The U.S. will loosen some Trump-era restrictions on Cuba-related remittances, the State Department announced this week. The administration plans to remove the current limit on family remittances of $1,000 per quarter per “sender-receiver pair,” and it also will authorize donative, or non-family, remittances to “support independent Cuban entrepreneurs.” The agency said it will work with electronic payment processors to “encourage increased Cuban market accessibility.”
The European Commission said companies can continue buying Russian gas without violating sanctions, tempering its stance on the issue. A commission spokesperson said the EU sent revised guidelines to EU member states May 13, saying companies should "make a clear statement" they consider their obligations fulfilled once they pay in euros or dollars, Bloomberg reported May 16.
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed an interagency review of a proposed rule that could place new export controls on certain “marine toxins.” The rule, sent for review March 21 (see 2203220005) and completed May 16, proposes changes to the Commerce Control List to reflect revisions recently made at the multilateral Australia Group.
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The U.S. is preparing to ease some sanctions against Venezuela to encourage negotiations between the Nicolas Maduro regime and the U.S.-backed opposition party led by Juan Guaido, a senior administration official said. The official, speaking to reporters during a May 17 phone call, said the Guaido-led opposition party requested that the U.S. ease its sanctions pressure so the two sides can resume talks.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls should make several additional changes and clarifications to its first rule that reorganized its defense trade regulations, two commenters told the agency. The agency should include clearer definitions for end-use and end-user, a trade group said. An aerospace company urged DDTC to clarify sections of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations that could have “unintended consequences.”
The U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council hopes to make progress around the idea of a new multilateral export control regime by the TTC’s next ministerial meeting this fall, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. She said the group is thinking about which U.S. and EU technologies are “especially significant” and warrant multilateral controls, such as semiconductor equipment.
Iran is considering exporting natural gas to Europe in a potential bid to capitalize on international sanctions against Russian energy. An Iranian oil and gas ministry official said officials are “studying it but have yet to reach a conclusion,” the ministry’s news agency, Shana, said May 15. “However, Iran always seeks development of energy diplomacy and expanding the market.” The official didn’t say how it would export its product, which is subject to strict U.S. sanctions.
The EU Court of Justice in a May 12 opinion dismissed Evariste Boshab's challenge of the General Court's decision to uphold his placement on the EU's Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions list, according to an unofficial translation. Boshab had argued at the General Court and then at the ECJ that the European Council infringed on his right to be heard during the proceeding that saw his continued listing. The EU's high court said a formal hearing wasn't needed to guarantee an individual's right to be heard.
The EU could cap the price of natural gas to skirt high energy costs if Russia limits or cuts off the flow of gas, Bloomberg reported May 15. The European Commission is considering a package of energy-market intervention steps to replace Russian gas, according to a draft document seen by Bloomberg News. Concerns over Russian retaliation to EU sanctions grow as Russia's economy suffers from restrictions placed on it after its invasion of Ukraine. Importers are worried over how to pay for Russian gas while avoiding breaching sanctions, Bloomberg said.