The European Commission released a compliance guide for dual-use trade controls that details “common approaches” to compliance programs and lays out a “framework” to help exporters minimize risks, the commission said in an Aug. 5 notice. The guide outlines seven “core elements” that are “cornerstones for a company’s tailor made” internal compliance program: top-level management commitment to compliance; organizational structure responsibilities and resources; training and awareness raising; transaction screening processes and procedures; performance, review audits, reporting and corrective actions; recordkeeping and documentation; and physical and information security. For each element, the guide contains a “What is expected?” section and “What are the steps involved?” section to help companies assess their own programs. The guide emphasizes that the “most important aspect” of developing compliance programs is ensuring they’re “relevant to the company's organisation and activities,” easy to follow and “capture the day-to-day operations and procedures.”
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security denied a man export privileges after he was convicted of illegally exporting a “barrel and breech casing” for a Glock carbine pistol to Latvia, Commerce said Aug. 5. Michael Shapovalov, who was sentenced to 34 months in prison after his May 2018 conviction for violating the Arms Export Control Act, is banned from exporting from the U.S. until May 23, 2025.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security denied a man export privileges after he was convicted in August 2018 of helping to illegally export about 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the U.S. to Mexico in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, Commerce said Aug. 5. Juan Jesus De La Rosa was sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release for aiding and abetting the export and trying to export the ammunition, which were designated as defense items on the U.S. Munitions List and required a State Department license. De La Rosa is banned from exporting from the U.S. until Aug. 28, 2028.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a set of frequently asked questions and amended the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations to implement a May executive order that imposed sanctions on Iran iron, steel, aluminum and copper, OFAC said in a notice scheduled to be published in the Aug. 7 Federal Register. The executive order was intended to cut off revenue streams from Iran’s metals sectors that fund the country’s nuclear weapons program, the notice said. The amendments to the sanctions regulations change the heading “Iranian Human Rights Abuses Sanctions Regulations” to the “Iranian Sector and Human Rights Abuses Sanctions Regulations” to reflect U.S. sanctions on Iran’s metal sectors.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 29 - Aug. 2 in case they were missed.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control agreed on a $1.7 million settlement with PACCAR Inc., of Bellevue, Washington, for 63 violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran by PACCAR’s subsidiary, OFAC said in an Aug. 6 notice. The subsidiary, Netherlands-based DAF Trucks N.V., sold 63 trucks worth more than $5 million to European customers that DAF knew intended to sell the trucks to Iran, OFAC said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 6 issued a set of Venezuela-related frequently asked questions, amended 12 general licenses, created 13 new general licenses and released a Venezuela sanctions guidance detailing which types of transactions are authorized between U.S. companies and Venezuela. The moves were in coordination with President Donald Trump’s Aug. 5 executive order that expanded certain sanctions on Venezuela.
The Trump administration has “done virtually nothing to support exports,” failing to open new foreign markets for U.S. sellers while also tightening export controls, according to an Aug. 2 report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. At the same time, U.S. export growth has “dropped sharply,” the report said. “Unless the president reverses course, his trade policy will continue to weaken rather than strengthen the US economy as well as undermine the global trading system,” the report said.
The Office of the High Commissioner for the United Nations Human Rights issued a report calling for sanctions against Myanmar and companies run by the country’s military, the OHCHR said in an Aug. 5 press release. The report also calls for an arms embargo and cites 14 foreign companies from seven nations that have exported “fighter jets, armored combat vehicles, warships, missiles and missile launchers” to Myanmar since 2016. The sanctions and arms embargo will weaken the country’s military and stop Myanmar from committing human rights violations, OHCHR said. The report specifically mentions Myanmar companies Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation, which it said are owned by military leaders. The two companies control “at least 120 businesses involved in everything from construction to pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, insurance, tourism and banking,” the press release said.
U.S. sanctions on Iran will force the country to come to the negotiating table but may be permanently damaging U.S. relationships with other trading partners, said James Cartwright, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a current board director for the Atlantic Council.