The Bureau of Industry and Security completed an interagency review for a final rule that would implement certain export control decisions agreed to at the multilateral Australia Group. The rule, sent for review last month (see 2208180018) and completed Sept. 9, would place controls on certain marine toxins, plant pathogens and biological equipment.
The Commerce Department is planning to expand export controls over certain semiconductor items destined to China (see 2208010011) next month, including those used for artificial intelligence and chipmaking tools, Reuters reported Sept. 11. Commerce already outlined some new restrictions in letters earlier this year to KLA, Lam Research and Applied Materials, Reuters said, which include new export licensing requirements on chipmaking equipment to Chinese factories capable of making chips more advanced than 14 nanometers. The new rules would also codify restrictions outlined by Commerce in letters to NVIDIA and AMD last month (see 2209010059), the report said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued preliminary guidance on the price cap for seaborne Russian oil and related maritime services policy. The G7 confirmed its joint intention for the cap at the Sept. 2 meeting of finance ministers (see 2209020034).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on potential export controls over certain instruments for the automated synthesis of peptides, the agency said in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking this week. The agency, which has been drafting the ANPRM since at least June (see 2206270007 and 2208290019), said automated peptide synthesizers may warrant export restrictions as foundational or emerging technologies because of their potential impact on American national security. Comments are due Oct. 28.
Brianna Krominga, former trade attorney at Stanton, joined business law firm LimNexus as a senior associate in the Washington, D.C.-based International Trade & Regulatory Compliance group, the firm announced. Krominga previously co-led a court-appointed compliance monitor team for the "largest criminal monitorship in U.S. history for export controls and sanctions violations," the firm said. Krominga also helped lead the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security corporate audit of a Chinese multinational telecom company. Her practice will center on export controls, economic sanctions, customs and Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. matters, LimNexus said.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation requested that all individuals who hold or control funds belonging to a designed individual or entity submit a report on the details of those assets by Nov. 11. The request comes as part of OFSI's annual review of frozen assets. Any individual or entity that has previously reported frozen assets also must submit a report. The value of such assets as of the close of business Sept. 30 is to be included in the report.
The European Commission released a report to the EU Parliament this month on the implementation of dual-use items in 2021, which included aggregated export control data from 2020. The report discusses export control policy, amendments to dual-use controls, EU member state implementation and enforcement measures, arrangements for implementation laid out in the Northern Ireland Protocol, actions taken by the Dual-Use Coordination Group, guidelines for dual-use research, and data on export controls.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib for engaging in cyber-enabled activities against the U.S. and its allies, the Treasury Department said in a Sept. 9 news release. OFAC has added Khatib and MOIS to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control recently issued preliminary guidance on the price cap for seaborne Russian oil and related maritime services policy confirmed by the G7 earlier this month. The policy is split into two different service bans with exemptions for oil products purchased below certain price caps. The ban for crude oil will take effect Dec. 5 and for other petroleum products Feb. 5. The coalition has not yet set price points for oil and petroleum products.
New multilateral export controls on certain electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) software won’t have an immediate effect on semiconductor companies and are unlikely to cause wide concern in the short term, industry officials said. The controls, announced by the Bureau of Industry and Security Aug. 15 (see 2208120038) and effective in October, seek to restrict an emerging technology that may not be commercially available for at least two years, although officials say it remains unclear what exactly the restrictions will cover.