President Joe Biden on Dec. 22 signed an executive order that expands U.S. sanctions authorities against foreign financial institutions facilitating “significant transitions” involving Russia’s military industrial base. The order authorizes new sanctions against banks facilitating those transactions on behalf of certain already-designated parties and it allows the U.S. to sanction banks facilitating sales of certain “critical items” to Russia, the White House said in a fact sheet.

The Treasury Department issued a list of those critical items along with several new general licenses, a new compliance advisory to provide guidance on the order and new frequently asked questions.

Financial institutions sanctioned under this authority will face full blocking sanctions or will either lose or face “strict conditions” on their U.S. correspondent bank accounts, the White House said. A senior administration official said Dec. 21 that the order marks the first time the U.S. is introducing a tool allowing it to impose secondary sanctions against banks indirectly aiding Russia's military.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 13 Chinese technology companies to its Unverified List, it said in a final rule effective Dec. 19. BIS said it hasn’t been able to verify the “legitimacy and reliability” of the entities through end-use checks, including their ability to responsibly receive controlled U.S. exports. All export license exceptions involving those parties will be suspended, and exporters must file certain Electronic Export Information and obtain a statement from any party listed on the UVL before proceeding with certain exports.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 42 parties to the Entity List for helping to illegally supply parts and drones to Russia’s military industrial base, performing contracts for Russian government entities or for doing business with sanctioned companies. The companies and people added to the list are located in China, Cyprus, Germany, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

Effective Dec. 7, the parties will face license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under either a policy of denial or presumption of denial, with some exports of food and medicine subject to a case-by-case review. Several of the new entities were also designated as a Russia/Belarus-Military End User and made subject to foreign direct product rule licensing restrictions.

In its largest-ever civil sanctions penalty, the Treasury Department on Nov. 21 announced a $968 mllion settlement with Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly violating multiple U.S. sanctions programs. Treasury said Binance senior management tried to “project an image of compliance” but in reality allowed people that were either subject to sanctions or located in sanctioned jurisdictions to use its platform, and management also took steps to “undermine” the company’s own compliance procedures. Binance didn’t voluntarily disclose the violations, Treasury said, calling the case “egregious.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security added four entities to the Entity List for either illegally supplying parts to Russia’s defense industrial base or helping Venezuela illegally acquire U.S. aircraft parts. The four companies, some of which have locations in multiple countries, are located in Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Panama, Spain, Russia and Venezuela. Effective Nov. 17, the companies are subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under either a policy of denial or presumption of denial.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 13 entities from Russia and Uzbekistan to its Entity List for helping Russia procure and develop unmanned drones. The entities, listed in a final rule effective Nov. 2, are subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under a policy of denial, apart from certain food and medicine. The entities are also subject to licensing restrictions under the BIS Russia/Belarus-Military End User Foreign Direct Product rule.

The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 27 announced an immediate 90-day suspension of new export licenses for certain firearms, components and ammunition while it reviews its firearms policies to determine whether any permanent changes are “warranted.” During the next 90 days, the agency said it will not issue any new licenses for those exports to non-government end users worldwide, apart from Ukraine, Israel or a nation listed in Country Group A:1.

BIS said the new policy will apply to items listed under Export Control Classification Numbers 0A501, 0A502, 0A504 and 0A505. Although exporters can continue to submit license applications to BIS for these items, the agency said it will place all those applications on “Hold Without Action” until the 90-day pause is over. It also said the pause doesn’t apply to previously issued licenses, although the agency may “modify, suspend, or revoke” existing licenses “as appropriate.”

BIS said it will conduct the 90-day review “with urgency." The review is part of an effort to “more effectively assess and mitigate risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security officially released the texts of two rules to update its Oct. 7, 2022, China chip controls, including an interim final rule that will update controls on certain semiconductor manufacturing items and another interim final rule that will update restrictions on certain advanced computing items, supercomputer and semiconductor end-uses and make other updates and corrections.

The first rule, which BIS said will implement its chip manufacturing item controls “more effectively,” will take effect 30 days after being placed on public inspection in the Federal Register, except for the new temporary general license included in the rule, which takes effect upon Federal Register publication. The rule also asks for public comments on portions of the controls, and those comments will be due 60 days from the date the rule is placed on public inspection.

The second rule, which BIS includes revisions to make the Oct. 7, 2022, controls “more effective and less burdensome,” takes effect 30 days from the date of public inspection in the Federal Register, and public comments on parts of the rule take effect 60 days from the date the rule is put on public display in the Federal Register.

The Bureau of Industry and Security today will release a range of updates to its 2022 China chip rule, including new restrictions on several dozen additional chip tools and related items, updated export control parameters for chips used in artificial intelligence applications, a novel notification requirement for certain “gray-zone” chips that fall just below that updated threshold, a new license requirement for chip exports to companies headquartered in nations subject to a U.S. arms embargo and more. BIS also added 13 Chinese companies to the Entity List, effective Oct. 17, for developing advanced chips in ways BIS said are contrary to U.S. national security.

The updates are “really focused” on closing loopholes, addressing new “technical developments” in semiconductors and monitoring implementation of the 2022 rule, a senior administration official said during an Oct. 16 call with reporters. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, also speaking during the call, said the updates are “specifically designed to control access to computing power, which will significantly slow” China’s development of “next generation frontier” AI technology. She also said the administration plans to update the rules annually to make sure they’re keeping pace with innovation and so the U.S. can address circumvention efforts.

The rule also includes a specific carve-out for certain consumer chips that the Biden administration has deemed don’t pose national security risks, such as semiconductors used in gaming, phones, electric vehicles and laptops. It also “refines and better focuses” the U.S. persons restrictions included in the 2022 rule to have “maximum impact” on preventing the transfer of U.S. technical knowhow to Chinese chip companies, an official said, along with other changes.

The rule will include varying effective dates for some of the new controls, with portions of the rule taking effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and some taking effect sooner. The rule will also solicit public comments on some of the new updates and other chip export control issues.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 49 entities from China, Estonia, Finland, Germany, India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K. to its Entity List for providing support to Russia’s military or to its defense industrial base. The entities, outlined in a final rule effective Oct. 6, are subject to license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and licenses will be reviewed under a policy of denial.

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The Bureau of Industry and Security added 28 entities from China, Finland, Germany, Oman, Pakistan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates to the Entity List for various actions "contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.” The additions, outlined in a final rule effective Sept. 27, are now covered by license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, which carry varying license application review policies. BIS also modified two existing entries on the Entity List under the destinations of China and Pakistan. and removed an entity from the Military-End User List under the destination of China.

The Biden administration Aug. 9 unveiled its plans for a new outbound investment screening regime, which will restrict U.S. investments in three advanced technology sectors in China and set notification requirements for other sensitive outbound investments. The new screening regime, outlined in an executive order to be signed by President Joe Biden, will prohibit certain investments in entities operating in China’s quantum information technology, artificial intelligence and semiconductor/microelectronics industries, namely those that transfer technological “know-how” to Chinese companies, a senior administration official said during a call with reporters. The prohibitions will take effect after the Treasury Department solicits public comments, writes and finalizes regulations.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added four spyware companies in Greece, Hungary, Ireland and North Macedonia to the Entity List for their role in cyber activities that threaten the “privacy and security of individuals and organizations worldwide.” The additions, outlined in a final rule effective June 18, impose license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. BIS will review license applications under a presumption of denial.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 43 entities in China, Kenya, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K. to the Entity List for either supporting China’s military, supporting the government's human rights abuses or supporting Pakistan’s weapons capabilities. The additions, outlined in a final rule effective June 12, impose license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The agency also removed one entity from the list.

The Bureau of Industry and Security announced a host of new Russia-related export controls, including measures that expand its Russian and Belarusian Industry Sector Sanctions, broaden its foreign direct product rule restrictions and add 71 new entities to the Entity List. Some of the changes, outlined in a 106-page final rule effective May 19, “better align” U.S. export controls with allies, place new export license requirements on additional “industrial items” and chemicals destined to Russia, and impose controls on certain electrical parts destined to Iran for use in unmanned drones. The Entity List changes, also effective May 19, add entities in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Russia for either supporting Russia’s military sector, diverting U.S.-controlled items to Russia or preventing a U.S. end-use check.

The Bureau of Industry and Security fined U.S.-based Seagate Technology $300 million for allegedly violating U.S. export controls against Huawei, the “largest standalone administrative penalty in BIS history,” the agency said. The agency fined the company and its branch in Singapore for selling millions of export-controlled hard disk drives to Huawei in violation of BIS’ foreign direct product rule. As part of a settlement agreement, Seagate agreed to a “mandatory multi-year audit requirement,” BIS said, and could face a five-year export denial order if it violates the terms of the agreement. The settlement comes about 18 months after Senate Republicans urged BIS to penalize Seagate for “likely” violating U.S. export controls against Huawei. Seagate said it received a proposed charging letter from BIS in August.

The U.S. announced new measures against people and companies helping Russia evade sanctions, adding 28 entities to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and more than 50 new entries to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List. The Entity List additions, effective April 12, include companies in China, Armenia, Malta, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, all of which have supported Russia’s military or defense industrial base. New designations imposed by Treasury and the State Department target people and companies operating in Russia or that are aiding Moscow's war effort and its imports of “critical technologies."

The Fish and Wildlife Service is suspending all trade in species listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species with a permit issued by Mexico, it said in a notice dated March 27. The suspension implements a directive from CITES issued in response to Mexico’s failure to protect the vaquita porpoise that will remain in effect until Mexico submits a CITES-approved compliance plan. “Effective immediately, all shipments containing CITES specimens traded for commercial purposes under an import permit, export permit, or re-export certificate issued by Mexico for the species, are subject to enforcement action,” the FWS said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 11 entities in China, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Russia to the Entity List for various activities that have contributed to human rights abuses, the agency said in a final rule effective March 28. The entities include technology and electronics companies, among them multiple subsidiaries of Chinese surveillance company Hikvision, which was added to the Entity List in 2019 (see 2205090014). The entities will face a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and BIS will review license applications under a presumption of denial. BIS also amended the EAR to “explicitly confirm” that protecting human rights worldwide is a “basis” for adding entities to the Entity List.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 37 entities to the Entity List for a range of reasons, including for supplying controlled items to Iran, supporting China’s military modernization efforts, illegally providing items to Russia and contributing to surveillance efforts in China and Myanmar. The entities -- located in Belarus, Myanmar, China, Pakistan, Russia and Taiwan -- will be subject to a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations with varying license application review policies. BIS also modified 10 existing Chinese entries on the Entity List. The additions and changes take effect March 2.

The Bureau of Industry and Security announced a host of new export control actions aimed at further limiting Russia from sustaining its war effort against Ukraine, including additions to the Entity List, an expansion of the agency’s industry sector restrictions on both Russia and Belarus and new export controls against Iran to address its drone transfers to Russia. The measures, effective Feb. 24, add 86 new entities to the Entity List; place additional restrictions on commercial, industrial and luxury goods; impose new license requirements on “low-technology” items destined to Iran; create a new Iran Foreign Direct Product Rule, and more.

The new measures were “developed in concert with international allies” and aim to “cut off the Russian defense industrial base and military from even low-technology” consumer items, BIS said in an emailed news release. “Today’s package of rules shows that our commitment -- and that of our allies -- is not wavering,” BIS Undersecretary Alan Estevez said, “and that we will meet whatever Russia, Belarus, Iran, private firms, such as those from China, or anyone globally who seeks to support them can muster with strong, coordinated action.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control also announced a range of new Russian sanctions, including new restrictions targeting the country’s metals and mining sectors and new financial sanctions against more than 100 people and entities. OFAC said the measures were coordinated with G-7 allies.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added six Chinese entities to the Entity List because of their ties to China’s “High Altitude Balloons'' reconnaissance activities. The move comes days after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace. The aerospace and technology entities require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and BIS will review license applications under a presumption of denial. The additions take effect Feb. 10.

The Bureau of Industry and Security added seven Iranian entities to the Entity List for aiding Russia’s military and defense industrial base. The additions, effective Jan. 31, will also be subject to the Russia/Belarus-Military End User Foreign Direct Product rule. They will require a license for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulation, and BIS will review license applications under a policy of denial except for certain food and medicine, which will be reviewed case by case. No license exceptions will be available.