The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will hold a webinar March 18 on using the Defense Export Control Compliance System licensing application, DDTC said in a March 11 notice, which includes login information. The webinar will cover “key issues brought forward” by DECCS users over the past year, including uploading documents and tracking applications. The webinar will also give a “sneak preview” of upcoming DECCS features.
Nine Republican senators on March 10 reintroduced a bill that they said will make the U.S. more competitive with China and counter illegal Chinese trade practices. The bill, originally introduced last year, would “tackle” Chinese efforts to “distort global markets” and allow U.S. technology companies to better compete with China by “increasing technology collaboration with allies and partners.” The bill also includes several policy statements about export controls and sanctions, and stresses that the U.S. should be “crafting multilateral export control measures” with allies and with multilateral control groups, including the Wassenaar Arrangement. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who helped craft the bill, said the legislation may have bipartisan support. “We are committed to working with our Democratic colleagues to ensure the United States and its allies and partners are prepared for this competition,” he said.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a March 9 guidance about new regulations and measures surrounding trade in “antiquities and art.” FinCEN said banks with Bank Secrecy Act obligations “should be aware” that they may be involved in illegal trading of art, which may include money laundering and sanctions violations. The guidance outlines how financial institutions should be filing Suspicious Activity Reports that detail the potential violations.
The U.S. should refrain from imposing sanctions on the Houthis and others for the violence in Yemen because the restrictions would have a “disastrous” impact on the country’s commercial imports, humanitarian aid experts said. The experts applauded the Biden administration for repealing the terrorism designation of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels last month (see 2102100016) and urged policymakers to find a diplomatic solution rather than turning back to sanctions.
European Council President Charles Michel criticized the United Kingdom in a March 9 newsletter for blocking COVID-19 vaccine exports to the EU while justifying the controls the EU set up in January (see 2102010012). “The United Kingdom and the United States have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory,” Michel said. “But the European Union, the region with the largest vaccine production capacity in the world, has simply put in place a system for controlling the export of doses produced in the EU.” A U.K. government spokesperson said Great Britain has not blocked the export of a single vaccine. In a statement, the spokesperson said, “Any references to a UK export ban or any restrictions on vaccines are completely false. This pandemic is a global challenge and international collaboration on vaccine development continues to be an integral part of our response,” Reuters reported.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will use his upcoming meeting with Chinese officials to outline U.S. concerns over Chinese human rights abuses and illegal trade practices, Blinken told lawmakers March 10. The March 18 meeting in Alaska, which was announced March 10, will include National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese foreign affairs officials Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi. “This is an important opportunity for us to lay out in very frank terms the many concerns that we have with Beijing's actions and behavior that are challenging the security, prosperity and the values of the United States and our partners and allies,” Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The aerospace and satellite industry urged the Commerce Department to maintain staffing levels at the Office of Space Commerce until a new director is named, citing the office’s key role in aiding the U.S. aerospace industry. The office creates a “‘one-stop’ Commerce entry point” for connecting industry to other agency activities that directly affect aerospace companies, including export controls, the Aerospace Industry Association, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and the Satellite Industry Association said in a March 9 letter. The groups specifically highlighted the importance of the office’s work to connect industry to Commerce efforts to place controls on “imagery analysis software” and promote trade. “[T]he space industry requires a strong U.S. Office of Space Commerce to drive continued growth here and abroad for U.S. space industry,” the groups said. Commerce didn’t comment.
The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced a bill that would allow Congress to approve or block efforts by President Joe Biden's administration to lift sanctions against Iran. The bill -- introduced March 9 by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, with support from 20 other Republican committee members -- is the House’s companion legislation to a similar bill introduced by Senate Republicans last month (see 2102260025). McCaul said the administration has “already started making concessions in an apparent attempt to start negotiations with Iran” and the bill would provide “oversight” for any sanctions relief offered by the U.S. The administration hasn’t lifted any sanctions against Iran and expects a challenging road back to the Iranian nuclear deal or a new agreement (see 2101280043).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the adult children of the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military and their six companies, the agency said March 10. The designations target Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon, who have “directly benefitted from their father’s position and malign influence.” OFAC also sanctioned the companies A&M Mahar Company Limited, Sky One Construction Company Limited, The Yangon Restaurant, The Yangon Gallery, Everfit Company Limited and Seventh Sense Company Limited.
Don Graves, President Joe Biden’s nominee for deputy commerce secretary, said export restrictions shouldn’t be removed from Huawei and that the Commerce Department should do more to promote U.S. leadership at international technology standards setting bodies. Graves also said he is open to imposing more export controls and other restrictions against China for human rights violations.