The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned five entities that provide support to North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs following a series of ballistic missile launches over the past several months. OFAC said the actions target a North Korean WMD research and development organization along with four of its revenue-generating subsidiaries.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 1 fined S&P Global, a business analytics firm, $78,750 for violating U.S. Ukraine-related sanctions regulations. OFAC said the case was non-egreious, partly due to S&P's cooperation and agreement to improve its compliance program.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its 2022 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, detailing the most significant foreign market access issues facing U.S. exporters. The report examines a range of import policies, tariffs, customs procedures and phytosanitary measures that are restricting U.S. goods, including China’s new “opaque and burdensome” facility registration requirements.
Australia will soon impose an additional 35% tariff on all imports from Russia and Belarus in response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Australia will rescind its most-favored-nation tariff treatment for both countries, effective April 25, the country’s foreign ministry said March 31. It said it will “continue to work with partners to impose the maximum costs on Russia,” including sanctions and other trade restrictions (see 2203210006 and 2203180006).
Tuqiang Xie, of Irvine, California, was sentenced to a year in prison for brokering the sales of export-controlled defense articles from China and filing a false corporate tax return, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois said March 31. In 2019, Xie pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act and one count of filing a false tax return. Sentencing took place after hearing in Chicago. In the plea agreement, Xie admitted to using his Irvine-based company, Bio-Medical Optics, as a broker for the shipment of defense articles listed on the U.S. Munitions List and the U.S. Munitions Import List. Xie had not obtained the required export license for these items.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week revoked export privileges for five people after they illegally exported defense items or weapons ammunition.
The House should add stronger sanctions measures to the Russia-related bills recently passed out of the Financial Services Committee (see 2203180021), including more serious capital market and investment penalties, the Coalition for a Prosperous America said in a March 29 letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
President Joe Biden extended national emergencies that authorize certain sanctions against Somalia and “significant malicious cyber-enabled activities,” the White House said March 30. Both emergencies were extended for one year, from April 12, 2022, and March 1, 2022, respectively.
The U.K. added 17 new entries to its Russia sanctions regime, including big players in Russian state media, following Russia's military assault on Ukraine. The newly listed parties include Anton Anisimov, editor-in-chief of Sputnik, the Russian state-funded international news agency, along with Sputnik's parent company Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, another major Russian media organization. In one notice, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added 12 individuals and two entities. In another notice, OFSI added three entities -- Photon Pro LLP, Majory LLP and Djeco Group LP -- to the Russia sanctions regime, subjecting them to an asset freeze, for involvement in destabilising Ukraine or undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.
The U.K. amended one entry under its Russia sanctions regime and removed another, in a March 30 notice. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended the listing for Sergey Pavlovich Ivanov, changing his middle name from Borisovich to Pavlovich. OFSI also dropped a duplicate of the listing for Aleksander Aleksandrovich Mikheev. It said the original listing for Mikheev continues to apply and is still subject to an asset freeze.