The Bureau of Industry and Security extended the comment period for an information collection involving the Chemical Weapons Convention provisions in the Export Administration Regulations (see 2107200010), the agency said in a notice. The information collection describes U.S. reporting obligations and information on certain end-use certificates. BIS said it will allow an additional 30 days of public comments. Comments are due by Dec. 13.
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for Manuel Valencia-Hermosillo for illegally exporting ammunition and magazines to Mexico, BIS said in a Nov. 9 order. The agency said Valencia-Hermosillo violated the Arms Export Control Act when he shipped 11,000 rounds of Wolf 7.62 X 39mm ammunition, 100 Palmetto State Armory 5.56 rifle magazines and 100 Korean 7.62 X 39 rifle magazines, all of which were controlled under the U.S. Munitions List. Valencia-Hermosillo was convicted Oct. 13, 2017, and sentenced to 15 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 fine. BIS denied Valencia-Hermosillo’s export privileges for seven years from the date of conviction.
President Joe Biden on Nov. 10 signed a bill into law that will impose additional sanctions against the Daniel Ortega regime in Nicaragua. The legislation would require the Biden administration to examine whether sanctions are sufficiently applied to government officials and businesses that are “obstructing the establishment of conditions necessary for the realization of free, fair, and transparent elections” in Nicaragua. It also encourages the administration to work more closely with other countries on coordinated Nicaragua sanctions and adds Nicaragua to a list of countries subject to certain corruption-related sanctions. Lawmakers have previously called on the U.S. to impose more sanctions against the Ortega regime (see 2111090012).
The former minister counselor for trade affairs in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing told an audience that in the last few years, Chinese government officials "feel like they've outflanked us on the trade front." James Green, who was speaking on a Flexport webinar on the future of U.S.-China trade policy, said that officials were pleasantly surprised that the tariffs on most exports to the U.S. did not hurt their economy more. And, he said, between sealing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and applying to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, they also feel like they have other options for exporting when things with the U.S. sour.
President Joe Biden extended a national emergency that authorizes certain sanctions against Iran, the White House said. U.S. relations with Iran “have not yet normalized,” the White House said Nov. 9, and the country’s government still poses a threat to U.S. national security. The emergency was extended for one year beyond Nov. 14.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Cambodian government officials for corruption, the agency said Nov. 10. The designations target Chau Phirun, the director-general of the defense ministry’s material and technical services department, and Tea Vinh, the country’s navy commander.
The Economic Community of West African States, responding to political upheavals in Mali and Guinea, said it will impose sanctions on Malian transition authorities, transition entities and the family members of those identified. The restrictive measures include a travel ban and asset freeze. ECOWAS also said that it will maintain sanctions on members of Guinea's National Committee of Reconciliation and Development -- which staged a coup earlier this year -- and their family members "until constitutional order is restored." The decisions follow the Nov. 7 ECOWAS summit on both countries' situations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Nov. 8 revoked export privileges for four people after they illegally exported a range of military-related items, including weapons parts, ammunition and technical data for defense items. Hersel Lincoln McKenzie was convicted Jan. 8, 2020, after illegally exporting 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition to Mexico, BIS said. McKenzie was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and a $100 fine. BIS denied McKenzie’s export privileges for five years from the date of conviction.
Several Republican senators last week introduced an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would require mandatory sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG, the company behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. The amendment, introduced by Jim Risch of Idaho, Rob Portman of Ohio, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ted Cruz of Texas, would also require sanctions against “any entity responsible for planning, construction, or operation” of the pipeline, or their successor entity, as well as “any other corporate officer of or principal shareholder with a controlling interest” in those entities.
The U.S. should impose more sanctions against the Daniel Ortega regime in Nicaragua in response to the country’s “illegitimate” presidential election this week, several House Republicans said. The lawmakers -- including Reps. Michael McCaul of Texas, Mark Green of Tennessee, August Pfluger of Texas and Maria Salazar of Florida -- said Ortega’s continued control over the government has led to unlawful jailings and the silencing of opposing voices. “We urge the Biden Administration to rally our like-minded allies and partners and implement further targeted sanctions on regime officials and entities propping up” the regime, they said Nov. 8. A State Department spokesperson said last week the agency will “continue to use the diplomatic and economic tools at our disposal to support Nicaraguans’ call for greater freedom as well as their accountability and free and fair elections.” A bipartisan group of senators last month also urged the administration to issue more sanctions (see 2110040002).