The United Kingdom's Export Control Joint Unit conducted a review and reassessment of all the individual licenses authorizing direct or indirect supply of controlled items to Afghanistan, the Department for International Trade said. An undisclosed number of these licenses were found to no longer be consistent with the Consolidated European Union and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria and were subsequently revoked. The licensees were notified, DIT said Sept. 10.
The European Commission released a fact sheet Sept. 9 titled, “Emerging Technologies Developments in the Context of Dual-Use Export Controls.” The publication is a compilation of fact sheets that cover topics addressed in the five workshops for member states held 2019-20 on emerging technologies, such as quantum computing, additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, special materials, advanced semiconductors and hypersonics. After the workshops, each relevant emerging technology had a fact sheet developed for it.
European sanctions “targeting those responsible for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine” will be extended another six months, until March 15, 2022, the European Council said Sept. 10. Existing restrictions include travel bans, asset freezes and a ban on making funds available to listed individuals and entities; they apply to 177 individuals and 48 entities. Measures were first imposed in March 2014.
The Treasury Department should add Chinese technology company Tuya to its Non-Specially Designated National Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, three Republican senators said. Tuya poses a “national security threat” to the U.S. because of its “significant control” over the international internet-connected market, or Internet of Things, which potentially gives it access to sensitive data on Americans, the senators said in a Sept. 9 letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. They also said Tuya operates under the Chinese government.
The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said the acting head of the Bureau of Industry and Security misrepresented facts in front of a congressional commission last week (see 2109080062), saying he wasn't straightforward about the agency’s “delayed and incomplete” provision of export licensing decisions to Congress. Although BIS Acting Undersecretary Jeremy Pelter told the commission that BIS has complied with all laws regarding the disclosure of licensing information to Congress, Rep. Michael McCaul said the agency hasn’t been transparent.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 10 again extended a general license that continues to delay certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.. General License No. 5H, which replaced No. 5G (see 2107210009), now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after Jan. 1, 2022. The agency also updated a frequently asked question to reflect the change. The previous license was set to allow those transactions to occur on or after Oct. 21.
The Biden administration expects to complete its review of U.S. sanctions policies this fall, the Treasury Department told The Wall Street Journal. The Sept. 10 report also references a letter sent to the administration last week by 46 humanitarian and human rights groups asking the administration to quickly finalize the review and implement changes to U.S. sanctions policy. The groups hope the completed review will allow them to better deliver aid to Afghanistan and other sanctioned countries, which has long been a challenge (see 2109020064, 2107200024 and 2105260047).
The U.S. government needs more resources, including better expertise, to identify emerging and foundational technologies under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, said Kevin Wolf, the Commerce Department’s former assistant secretary for export administration. Speaking before a U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing last week, Wolf said export controls are more “complex” now than they have been in decades, mostly due to Chinese technology acquisition efforts and the continued development of advanced technologies.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a Texas hardware and software company more than $180,000 for illegally exporting goods, technology and services that were intended to be used in Iran, OFAC said Sept. 9. The company, NewTek, which develops and supplies live production and 3D animation hardware and software systems, voluntarily self-disclosed its 52 violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. OFAC said the company didn’t have an export control or sanctions compliance program.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation removed 28 entries from its consolidated Iraq sanctions list in a Sept. 9 notice, no longer subjecting them to an asset freeze. All 28 listings are Iraqi state-run entities. The entries are: