Adewale Adeyemo, President Joe Biden’s nominee for deputy treasury secretary, said he is open to continuing unilateral sanctions against China but stressed that he prefers multilateral sanctions and closer coordination with allies. Adeyemo also said he plans to conduct a “top-to-bottom” review of the agency’s sanctions procedures (see 2101190060) and examine whether the U.S.’s foreign investment screening tools should be strengthened.
The European Union added 19 top Venezuelan officials to its sanctions list for their roles in undermining democracy and the rule of law in the South American country along with serious human rights violations, the European Council said in a Feb. 22 news release. The targeted individuals are military, political and judicial leaders, bringing to 55 the total number of sanctioned Venezuelan officials. The expanded sanctions come after announcements from the EC Jan. 7 and Jan. 25, threatening additional targeted measures against Venezuelan officials if President Nicolas Maduro did not begin a transition period to the democratically elected opposition (see 2101060010).
Following Canada's imposition of restrictions on trade with China's Xinjiang region, stemming from the use of forced labor and other human rights violations, industry is expressing anxiety over its ability to come into full compliance with the new regulations, a lawyer said. Cliff Sosnow, partner at Fasken, told Export Compliance Daily that Canada's new regulations are meant to make it harder on importers to import goods with links to Xinjiang and to ramp up the pressure on companies to show due diligence in regard to the sanctity of their supply chains.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., introduced a bill called the Supporting Mexico Against Corruption Act, which would require the president to impose Magnitsky sanctions on Mexican government officials where there is “credible evidence” they have engaged in corruption described in the Global Magnitsky Act. Gallagher, in a press release announcing the bill's introduction, said that the Treasury has only sanctioned one Mexican government official under the Magnitsky Act since 2016.
The United Nations Security Council removed sanctions from two people after receiving delisting requests, it said in a Feb. 19 news release. The UNSC delisted Said ben Abdelhakim Ben Omar al-Cherif and Emrah Erdogan from its ISIL (Da’esh) and al‑Qaida Sanctions List. They are no longer subject to an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated two sanctions entries for a Russian entity and a vessel involved in the construction of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 (see 2101190018), according to a Feb. 22 notice. The agency added identifying information for the entries and other sanctions information. OFAC didn’t comment on the update.
The Biden administration has a range of pressing trade- and sanctions-related issues to address in the Middle East, including charting a path to restoring the Iranian nuclear deal, ensuring sanctions are not hindering humanitarian aid and recruiting Middle East allies to counter Chinese technology competition, experts said.
A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas declined to allow the state of Texas to voluntarily drop a civil forfeiture lawsuit over goods seized by a local law enforcement group that aims to stop illegal exports. The state will continue litigation in a similar case in front of the same court. The federal government isn't a party in either case.
International law firm Akin Gump has partnered with Palantir Technologies to create RegSpot, a digital services platform intended to help Akin Gump's clients address their legal needs and compliance issues, a Feb. 18 news release said. The platform's first module is designed to help with due diligence concerns involving U.S. export restrictions on transactions involving military end-use or end-users (MEU) in designated countries. Dubbed the “MEU Tool, powered by Palantir,” the module is intended to streamline the due diligence process of collecting and reviewing the relevant information while incorporating Akin Gump's assessment capabilities to respond to the legal risks posed by certain transactions, the release said. “With the increasing complexities of U.S. export controls, companies face the daunting task of conducting sufficient due diligence to identify and respond to red flags,” Tom McCarthy, Akin Gump’s head of international trade practice, said. “The MEU Tool helps provide an auditable process that promotes consistency, reduces human errors, and serves as a recordkeeping tool to demonstrate a company’s compliance efforts. This function is critical as companies face increasing scrutiny from regulators in an ever-changing legal landscape.”
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced the addition of three senior generals in the Myanmar military to its sanctions list following the military coup in the country. In a Feb. 18 release, Britain added Soe Htut, Than Hlaing and Mya Tun Oo to the list, barring any U.K. entities from dealing with these members of the military. The U.K. is just one of many countries to enact sanctions on Myanmar and high-ranking military officials following the coup, with the U.S. enacting similar sanctions on Feb. 10 (see 2102100060). “We, alongside our international allies, will hold the Myanmar military to account for their violations of human rights and pursue justice for the Myanmar people,” British Foreign Secretary Dominc Raab said in a statement.