Companies and other entities should remember to file annual reports on blocked property to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (see 2107070005) by Sept. 30, Thompson Hine said in a September alert. The reports should cover property that became blocked July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. The alert includes details on the various blocked property reporting requirements and submitting the report to OFAC.
Fenwick & West will open an office in Washington, D.C., adding two partners for the new office, the firm announced on Aug. 31. Thomas Ensign and Melissa Duffy will both serve as partners in Fenwick's Antitrust and Trade Regulation practice. Duffy, who comes from Dechert, "advises on export controls, sanctions, trade policy, programs under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), regulation of emerging technologies, digital trade, CFIUS and national security issues involving U.S. agencies," Fenwick said. Ensign is an antitrust adviser on issues including intellectual property agreements, distribution arrangements and joint ventures. Fenwick, which says it concentrates on serving the technology and life sciences industries, has offices in California, New York City, Seattle and Shanghai.
The Office of Foreign Assets Controls is seeking comments on the effectiveness of its licensing procedures for exporting agricultural goods, medicine and medical devices to Sudan and Iran from Oct. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2018, OFAC said Aug. 31. The information gathered by OFAC will be used as part of its biennial report to Congress on its licenses procedures for such exports, and the agency asked commenters to be “as specific as possible.” Comments are due Oct. 1.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Aug. 23-27 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Several countries this month broadly expanded sanctions against Belarus for corruption and human rights violations, which could affect business and trade activities for companies operating in the region, law firms said. The restrictions -- imposed by the U.S., the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and Switzerland -- “significantly escalated” sanctions against Belarus and the Alexander Lukashenko regime, Baker McKenzie said Aug. 27.
Ten countries aligned themselves with the European Union's decision to sanction eight individuals under the bloc's Nicaragua sanctions regime, the European Council said. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will now also place the restrictive measures on the eight individuals listed for undermining the rule of law in the country (see 2108020027).
After talks with the Commerce Department broke down over when Hong Kong-based apparel company Changji Esquel Textile (CJE) could be dropped from the agency's entity list, CJE resumed its litigation against the designation in federal court. The company, part of the Esquel group, on Aug. 27 filed a motion to re-set a hearing on a preliminary injunction against its placement on the list.
China could be an important economic and diplomatic lifeline for the Taliban as the group takes over the Afghan government and faces a range of sanctions (see 2108260055), the German Marshall Fund said Aug. 27. Beijing has power to sway decisions by the United Nations Security Council and is “more comfortable threatening its veto” on UNSC sanctions and embargo issues, which could give it leverage over the Taliban, the GMF said in a post written by China experts Bonnie Glaser and Andrew Small. “In a context where the Taliban know they will not receive real economic backing from the West -- at least not without conditions they will find unacceptable -- China is one of the few places they can turn.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is alerting users of its website and sanctions list data files of upcoming technical changes. The agency is beginning its annual renewal of the public certificate for its website, including its sanctions list downloads, and said its existing certificate will be replaced Sept. 1 at 9 p.m. The process will take about three to six hours, OFAC said. Users may need to update their configuration to trust the renewed certificate “if your application pins or otherwise trusts the serial number of the existing certificate as part [of] your application functionality,” OFAC said. OFAC said all applications should trust the new certificate by Sept. 1 to “prevent loss in functionality.” The notice includes a link to the new certificate and renewing instructions.
Although it prefers multilateralism, the Biden administration will likely continue to use secondary sanctions when coordination with allies isn’t possible, the Center for a New American Security said Aug. 26. But the think tank said the strategy may present challenges, especially with the rise of new blocking statutes designed to counteract the effects of extraterritorial sanctions. While the European Union’s blocking statute “has not been effective” because of enforcement and implementation issues (see 2108020030), CNAS pointed to China’s recently introduced blocking regulations, which could present compliance challenges for multinational companies (see 2107080057 and 2108040031). Russia has also drafted its own rules to penalize firms that comply with U.S. sanctions, although they haven't been enacted, CNAS said.