The Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Delaware Department of Justice agreed to partner “to more effectively and efficiently communicate and cooperate on areas of common interest,” they said in a memorandum of understanding released by OFAC. Named issues of joint interest were “cross training staff, providing Delaware DOJ with compliance-related information towards the goal of protecting American national interests by supporting compliance with U.S. trade and economic sanctions laws,” and “supporting litigation against entities placed on OFAC's” sanctions list, it said. The MOU became effective Sept. 2.
The State Department sanctioned five entities and three individuals for taking part in Iran's petroleum industry, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a Sept. 3 news release. “The entities sanctioned today are Iran-based Abadan Refining Company; China based Zhihang Ship Management CO Ltd., New Far International Logistics LLC and Sino Energy Shipping Ltd.; and United Arab Emirates (UAE) based Chemtrans Petrochemicals Trading LLC,” it said. “The individuals sanctioned today are: Min Shi, employee of New Far; Zuoyou Lin, employee of Sino Energy; and Alireza Amin, employee of Abadan.”
A long-awaited rewrite of routed export regulations by the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Census Bureau will introduce a new “Export Responsibility Transfer Agreement” (ERTA) to replace the “writing” currently used to transfer filing responsibilities, with the new agreement specifically transferring filing and licensing responsibilities to the forwarder or agent of the foreign party, said Sharron Cook, a BIS senior export policy analyst, during a webcast of the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference Sept. 3.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and ICC’s Head of Jurisdiction, Complementary, and Cooperation Division Phakiso Mochochoko to the Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a Sept. 2 notice. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned the new sanctions while talking to reporters the same day. “In June, the Trump administration authorized the imposition of economic sanctions against foreign persons directly engaged in ICC efforts to investigate U.S. or allied personnel, and those who materially assisted in those -- in that effort,” he said. “Today we take the next step, because the ICC continues to target Americans, sadly.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public input “on the effectiveness of its licensing procedures as defined in the Export Administration Regulations for the export of agricultural commodities to Cuba,” it said in a notice released Sept. 2. The comments will be used as part of the BIS biennial report to Congress, it said. Comments are due Oct. 5.
The State Department will implement a temporary waiver “of the policy of denial on the export, reexport, retransfer, and temporary import of non-lethal defense articles and defense services destined for or originating in the Republic of Cyprus,” the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said in a Sept. 2 notice. The DDTC will temporarily amend the International Traffic in Arms regulations on Oct. 1 to allow for the waiver, which is a result of a State Department determination under the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, it said. The U.S. policy won't change for “lethal defense articles and defense services destined for or originating” in Cyprus, it said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control will adjust for inflation some civil monetary penalties, it said in an interim final rule released Sept. 2. The changes apply to “penalties for failure to comply with certain recordkeeping and reporting requirements, which are contained in OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines in OFAC’s Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations,” it said. Increases are effective Oct. 5.
The Trump administration “is committed to bold, decisive action” against China that protects U.S. national and economic security interests, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said during a virtual Bureau of Industry and Security conference on Sept. 2. He cited as evidence BIS' s additional export restrictions on Huawei (see 2008170029) and President Donald Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order banning U.S. transactions with the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat. “We each must remain alert to China’s malign behavior and that of other foreign entities that seek our sensitive technologies to damage our economic and national security,” Ross said. “China is a capable, effective and adaptable adversary with unconstrained resources, who regularly uses our American freedom and rules-based norms to advance its goal of dominating global markets.”
A British Virgin Islands company agreed to plead guilty to charges related to the evasion of sanctions on North Korea, the Department of Justice said in an Aug. 31 news release. The company, Yang Ban Corporation, admitted it “deceived banks in the U.S. into processing transactions for North Korean customers,” using “financial cutouts and front companies,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said. In addition to the guilty plea, Yang Ban will pay a penalty of more than $673,000, which includes a fine of about $112,000.
Industry members should be aware of the “key North Korean procurement entities and deceptive techniques employed in the operation and support of the regime’s ballistic missile program,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Bureau of Industry and Security and the State Department Bureau of International Security said in a guidance document. The procurement activities “expose the electronics, chemical, metals, and materials industries as well as the financial, transportation, and logistics sectors to the risk of possibly violating United Nations (UN) and U.S. sanctions, as well as the imposition of sanctions and penalties under various U.S. legal authorities,” they said.