President Joe Biden announced in a speech Feb. 22 that the U.S. will impose a series of sanctions on Russia for its continued aggression against Ukraine. Biden promised sanctions "far beyond what was implemented in 2014," in response to Russian recognition of the Luhansk and Donetsk republics on Feb. 21, which he called a "flagrant violation of international law." According to a Feb. 21 press call, the White House anticipated the possibility and was prepared to respond immediately. A senior administration official noted the measures were in response to "Russia’s recognition gambit" and that they are distinct from "swift and severe economic measures" prepared should Russia "further invade Ukraine."
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation is amending six entries under its Syria sanctions regime, it said in a Feb. 17 notice. The entries for Bayan Bitar and Syrian Petroleum were altered with both still subject to an asset freeze. OFSI removed duplicate aliases from the listings of Samir Hassan, Mohammad Ali Jafari and Mohamed Ourjman. The U.K. also amended the entry for Adel Anwar Al-Olabi on the previous version of the consolidated list, still subjecting the individual to an asset freeze.
A group of countries aligned with the European Union's decision to add five individuals to its Mali sanctions regime, the European Council said in a Feb. 18 notice. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Ukraine also added the five individuals to their sanctions lists.
The Census Bureau Feb. 18 emailed tips on how to address the most frequent messages generated this month in the Automated Export System. Response code 515 is a fatal error for when the Export Control Classification Number wasn’t reported in the right format. The ECCN must be reported in a “NANNN format, where N is a numeric character and A is an alpha character,” the agency said. Census said the filer should verify the ECCN, correct the shipment and resubmit.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Feb. 17 sanctioned Sergio Armando Orozco Rodriguez for his involvement with the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. CJNG traffics a “significant proportion” of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S., OFAC said, and Rodriguez helps launder money for the group, and carries out extortion schemes. OFAC previously sanctioned CJNG in 2015 and 2021.
Ukraine imposed sanctions on Moscow-based broadcasting service Vitrina TV, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine said. The council said that the company "provides services for broadcasting Russian TV channels blocked in Ukraine." The restrictive measures will be imposed for a period of five years barring an extension. Further, sanctions were implemented against the Kyiv-based Nasha Praga LLC (Maxi-TV channel), Nash 24 LLC, Nash 365 LLC (Nash TV channel) and these companies' parent firm, Cypriot Demosena Investments. All the newly listed entities will be subject to an asset freeze and restriction of trade operations.
A group of countries aligned with the European Union's decision to extend its sanctions regime on Tunisia for another 12 months, until Jan. 31, 2023, the European Council said Feb. 16. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia also implemented the extension.
Although the U.S should take steps to punish Chinese cyber hackers through sanctions and export controls, it shouldn't expect those tools to slow China’s cyber hacking capabilities, experts told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. They said the U.S. should use sanctions in conjunction with other defensive tools to make it harder for China to carry out hacking.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative laid out the externalities to other economies of China's state-led economy in a 72-page annual report to Congress. "Since last year’s report, our assessment of China’s record in terms of transitioning to a market economy has not changed," the report said. While the report's framing is about how China complies with World Trade Organization rules, the authors minimized the WTO's ability to constrain China and emphasized that countries must expand domestic trade remedies or develop other tools to deal with China's rise.
Japan will work with other G-7 countries to impose sanctions against Russia if the country invades Ukraine, Japan Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said this week, according to an unofficial translation of his comments. “At this point in time, Japan is strongly demanding a solution through diplomatic negotiations,” Hayashi told reporters during a Feb. 15 news conference. “If an invasion by Russia occurs, Japan should take appropriate measures in cooperation with the G-7 and other international communities according to the actual situation, including imposing sanctions.”