The U.S. this week sanctioned more than 250 people and companies supplying Russia’s military in violation of U.S. sanctions and export controls, targeting procurement networks in China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere. The Treasury and State departments said many of the newly sanctioned companies supplied Russia with goods listed on the Commerce Department’s list of common high-priority items, including electronic components, while others sold Russia advanced weapons and military technology.
Exporters will have at least another month to digest the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently updated semiconductor export controls before the agency issues clarifications and corrections.
New guidance from the Biden administration this week warned shippers, forwarders, brokers, ship owners and others involved in maritime and other transportation industries to better know their cargo, saying they each have a “responsibility” to craft their own “rigorous” compliance programs. The 10-page sanctions advisory specifically calls out freight forwarders, saying they play a “key role” in compliant supply chains.
New York-based stock exchange Nasdaq agreed to pay more than $4 million to settle allegations that its former Armenian subsidiary, which owned the Armenian stock exchange, violated U.S. sanctions against Iran. The enforcement notice released by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which details violations stemming from transactions more than a decade ago, said Nasdaq failed to apply its sanctions compliance policies to the Armenian stock exchange, which illegally allowed the Armenian branch of an Iranian bank to participate.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is studying ways it can place potential export controls on access to advanced open-source software, including artificial intelligence-powered models similar to ChatGPT-4, as well as certain cloud computing services, BIS Undersecretary Alan Estevez said. Although Estevez said no controls are imminent, the agency is working to form a set of export control policy options to address both.
U.S. export controls will slow China’s innovation efforts, but they'll never “stop” the country from advancing technologically, Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said.
The U.S. and its allies need a new framework to coordinate export controls on advanced, critical technologies, Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said. But he also said there is some disagreement within the U.S. government about the best way forward.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week released a host of export control changes designed to ease license requirements and expand license exceptions for certain exports of pathogens and toxins, crime-control goods and missile technology items to U.S. allies. The agency also proposed changes to License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA) to try to convince more exporters to use the exception.
The Bureau of Industry and Security needs to overhaul its export control policies to stem the flow of U.S. national security technology that is fueling China’s military modernization, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in a report marking the end of a 90-day review of the agency (see 2210030068).
Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez called this week for more funding from Congress, suggesting BIS may need a substantially increased annual budget to more effectively implement and enforce export controls against China and other countries.