The State Department issued the final version of its guidance on exports of surveillance technology (see 1909040071 and 1911060049), which includes definitions and guidance principles for companies to weigh before exporting sensitive items to potential human rights abusers. The Sept. 30 guidance expands on the agency’s initial definition of human rights due diligence and offers a range of red flags and due diligence considerations, but did not significantly narrow its definition for surveillance items, despite requests from industry.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Sept. 28 released its quarterly report, covering Jan. 1 to March 31, 2020, on its sanctions regimes. The report contains OFSI’s sanctions statistics, including the number of accounts the agency has frozen, the total value of funds it has blocked, the number of new designations last quarter and other licensing statistics.
Two Iranian men were charged in a conspiracy to illegally export computer servers to Iran, the Justice Department said Sept. 28. Ebrahim Azadegan and Alireza Alvandi were charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations when they allegedly tried to ship the servers without licenses. The servers are classified as dual-use goods under the Commerce Control List and are export controlled for anti-terrorism and national security reasons.
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Multilateral export regimes need to be modernized to address new export and proliferation controls surrounding emerging technologies, technology proliferation experts said. While groups such as the Wassenaar Arrangement work well to control physical categories of items, they may overlook advancements in exports and other technology areas that could lead to proliferation of dual-use goods, the experts said.
The European Union announced new initiatives to support its Customs Union and tackle a rise in smuggling, fraud and other trade challenges faced by member states. The initiatives, part of the EU’s Sept. 28 Customs Union Action Plan, include measures to combat customs duty fraud, a rollout of modern customs equipment under the next EU budget and an EU-wide single customs portal.
The Commerce Department informed some U.S. chip companies they need export licenses before shipping certain items to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China’s largest semiconductor maker, according to two people familiar with the situation. Commerce sent the information in a letter to companies last week, the people said, which effectively placed export controls on shipments to the Chinese company.
Three Democratic senators introduced a bill that would impose more restrictions on arms sales to protect against human rights violations. The bill -- introduced Sept. 24 by New Jersey's Bob Menendez, Vermont's Patrick Leahy and Virginia's Tim Kaine -- would amend the Arms Export Control Act by imposing more conditions before certain arms sales can be completed.
The U.S. sanctioned two Iranian officials and four entities for human rights violations, the State Department said Sept. 24. The designations target Iranian Judges Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati and Mohammad Soltani for sentencing people on “dubious charges” related to freedom of speech. Also designated are the Shiraz Revolutionary Court's Branch 1 and the Adel Abad, Orumiyeh and Vakilabad prisons.
The United Kingdom is working with the European Union, the U.S. and Canada to impose sanctions on those responsible for the rigged elections in Belarus (see 2001150022), U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Sept. 24. Raab said he has directed the U.K.’s sanctions team to prepare Magnitsky human rights sanctions and will coordinate listings with the U.S. and Canada. If Belarusian officials do not “respond” to the sanctions, Raab said the U.K. will consider “further actions with our international partners.”