China's top legislative body, the National People's Congress, on Aug. 20 will discuss extending an anti-sanctions law to Hong Kong, local Chinese media outlet TVB News quoted NPC Standing Committee delegate Tam Yiu-chung as saying, Reuters reported. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she has no timeline for the implementation of the mainland Chinese law meant to retaliate against foreign sanctions.
The United Nations Security Council on Aug. 16 called on member countries to allow “unhindered” humanitarian access to Afghanistan amid the countrywide takeover by the Taliban. Countries should allow “immediate” access for “humanitarian actors providing assistance, including across conflict lines, to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those in need,” the UNSC said. U.S. sanctions regulations include carve-outs and licenses for some humanitarian activities, although groups have criticized the sanctions for hindering their work (see 2105260047). The European Union recently expanded its guidance for humanitarian efforts in countries subject to sanctions (see 2108170031).
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said Aug. 18 it is reviewing all relevant pending and issued export licenses, as well as “other approvals,” in light of the Taliban’s actions in Afghanistan. The agency is determining their “suitability in furthering world peace, national security, and the foreign policy of the United States,” and said industry should expect “additional updates in the near future.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security released a final rule to make technical corrections and clarifications (see 2108110010) to a 2020 rule that transferred export control jurisdiction over certain firearms from the State Department to the Commerce Department. The rule, released Aug. 18 and effective Sept. 20, introduced changes to make the requirements “easier to understand” and “interpreted consistently,” BIS said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a U.S. semiconductor manufacturer $469,060 for working with others to export chip-making equipment to Chinese companies on the U.S. Entity List, BIS said in an Aug. 16 order. The company, California-based Dynatex International, violated the Export Administration Regulations because it didn’t obtain the required BIS license before shipping the equipment. Although BIS said Dynatex knew it was shipping items to blacklisted companies, the agency substantially reduced the fine as part of a settlement agreement.
The Swiss Federal Council implemented an asset freeze and travel ban on eight Nicaraguan officials, joining the European Union in imposing the restrictions, according to a notice from the council. Due to an "ongoing violation of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Nicaragua," Switzerland made the restrictions, including on Vice President and first lady Rosario Maria Murillo de Ortega. The other seven affected individuals include Gustavo Eduardo Porras Cortes, Juan Antonio Valle Valle, Ana Julia Guido Ochoa, Fidel de Jesus Dominguez Alvarez, Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo, Alba Luz Ramos Vanegas and Bayardo Arce Castano. The council also delisted Libyan General Tohami Khaled, another decision in line with the EU's, since the general died.
The European Commission tacked a section onto its guidance for COVID-19-related aid to countries subject to EU sanctions, to discuss how the guidance extends to counterterrorism sanctions. In the Aug. 13 notice, the commission said sanctions do not cover medicine, medical equipment or assistance given to the population writ large. Sanctions also will not cover exports of medicine and equipment needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Humanitarian operators may “liaise” with sanctioned people or entities if it is needed to organize the provision of humanitarian aid in a safe and effective way, but these operators must ensure that their partners for the delivery of such humanitarian aid are not EU designated, the guidance said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list mesocarb, a substance with stimulating properties marketed in Russia for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that has no approved medical use and no known therapeutic application in the U.S., under schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice published Aug. 11. “If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis with, or possess), or propose to handle, mesocarb.” Comments are due by Oct. 12.
The U.S. may turn to more sanctions to retain leverage over the Taliban after President Joe Biden decided to withdraw U.S. troops from the country, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Aug. 17. Sullivan said the U.S. will use various foreign policy “tools” to address human rights violations by the Taliban, but he declined to elaborate much further. “I’m not going to go into the full panoply of things that we can do,” he said, “but there are obviously issues related to sanctions” and “other steps” the U.S. can take.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 17 released a comprehensive list of the Belarusian people and entities it sanctioned Aug. 9 for human rights violations, corruption and other reasons. The notice includes identifying information for the new entries and reasons for each of the designations, some of which were made under the agency’s new Belarus sanctions authority (see 2108090033).