Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. removed sanctions from two former board members of a Russian state-owned bank after both argued they didn’t meet the criteria for placement on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List. The sanctions removals, made by the Office of Foreign Assets Control late last month, came after Russian nationals Elena Titova and Andrey Golikov, in separate complaints, sued the U.S. government over their designations, accusing it of sanctioning them on “no factual basis” and “unnecessarily” delaying delisting decisions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week expanded the scope of its nuclear-related export controls on China and Macau, saying the change was necessary to impose tighter license requirements on items that could “contribute to nuclear activities of concern.” The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also suspended a general license that had authorized exports of certain nuclear items for nuclear end uses in China.
The U.S. may run into challenges enforcing aspects of its new outbound investment restrictions on China, especially for intercompany transfers and investments, Sarah Bauerle Danzman, a former State Department official, said during a webinar hosted by the Center for a New American Security last week. She said investors will likely need more guidance on the issue whenever the Treasury Department releases regulations for the regime.
Lawmakers, business groups and think tanks gave a mixed bag of immediate feedback on the Biden administration’s executive order restricting outbound investments in China, with some applauding the government’s initial, cautious approach, and others expressing frustration that the restrictions don’t go far enough.
The Biden administration this week unveiled its plans for a new outbound investment screening regime, which will restrict 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 signed Aug. 9 by President Joe Biden, will come into force after the Treasury Department writes regulations. The agency is soliciting public comments on how it should implement the program, set certain definitions, impose due diligence requirements and more as part of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking released along with the order.
The Census Bureau is moving forward with a new data element in the Automated Export System that shippers must report when exporting items classified under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI. The agency didn’t list any public comments objecting to the change that it proposed in May (see 2305020007), which Census said will help it collect more data on Category XXI exports and defense services that are “not otherwise enumerated” under other USML categories.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP plans to form a “dedicated” outbound oversight office after the Office of Inspector General said the agency's existing infrastructure may be causing it to miss inspections of illegal exports.
The U.S. shouldn’t scrap its Science and Technology Agreement (STA) with China when it expires later this month, and should instead update the deal to better address areas for cooperation around critical technologies, former U.S. officials and technology policy experts said this week. But they also acknowledged that continuing the agreement could be challenging, particularly because of rising tensions between the two sides along with a congressional push to restrict more American technology from being shared with Beijing.