Japan and South Korea met Dec. 16 for another export control policy dialogue to discuss their ongoing trade dispute (see 1907010020), Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a press release. Japan said the two sides discussed “circumstances” surrounding critical technology controls and their export control systems, and agreed to continue talks to “contribute to resolving issues of concern.” The meeting was aimed at better understanding each other’s export control measures, Japan said. The two sides previously met for two rounds of consultations at the World Trade Organization (see 1911080022).
A bipartisan group of more than 45 lawmakers urged the Trump administration to impose strict sanctions on China’s treatment of its Uighur population, saying the October addition of 28 Chinese entities to the Commerce Department’s Entity List (see 1910070076) was not enough. “These measures were a first step that do not go far enough in ensuring accountability for China’s government and Communist Party,” the lawmakers said in a Dec. 12 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two South Sudan officials for obstructing peace talks, Treasury said in a Dec. 16 press release. OFAC targeted the Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomuro and Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs Kuol Manyang Juuk, who have both “perpetuated” the country’s “conflict for their own personal enrichment,” the press release said.
The European Union will renew sanctions against Russia for another six months, the European Council decided Dec. 13, according to a press release. The sanctions, targeting Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors, were due to expire in January, according to the EU Sanctions blog.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., for a second time announced he will block the Trump administration’s efforts to transfer export controls of firearms from the State Department to the Commerce Department, according to a Dec. 13 press release. In a Dec. 10 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Menendez said the military items should not be removed from the State Department’s U.S. Munitions List and should instead be subject to “more rigorous controls” and oversight. The senator previously announced a hold on the transfer in February (see 1903060021).
The Commerce Department plans to release its first set of proposed controls on emerging technologies in six areas, including the semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors, a top Commerce official said. The six proposed rules (see 1912130055), which may not be released until early next year, include restrictions on items in the fields of quantum technology, semiconductor design, chemicals, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and possibly 3D printing, said Matt Borman, Commerce’s deputy assistant secretary for export administration. The controls stem from an advance notice of proposed rulemaking published more than a year ago.
The Justice Department announced three “key changes” for companies that submit voluntary disclosures of export controls and sanctions violations, the agency said in a Dec. 13 press release. The changes emphasize voluntary disclosures and lean toward rewards for companies that cooperate with the Justice Department through non-prosecution agreements and “significant” reductions in penalties, the press release said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three people involved in money laundering in Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as 17 entities and one vessel, Treasury said in a Dec. 13 press release. OFAC also issued three new counterterrorism-related frequently asked questions.
A Texas aviation consultant violated U.S. terrorism sanctions when it entered into a contract with Mahan Air, Iran’s sanctioned airline, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Dec. 12 notice. The company, Aero Sky Aircraft Maintenance, was issued a finding of violation by OFAC after it violated U.S. Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations in 2016 for “dealing in the property and interests in property” of Mahan Air, the notice said. Aero Sky eventually filed for bankruptcy and dissolved, Treasury said. OFAC released details of the violations because they would have “justified a strong civil monetary penalty.”
BOSTON -- If the Commerce Department follows through on plans to expand the limits of the Export Administration Regulations to further control foreign shipments to Huawei, it will have a “dramatic” impact on international supply chains, said Kevin Wolf, a trade lawyer with Akin Gump and Commerce’s former assistant secretary for export administration. The measures, which Commerce confirmed it was considering earlier this month (see 1912100033), include expanding the Direct Product Rule and broadening the de minimis rule to make more foreign-made goods subject to the EAR.