The European Union renewed its arms embargo and asset freezes agent Zimbabwe Defence Industries, the European Council said in a Feb. 17 press release. The EU renewed the embargo and the asset freeze until Feb. 20, 2021.
The European Union renewed sanctions against Belarus for one year until Feb. 28, 2021, the European Council said in a Feb. 17 press release. The sanctions include an embargo on arms and goods that could be used for “internal repression” and an asset freeze against four people. The council also extended an exemption to allow exports of “biathlon equipment” and certain sporting rifles and pistols to Belarus, the council said. Those exports remain subject to a case-by-case review.
The European Council added eight people and two entities to the European Union's Syrian sanctions list, according to a Feb. 17 notice. The sanctions target eight businessmen and two companies that contribute to Syria’s Assad regime, the council said.
Australia’s parliament recently published the submissions it has received from its inquiry into the use of a sanctions regime to target human rights abuses. Australia announced the inquiry Dec. 4 (see 1912050026). The country extended its submission deadlines and is now accepting submissions from Australia until March 2 and international submissions until March 23.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 10-14 in case you missed them.
President Donald Trump said he does not want to make it more difficult to export U.S. goods, adding that he has “instructed” his administration to make it easier for countries to do business with the U.S. “The United States cannot, & will not, become such a difficult place to deal with in terms of foreign countries buying our product, including for the always used National Security excuse, that our companies will be forced to leave in order to remain competitive,” Trump said in a series of Feb. 18 tweets. He added that the U.S. wants to sell to “China and other countries” and “We don’t want to make it impossible to do business with us. That will only mean that orders will go to someplace else.”
Discussions within the Commerce Department to expand U.S. export control jurisdiction over foreign exports to Huawei and beyond would have a chilling effect on the U.S. semiconductor industry, said John Neuffer, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association. Neuffer said current U.S. export restrictions on Huawei are already hurting the industry’s ability to sell to China -- which represents about 35% of U.S. semiconductor sales -- and more restrictions would further alienate Chinese customers who are weary of being added to Commerce’s Entity List. “Some of them are afraid they’re next,” Neuffer said during a Feb. 18 panel hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced a bill that would achieve a result similar to that of a rule Commerce is reportedly considering on Huawei export controls (see 2002130014), he said in a news release. Currently, goods made outside the U.S. with less than 25 percent U.S. content can be sold to Huawei -- or any other company on the entity list -- without a special license (see 1905220027). The Commerce Department has discussed lowering that de minimis threshold to 10 percent, though it has not yet issued a proposed rule.
Venezuela said it is “not intimidated” by recent U.S. designations against its airline and plans to ignore the sanctions by more than doubling its international destinations, according to an unofficial translation of a Feb. 12 report from Venezolana de Television, a state-owned news outlet. Even before U.S. sanctions were announced against the Venezuelan airline and its fleet of more than 35 planes (see 2002070041), the country said it received warnings from other countries that they would no longer supply the fleet with fuel, the report said. But Venezuela said its planes can fly up to 14 hours “without needing to be supplied at another airport that is not in national territory.” The report added that the country is working on manufacturing “the first aircraft on Venezuelan soil” and wants to add hundreds of planes.
Ukraine recently revoked all of its special economic sanctions imposed by the country’s Department of Economy, Trade and Agriculture before Feb. 7, according to a Feb. 7 post from Baker McKenzie, referencing a notice from Ukraine. The move, which will lift sanctions on about 27,000 companies, will take effect March 6, the post said. The sanctions removals do not affect sanctions issued by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.