The European Union renewed its sanctions regime against people and entities involved in developing and using chemical weapons, the European Council said in an Oct. 12 news release. The regime, which applies to nine people and one organization, was renewed for one year until Oct. 16, 2021.
The European Commission launched two online systems to help small and medium-sized companies trade with Iran. The European Union's Due Diligence Helpdesk and Sanctions Tool offer free support for companies doing “legitimate trade” with Iran, the commission said Oct. 6. The help desk will carry out due diligence checks to determine whether “specific business projects comply with EU sanctions,” the commission said, while the sanctions tool provides companies with “non-binding guidance on whether their business projects could fall under EU sanctions concerning Iran.” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the tools are meant to help “strengthen and facilitate legitimate trade between Iran and the EU.” The U.S. recently invoked snapback sanctions against Iran and criticized EU members for not supporting an arms embargo against the country (see 2009210022).
The Department of the Treasury on Oct. 13 issued a current list of countries that require or may require participation in, or cooperation with, an international boycott. The list includes Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, unchanged from the previous iteration of the list. Treasury added that it is “monitoring the situation” in the UAE, which has announced that it issued a decree repealing its boycott of Israel. According to a Baker McKenzie Sanctions & Export Controls Update blog post on Sept. 21, while the UAE action “may eventually result in changes to the Commerce Regulations and Treasury Rules to reflect the UAE’s repeal of the boycott, this has not happened yet, and it could be some time before any changes occur.”
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The House Foreign Affairs Committee is reviewing new export controls on items related to semiconductors, potentially including design elements and software, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. McCaul said some U.S. export restrictions may need to be strengthened to address continuing Chinese attempts to steal U.S. technologies.
An Illinois businessman and a Ukrainian resident were charged with illegally exporting gun parts and other defense items to Ukraine, the Department of Justice said in an Oct. 9 press release. Glenn Stepul worked with Ukrainian resident Andriy Yakin to export pistol slides and stainless steel gun barrels without the required State Department license, which violated the Arms Export Control Act, DOJ said. The two people also worked with an unnamed third person in Ukraine to export rifle scopes and night vision cameras without required licenses from the Commerce Department. Stepul hid the export-controlled items inside shipments of drilling equipment and falsely declared them as household goods, cosmetics, toys, stationary and cassettes, the charges say. Stepul pleaded not guilty to the charges on Oct. 8. Yakin is believed to be living in Ukraine, DOJ said, and the U.S. has issued a warrant for his arrest.
The European Union and the U.S. should negotiate a limited trade deal on medical supplies and equipment, and environmental goods and services that is open to other World Trade Organization members that agree to the commitments, according to a think tank report issued Oct. 6. The German Marshall Fund of the United States also called for consultation between the EU and the U.S. on financial sanctions on third countries when those sanctions “will have an adverse impact on alliance partners,” and it said those sanctions should have limits.
The U.S. extended by one year a national emergency authorizing sanctions for the “situation in and in relation to” Syria, the White House said Oct. 8. The White House specifically pointed to Turkish military actions in northeast Syria that have undermined the “campaign” to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The authority would have expired Oct. 14.
The United Kingdom Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued its 2019-2020 annual report Oct. 9, including details on sanctions improvements made during the past year, sanctions statistics and licensing items. OFSI said it plans to focus on sanctions in the maritime sector in 2020-2021 and to publish “sector specific guidance with supporting blogs and targeted events” relating to maritime sanctions “later in the year.” OFSI also said it continues to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period and aims to increase outreach with industry to improve sanctions compliance. The agency called industry engagement a “priority” and stressed that the format for its consolidated list will not change after the transition period.
The United Kingdom Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Oct. 9 added one entry to its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida Organisations sanctions list and corrected 17 entries on its Global Human Rights sanctions list. The U.K. added Jamal Hussein Hassan Zeiniye, leader of the Al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, a terrorist organization, to its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions. It also revised identifying information for 17 Saudi, Russian, Myanmar and North Korea related entries. The Saudi individuals were cited for involvement in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had been living in exile in the United States, in the Saudi consulate in Turkey.