A pair of U.S. and South African weapon sellers failed to show that the State Department illegally debarred them from exporting goods, a U.S. court said Oct. 26. The court’s decision stemmed from a lawsuit filed by U.S. weapons exporter Robert Thorne and South African gun reseller Dave Sheer and his businesses, who said they were “de facto debarred” from trading weapons by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls despite not being placed on a debarment list.
China’s new export control law (see 2010190033), which takes effect Dec. 1, appears to create a Chinese “counterweight” to U.S. export controls over dual-use technologies and includes provisions for “retaliatory action and extraterritorial jurisdiction,” the Congressional Research Service said in an Oct. 26 report. China may use the new law to impose controls against specific U.S. companies, on technologies the U.S. controls or on items in which China has “niche advantages or control over certain elements of global technology supply chains.” While the new law presents risks for the U.S., it could also backfire by driving the U.S. to work closer with partners on multilateral controls and licensing practices to better counter China, the CRS said. The report summarizes the law and its definitions and includes a catalog of newly controlled technologies released by China in August.
New U.S. restrictions and prohibitions on remittances to Cuba will “directly harm the Cuban people” and are a “direct attack” on family remittances, the Cuban government said Oct. 28. “Doing so in the middle of a pandemic corroborates the US government’s cynicism, opportunism and contempt for the Cuban people,” the Cuban government said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended and reissued its Yemen Sanctions regulations to include more guidance, general licenses and statements of licensing policy, OFAC said in a final rule released Oct. 28. The rule, which takes effect Oct. 29, provides a more “comprehensive” set of regulations aimed to “provide further guidance to the public.” The rule mainly adds clarifications, new definitions and specifies when certain transactions are authorized by general licenses. New general licenses now included in the regulations authorize certain transactions relating to “investment and reinvestment of certain funds, payments for legal services from funds originating outside the United States, and official activities of international organizations,” OFAC said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security revised its license review policy for items controlled for national security reasons and destined for China, Venezuela and Russia (see 2010230007), the agency said in a final rule released Oct. 28. The rule, which takes effect Oct. 29, said BIS and other “reviewing agencies” will determine whether those exports will make a “material contribution” to the weapons systems of the countries before approving the shipments.
The State Department approved a potential military sale to Taiwan worth about $2.37 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Oct. 26. The sale includes 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems and related equipment including missiles, containers, transporter units, radar trucks and spare parts. The principal contractor will be Boeing. The notification of the proposed sale came the same day China announced sanctions on three U.S. defense companies for their involvement in other military sales to Taiwan (see 2010260017).
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked export privileges for two Orlando, Florida, residents after they illegally exported firearms and ammunition from the U.S. to Haiti, BIS said in Oct. 26 orders. BIS said Junior Joel Joseph was convicted April 12, 2019, of violating the Arms Export Control Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act when he conspired to export AR-15 rifles, Glock semi-automatic pistols, shotguns and ammunition to Haiti without the required licenses. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison, with three years of supervised release and a $500 fine. Jimy Joseph was convicted May 22, 2019, of conspiring to illegally export AR-15 rifles, Glock semi-automatic pistols and ammunition and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $200 fine. BIS revoked each man's export privileges for seven years from the date of his conviction.
The United Kingdom passed sanctions regulations related to immigration, overseas territories and Lebanon, an Oct. 27 EU Sanctions blog post said. The immigration-related regulations contain provisions on sanctioned people subject to a travel ban but “lawfully in the U.K.,” the post said. The other regulations affect licenses and authorizations, including the implementation of Lebanese sanctions, in U.K. overseas territories.
The European Union renewed its sanctions against the Republic of Guinea for one year, until Oct. 27, 2021, the EU said Oct. 26. The regime places asset freezes on five people.
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