The European Union said it is concerned about Iran’s continued action to engage in uranium enrichment to up to 20% but is hopeful that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will help mend the nuclear deal. Although the latest move, which the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed last week, continues to violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the EU did not say it would impose sanctions for the breach, adding that it has “continued to work hard to preserve” the agreement despite U.S. sanctions. “We acknowledge the issues arising from the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the agreement and the re-imposition of its sanctions,” the European Council said Jan. 11. “The EU has upheld its JCPoA commitments, including regarding sanctions lifting as foreseen in the Agreement.” The council said it welcomes Biden’s “positive statements” on the JCPOA and looks “forward to working with the incoming US-Administration.”
The State Department sanctioned five al-Qaida leaders and added them to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List, the agency said Jan. 12. The sanctions target Iran-based Muhammad Abbatay and Sultan Yusuf Hasan al-'Arif. Also sanctioned were the leaders of the al-Qaida Kurdish Battalions, an al-Qaida-linked group that operates on the Iran-Iraq border: Isma’il Fu’ad Rasul Ahmed, Fuad Ahmad Nuri Ali al-Shakhan and Niamat Hama Rahim Hama Sharif.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license authorizing certain transactions involving securities of companies affiliated with the Chinese military. General License No. 1, issued Jan. 8, authorizes certain transactions involving publicly traded securities with an entity with a name that “closely” matches the name of a company identified in President Donald Trump’s November executive order (see 2011130026) but that has not yet been identified on OFAC’s Chinese military companies list (see 2012290017). The authorization also applies to transactions involving “any securities that are derivative of” those publicly traded securities or “designed to provide investment exposure to such securities.” The transactions are authorized through 9:30 a.m. EST Jan. 28.
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The United Kingdom and Canada announced a range of measures to restrict trade with China’s Xinjiang region over allegations of human rights violations committed against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities. The measures include export controls, restrictions on certain imports produced by forced labor in the region and penalties for companies that violate the measures. Both countries also issued business advisories for companies operating in the region, warning them about compliance risks and exposure to penalties.
China issued a set of new rules and regulations to protect its firms against extraterritorial U.S. sanctions and to allow for penalties for complying with U.S. restrictions. The rules, issued Jan. 9 by the country’s Ministry of Commerce, allow China to restrict its people and companies from complying with foreign sanctions or else face Chinese sanctions, according to an unofficial translation of the regulations. The rules, which don’t mention the U.S. specifically, include reporting obligations, a legal process for complying with Chinese law over U.S. sanctions and outlines a working mechanism that will oversee the process.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America recently published two export compliance documents to help guide freight forwarders involved in exporting, the group said in a Jan. 11 email to industry. The U.S. Principal Party in Interest export responsibility information sheet provides guidance on the responsibilities of an export customer in an export transaction, and the Shipper’s Letter of Instruction model is intended to help forwarders as they gather required export control information and create a company-specific SLI.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated general licenses under its counterterrorism licensing policy, a Jan. 11 notice said. The U.K. revoked three general licenses and revoked and replaced one general license related to “legal aid.” The legal aid license allows certain agencies and bodies to make payments relating to “legal services” to sanctioned people.
The State Department said Jan. 10 it will notify Congress of the agency’s intent to designate Ansarallah -- also known as the Houthis -- as a foreign terrorist organization. The agency also designated three of the group’s leaders -- Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi and Abdullah Yahya al Hakim -- as specially designated global terrorists. The State Department said it will “put in place” measures to minimize the sanctions’ impact on humanitarian imports into Yemen. The Treasury Department will provide humanitarian-related licenses and guidance for certain transactions and activities conducted by both the U.S. government and nongovernmental organizations, State said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned seven people and four entities involved in a Russia-linked influence network aimed at influencing U.S. elections, OFAC said Jan. 11. The designations target former Ukrainian government officials Konstantin Kulyk, Oleksandr Onyshchenko, Andriy Telizhenko and current Ukraine Parliament member Oleksandr Dubinsky. OFAC also sanctioned NabuLeaks and Era-Media TOV, media companies in Ukraine that “push false narratives,” and Petro Zhuravel, who owns designated media disinformation companies Only News and Skeptik TOV. Also designated were Dmytro Kovalchuk and Anton Simonenko, who work closely with Andrii Derkach, a sanctioned Russian agent. Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a statement on the move, saying: “The decision to impose sanctions on Andriy Telizhenko for his role in these efforts is welcome and long overdue. By imposing sanctions on Telizhenko, the Trump administration confirms that Senate Republicans’ year-long investigation was based on Russian disinformation. In fact, Chairmen [Ron] Johnson [of Wisconsin, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee] and [Chuck] Grassley [of Iowa, the Finance Committee] cited Mr. Telizhenko 42 times in the letters sent as part of this investigation, and ignored repeated warnings to not give credibility to disinformation.”