The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Iran’s Morality Police for abuse and violence against Iranian women peacefully protesting, according to a Sept. 22 news release. OFAC also targeted seven "senior leaders" of Iran’s security organizations: the Morality Police, Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the Iranian army, the Basij Resistance Forces and Law Enforcement Forces. OFAC said the sanctioned officials "oversee organizations that routinely employ violence" to suppress various groups within Iran.
The U.S. should consider new export controls on items used in rare earth magnet production, which could aid domestic rare earth producers, the Commerce Department said in a report this week. The report, part of a Section 232 investigation into the effects of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets on national security, said export controls could dissuade U.S. suppliers from shipping rare earths out of the U.S. The administration should “evaluate the use of export controls for domestic producers who face difficulties acquiring feedstocks from domestic sources due to competition with foreign consumers.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security should clarify a number of items related to its new upcoming export controls on certain electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) software (see 2208120038 and 2208250036), including its definition for “specially designed,” semiconductor companies told the agency in comments this month. BIS should also consider updating other areas of the control, some said, including making it eligible for License Exception TSR (Technology and software under restriction).
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added three questions to its Russia sanctions guidance page. The first asks whether insurers are allowed to insure Russian ships carrying food and fertilizer from Russia and Ukraine to a third country. OFSI said insurers can apply for a license under the food security purpose with OFSI, which allows anything to be done in connection with the distribution of food for the benefit of a country's civilian population. Applying for this license doesn't prevent applicants from also applying under a different purpose in the regulations.
A few EU member states expressed their concern that new proposed guidance from the European Commission could weaken sanctions on Russia and allow countries to ship certain key Russian commodities including coal, globally. Several countries, including Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, criticized the guidance, Bloomberg reported Sept. 21. In a meeting with EU ministers, the concerned parties asked the commission to halt the document's publication until their issues were addressed.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to control 4-piperidone as a list I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act. The chemical is used in the manufacture of fentanyl, DEA said. DEA is not proposing a threshold for domestic and international transactions for these chemicals, so “all transactions of chemical mixtures containing 4-piperidone will be regulated at any concentration and will be subject to control under the Controlled Substances Act,” the agency said. Comments are due Oct. 24.
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The Senate should move forward with bipartisan legislation that would give the administration stronger authorities to penalize and investigate sanctioned Russian oligarchs and tackle broader sanctions evasion issues (see 2207200020), senators said during a hearing this week. But Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said Congress shouldn’t be too quick to expand some of the Biden administration’s proposals, which could expand DOJ authorities unrelated to Russia.
The House of Representatives on Sept. 20 passed two sanctions bills, including one that could lead to more designations of Russian officials and oligarchs. The bills were grouped as part of a broader legislative package that passed 361-69.
Two senators plan to introduce a bill that would impose mandatory sanctions against any foreign financial entity not complying with the G-7's and EU’s upcoming price cap on Russian oil. The bill, which is still being drafted, has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill but not from the Treasury Department, with one official suggesting the legislation is unnecessary.