The United Kingdom’s Export Control Joint Unit updated its guidance for its revoked open general export licenses for chemicals, according to a March 3 notice. The guidance provides revoked versions of the OGELs as a reference for exporters, the notice said.
Increases in Indian tariffs and a push by India to increase domestic manufacturing (see 2001270016) are hurting the toy industry, The Toy Association said March 3. The trade group said India recently issued its second duty increase on toys in two years, raising tariffs from 22% to 66% in February. The association said it is working with trade association partners in India, the European Union and elsewhere, and coordinating with the Trump administration to advocate against the tariff increases. But the effort is proving difficult due to India’s “Made in India” push driven by “a strained relationship between China and India and budgetary concerns,” the association said.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended an entry in its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions regulations, according to a March 4 notice. The action amends the entry for Amadou Koufa, the founder of a West African terrorist group who was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council in February (see 2002050016). Koufa is still subject to an asset freeze.
Huawei was involved in illegally sending U.S.-origin computer equipment to Iran, according to a March 2 Reuters report. Reuters said it reviewed two Huawei “packing lists” from 2010 that show Huawei sent equipment made by Hewlett-Packard Co. destined for Iran’s largest mobile phone carrier. The documents provide the “strongest documentary evidence to date” of Huawei violating U.S. sanctions despite claims from Huawei that it has not violated sanctions, Reuters said.
In the Feb. 25 - March 3 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls’ Defense Export Control and Compliance System will be unavailable March 4 from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. EST for system maintenance, the DDTC said March 3. The DDTC urged users to ensure “work in progress is saved” before the scheduled downtime. The DECCS launched Feb. 18 (see 2002190025).
Two Chinese nationals sanctioned by the Treasury Department were charged with laundering more than $100 million worth of cryptocurrency, the Justice Department said March 2. Tian Yinyin and Li Jiadong, who were added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals List earlier this week (see 2003020042), were charged with money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, the Justice Department said. They allegedly worked with North Korean cyber hackers, who stole nearly $250 million worth of virtual currency, and never registered with the U.S.’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network despite conducting business in the U.S.
The U.S.-Swiss joint mechanism intended to provide companies a path to exporting humanitarian goods to Iran may not convince risk-averse banks and businesses to export to the country, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a Feb 28 letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Although the mechanism, which became operational Feb. 27 (see 2002270017), sets high due-diligence standards for users, the State Department expects more exporters to begin using it after announcing the first transaction through the system in January (see 2001300020).
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 24-28 in case you missed them.
The U.S. should lobby for increased export controls and more stringent sanctions regimes relating to weapons proliferation at the upcoming Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference, arms control experts said during a March 3 House hearing. While it may be difficult for all treaty members to sign off on a broad consensus document relating to non-proliferation, the U.S. should use the spring conference in New York to seek common ground on controls of items used to produce dangerous weapons.