The State Department announced sanctions on Amir Zukic, a former member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s House of Representatives, according to a May 28 press release. Zukic was designated for corruption that undermined the rule of law.
The European Council extended European Union sanctions against Syria for one year, until June 1, 2021, according to a May 28 press release. The sanctions will continue to target members of the Syrian regime, their supporters, and businesspeople who aid the “suffering” of the Syrian people, European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell said in a statement. The council also removed sanctions from two people and one company that “halted their sanctionable behavior,” along with two additional deceased persons.
The U.S. will officially strip Hong Kong of its special trade treatment, which will include changes to U.S. export controls and sanctions against Chinese officials, President Donald Trump said May 29. Trump said the export controls will impact dual-use technologies and sanctions will target both Hong Kong and mainland China officials.
India lifted export restrictions on the painkiller paracetamol, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a May 28 notice, effective immediately. India previously lifted export restrictions on formulations made of paracetamol but kept restrictions on the paracetamol active ingredient (see 2004200021).
The Directorate of Defense Controls’ Defense Export Control and Compliance System (see 2002190025) will be unavailable from 11 p.m. EDT on May 29 through 8 a.m. EDT on June 1 for system maintenance, DDTC said in a May 28 notice. Users should save work in progress before the scheduled downtime, DDTC said.
A Texas man pleaded guilty to involvement in a scheme to illegally export 17 million cigarettes to Mexico, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said May 26. The cigarettes originated from a warehouse controlled and operated by Jose Francisco Guerra, who authorities later discovered owned a second warehouse with contraband cigarettes. The warehouses contained nearly 423 million contraband cigarettes destined for export to Mexico, ICE said. Authorities uncovered the scheme when they stopped a tractor trailer heading to Mexico with the cigarettes and a falsified shipping manifest, ICE said. The cigarettes on the truck also did not have “the applicable tax stamp” required by Texas law. As part of his plea, Guerra agreed to forfeit his customs broker license and various equipment and assets. The total value of the seized equipment and assets was about $88 million, ICE said. Guerra faces up to 10 years in prison and a potential $250,000 fine.
The House of Representatives passed a bill on May 27 that would authorize U.S. sanctions against Chinese officials for abuses of the country’s Uighur population. The sanctions included in the bill, which passed 413-1 in the House and cleared the Senate on May 14, have been criticized by China and will likely lead to heightened U.S.-China trade tensions (see 1912040046). The bill now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.
The Trump administration is ending sanctions waivers for certain activities with nuclear projects in Iran, the State Department said May 27. The move will end waivers covering “all remaining” Iranian nuclear projects that originated under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which allowed Chinese, Russian and European companies to work on Iranian nuclear sites.
President Donald Trump said that the administration will begin the process of revoking Hong Kong's differential treatment from China, including its more lenient "export controls on dual-use technologies, with few exceptions."
Wassenaar Arrangement members have begun virtual negotiations on export controls, in observance of mitigation measures recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Heidi Grant, the director of the Defense Department’s Defense Technology Security Administration. The virtual negotiations, which Grant believes have never been done before, started after the pandemic forced the group to cancel in-person meetings for the 2020 cycle, including an April Experts Group meeting (see 2004290044). Grant said the group has submitted 90 export control proposals for negotiations this year, although it remains unclear whether members will be able to vote remotely.