The State Department issued a notice Dec. 17 officially rescinding Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism (see 2010230022), which is expected to loosen certain export restrictions against the country under the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Administration Regulations. Sudan likely will no longer be subject to antiterrorism controls under the EAR and will be allowed to import a range of U.S. commercial goods, including electronics and software, according to a Dec. 14 post by Wiley Rein lawyers. Those trade restrictions have not yet been lifted, but the process should start soon, according to a Dec. 16 post by Akin Gump. The law firm urged companies to continue to be “diligent” and asses which remaining federal and state restrictions, including state level divestment sanctions regarding Sudan, as well as contractual or other relevant restrictions regarding Sudan still in place, may affect new business opportunities.”
As the U.S. increasingly relies on sanctions, export controls and trade restrictions as foreign policy tools, it should expect China to follow its example, former U.S. government officials said. While other countries are beginning to mimic U.S. trade strategies, the policies are most notably taking hold in China, the officials said, which recently rolled out an export control regime (see 2010190033), has increased threats of sanctions for foreign interference in Hong Kong and Taiwan (see 2012100022 and 2010260017) and issued regulations for its unreliable entity list (see 2009210017).
The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The U.S. sanctioned one person and five entities for supporting the sale of Iranian petrochemical products, the Treasury Department said Dec. 16. Treasury sanctioned China-based Donghai International Ship Management Limited and Petrochem South East Limited, and United Arab Emirates-based Alpha Tech Trading FZE and Petroliance Trading FZE. The State Department sanctioned Vietnam Gas and Chemicals Transportation Corporation and its managing director Vo Ngoc Phung, Treasury said. Treasury said the people and entities are involved in “significant transactions for the transport of petroleum products from Iran.” The agency said the four entities it sanctioned helped Hong Kong-based Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (see 2001230040) -- which was sanctioned in January -- export energy products from Iran.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Dec. 15 completed its review of a final Bureau of Industry and Security rule that would remove Hong Kong as a “separate destination” under the Export Administration Regulations. OIRA began reviewing the rule in November (see 2011090007). BIS said in its fall regulatory agenda that it hopes to publish the rule in February 2021 (see 2012150037).
The European Union on Dec. 14 updated its list of dual-use items subject to export controls. The 280-page document lists a range of items and decisions reached for various multilateral export regimes during 2019, including the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group and the Chemical Weapons Convention. The regime also includes new controls on precursors for Novichok nerve agents, which was agreed to by the Australia Group in 2020, according to Stephane Chardon, the European Commission’s chief export control official.
China is a threat to the U.S., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said, and he said there's a risk that “the next administration could roll back much of the progress we’ve made the past few years, in an attempt to return to the failed dream of engaging and accommodating China.” Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Subcommittee on Economic Policy, led a subcommittee hearing Dec. 16 on U.S.-China Economic Competition. Cotton said during the hearing that export controls must be tightened.
The Joe Biden administration should expect immediate bipartisan pressure from Congress to tackle human rights issues in China, including calls for potential sanctions and other restrictive measures, said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. Although observers and officials have said they expect Biden to continue many of the current administration’s China trade restrictions (see 2011250054 and 2011250019), Congress will likely call for more actions, Larsen said. “There's not a lot of wiggle room on the role of human rights,” Larsen said during a Dec. 15 online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And there's not a lot of wiggle room on the issue of technology.”
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade issued a guidance Dec. 11 on how the U.K.’s departure from the European Union will affect certain export controls and SPIRE, the country’s online export licensing system. EU regulations for strategic export controls will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, the guidance said, and certain rules for controlled exports will depend on whether they were exported from Britain or Northern Ireland.
Switzerland announced sanctions Dec. 11 on 15 people in Belarus, including President Alexander Lukashenko, for human rights violations in the wake of the country’s contested elections earlier this year. Switzerland also announced an embargo on certain “armaments and goods” shipped to Belarus that may be used for “internal repression.” The country said it is “deeply concerned by the ongoing tensions” in Belarus and urged the country to “respect its international human rights obligations.” The sanctions add to Switzerland's previous sanctions (see 2010150005) and align it with some European Union sanctions measures (see 2010050010).