Venezuela asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the U.S. for “crimes against humanity” due to sanctions against Venezuela, the ICC said in a Feb. 17 statement. The request was received by ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who said the ICC will determine if the “situation referred warrants an investigation.” The U.S. is not a member of the ICC, so it is unclear if the ICC will begin an investigation because the court does not usually rule on inter-state disputes, according to a Feb. 17 report from Venezuelanalysis.com.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company and designated its president for supporting the Nicolas Maduro-led regime in Venezuela, Treasury said Feb. 18. OFAC also issued a new general license and two new frequently asked questions that address the “significance” of the designations and clarifies the wind-down period.
The European Union renewed its arms embargo and asset freezes agent Zimbabwe Defence Industries, the European Council said in a Feb. 17 press release. The EU renewed the embargo and the asset freeze until Feb. 20, 2021.
The European Union renewed sanctions against Belarus for one year until Feb. 28, 2021, the European Council said in a Feb. 17 press release. The sanctions include an embargo on arms and goods that could be used for “internal repression” and an asset freeze against four people. The council also extended an exemption to allow exports of “biathlon equipment” and certain sporting rifles and pistols to Belarus, the council said. Those exports remain subject to a case-by-case review.
The European Council added eight people and two entities to the European Union's Syrian sanctions list, according to a Feb. 17 notice. The sanctions target eight businessmen and two companies that contribute to Syria’s Assad regime, the council said.
Australia’s parliament recently published the submissions it has received from its inquiry into the use of a sanctions regime to target human rights abuses. Australia announced the inquiry Dec. 4 (see 1912050026). The country extended its submission deadlines and is now accepting submissions from Australia until March 2 and international submissions until March 23.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 10-14 in case you missed them.
President Donald Trump said he does not want to make it more difficult to export U.S. goods, adding that he has “instructed” his administration to make it easier for countries to do business with the U.S. “The United States cannot, & will not, become such a difficult place to deal with in terms of foreign countries buying our product, including for the always used National Security excuse, that our companies will be forced to leave in order to remain competitive,” Trump said in a series of Feb. 18 tweets. He added that the U.S. wants to sell to “China and other countries” and “We don’t want to make it impossible to do business with us. That will only mean that orders will go to someplace else.”
Discussions within the Commerce Department to expand U.S. export control jurisdiction over foreign exports to Huawei and beyond would have a chilling effect on the U.S. semiconductor industry, said John Neuffer, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association. Neuffer said current U.S. export restrictions on Huawei are already hurting the industry’s ability to sell to China -- which represents about 35% of U.S. semiconductor sales -- and more restrictions would further alienate Chinese customers who are weary of being added to Commerce’s Entity List. “Some of them are afraid they’re next,” Neuffer said during a Feb. 18 panel hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced a bill that would achieve a result similar to that of a rule Commerce is reportedly considering on Huawei export controls (see 2002130014), he said in a news release. Currently, goods made outside the U.S. with less than 25 percent U.S. content can be sold to Huawei -- or any other company on the entity list -- without a special license (see 1905220027). The Commerce Department has discussed lowering that de minimis threshold to 10 percent, though it has not yet issued a proposed rule.