and paramilitary officials, and one entity to its Specially Designated Nationals List related to ongoing violence against protesters. Iranian security forces have continued to escalate violence, including the execution of two protesters and multiple death sentences, OFAC said in a Dec. 21 press release. The designations target the "senior official overseeing the prosecution of protestors," the leaders of organizations assaulting and detaining protestors and the company that provides security forces with anti-riot equipment.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a new frequently asked question addressing the service provision price cap on Russian oil. New FAQ 1109 explains that petroleum products loaded prior to Feb. 5 and unloaded prior to April 1 are not subject to the price cap. The FAQ also provides an example of a permissible transaction: A U.S. commodities trader signs a contract on Jan. 1 to purchase Russian petroleum products for shipment to a jurisdiction that has not prohibited the import of those products. The trader arranges for the petroleum products to be loaded onto a vessel, which is loaded on Feb. 1 and a bill of lading is issued. The products are then shipped and discharged at the port of destination on Feb. 15. "U.S. insurance companies provide cover for this shipment/voyage and pay out any related claims, as appropriate," OFAC said.
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy planned to discuss sanctions and export controls in their Dec. 21 meeting, a senior administration officials told reporters in a call this week previewing their meeting. The two leaders planned to talk about “the sanctions and export controls that we have imposed and will continue to tighten and reinforce that have placed significant costs on Russia’s economy and Russia’s defense industrial base,” the official said. Biden and Zelenskyy also planned to speak about defense and military items the U.S. will continue to send Ukraine.
A small change to U.S. export regulations included in the fiscal year 2023 defense spending bill could go a long way to restricting shipments of sensitive U.S. technology, including hacking tools, lawmakers said this week. The provision, which passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act last week, “represents the largest expansion of presidential export control authority in several years,” Rep. Tom Malinowski’s office said Dec. 21, adding that it allows the president to treat exports of hacking technology and expertise “just as we treat the export of sensitive military technology, to make sure it doesn’t fall into dangerous hands.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week announced new, stricter license requirements for exports to the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, by designating it as a Russian military end-user, BIS said in a final rule effective Dec. 21. The new designation imposes a license review policy of denial for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, except for certain food and medicine, which will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
The European Commission recently posted presentations from its annual export control forum earlier this month. Industry and government officials used the forum to discuss a range of export control updates and ways to expand restrictions against Russia, spoke about the need to remove outdated emerging technology export restrictions that are no longer effective and more (see 2212070053, 2212070041 and 2212090026).
Canada this week imposed another round of sanctions against Hatian elites for “significant corruption,” targeting two former ministers for enabling criminal gang activity. The designations target Berto Dorcé and Liszt Quitel, who Canada said also are involved in money laundering and “other acts of corruption.” Canada earlier this month sanctioned three people in Haiti for providing support to armed gangs (see 2212060008).