The U.S. and other governments need to substantially increase outreach with industry before continuing to pursue export controls over emerging technologies, experts said. Although the U.S. and other governments do some outreach work, future controls will be ineffective and difficult to comply with without more industry input, they said. “It’s [like] trying to change a tire while we’re driving down the road,” said Scott Jones, a senior adviser at the Strategic Trade Research Institute, speaking during a Nov. 17 webinar hosted by STRI. “Going forward, it fundamentally has to be much more collaborative.’
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Nov. 16 removed sanctions from Neda Industrial Group to align with the European Union, which lifted the designation last week (see 2011160010). The U.K. said Neda Industrial Group is an “industrial automation company” that has worked for Kalaye Electric Company at the uranium fuel enrichment plant in Natanz, Iran. Kalaye has been involved in centrifuge component production.
Russia will impose retaliatory sanctions against Germany and France for European Union designations of six Russian officials and one Russian entity in October, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Nov. 12. The ministry said it will target senior officials in Germany's and France's “executive offices” who helped lead the EU’s effort to sanction Russia for the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny (see 2010080013 and 2010150008).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed a general license authorizing transactions between certain companies and Petroleos de Venezuela, OFAC said Nov. 17. General License No. 8G, which replaces No. 8F (see 2004220009), authorizes transactions between PdVSA and Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. EDT June 3, 2021. The license was scheduled to expire Dec. 1.
The U.S. sanctioned two senior leaders of al-Shabaab, a Somalia terrorist group and al-Qaida affiliate, the State Department said Nov. 17. The designations target Abdullahi Osman Mohamed, the group’s senior explosives expert, and Maalim Ayman, the leader of an al-Shabaab unit that conducts terrorist attacks in Kenya and Somalia.
Airbnb may have violated U.S. sanctions laws and submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Office of Foreign Assets Control in September, the company said in a Nov. 16 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Airbnb said it began an internal review in 2019 and has been cooperating with OFAC “regarding certain user activity on our platform” that was “inconsistent with our policies” and U.S. sanctions laws. The company said those activities involved Ukraine's Crimea region, Cuba and certain OFAC specially designated nationals.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Nov. 9-13 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Bureau of Industry and Security amended and clarified provisions in the Export Administration Regulations to promote compliance and better enforce the Export Control Reform Act. BIS also amended other EAR provisions related to licenses, denial orders and civil penalty payments. The changes, outlined in a final rule issued Nov. 17, take effect Nov. 18.
The European Commission on Nov. 16 updated its guidance for providing COVID-19-related humanitarian aid to sanctioned countries. The guidance now includes a chapter on Nicaragua and clarifies the “responsibilities and the processes” to help “facilitate activities of humanitarian operators” in that country, the commission said. “The present [Guidance] Note replaces Commission Notice C(2020) 3179 final, adopted on 11 May 2020 which was focused on Syria only. The part related to Syria remains the same,” it said. The notice addresses questions the EC received regarding “exports of, and payments for protective gear, medicines, medical equipment” and medical assistance “to the population in need” in areas subject to EU sanctions.
The European Union threatened to impose further sanctions (see 2010050010) against Belarus after a peaceful protester died due to injuries caused by plain-clothes police. Raman Bandarenka's death was “an outrageous and shameful result of the actions by the Belarusian authorities,” who are violating human rights, the EU said Nov. 13. “The European Union has already imposed sanctions on 55 individuals responsible for violent repression and intimidation, and stands ready to impose additional sanctions,” the EU said.