The U.S. is hoping to use export controls to better place restrictions around transfers of sensitive technology information, said Bonnie Jenkins, the State Department’s undersecretary for arms control and international security. Jenkins, who is leading the agency’s effort to implement the AUKUS trilateral security partnership between Australia, the U.S. and the U.K., said the three countries need to be diligent about stopping “information getting out.”
Several companies recently disclosed potential export control or sanctions violations or updated the status of their current disclosures, including several technology businesses, a pharmaceutical company and a cryptocurrency software platform company. The disclosures describe potential violations of U.S. sanctions against several countries -- including Russia, Iran and North Korea -- and one company receiving a no-action letter from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The State Department fined Boeing $51 million after the company allegedly violated a range of U.S. export controls, including license requirements for exports to China and Russia. The violations, which Boeing voluntarily disclosed, included illegal exports to foreign employees and contractors working in more than 15 countries; a trade compliance specialist fabricating an export license to illegally ship defense items abroad; and violations of the terms and conditions of other export licenses, among other things.
Companies should continue to see more Chinese additions to the U.S. Entity List this year, although Russia sanctions likely will continue to dominate the government’s time and resources, trade lawyers said this week.
The Federal Maritime Commission expects to issue its long-awaited final rule on unreasonable carrier conduct “in the next couple of months,” FMC chair Daniel Maffei said this week. He also said the commission has seen a sharp rise in enforcement cases so far this year, and he and Commissioner Rebecca Dye said they are more closely probing Red Sea-related surcharges being assessed by ocean carriers.
Computing chips and other high-tech equipment made by American companies continue to flow to Russia’s war machine despite U.S. efforts to stop them with export controls and sanctions, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Feb. 27.
CBP is hoping to launch a truck electronic export manifest (EEM) portal later this year, the agency said ahead of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee’s March 6 meeting (see 2402150016 and 2402260034). CBP listed the effort as “currently under development” in a government issue paper for COAC’s Export Modernization Working Group released this week, which said a truck portal in the Automated Commercial Environment has a “tentative scheduled deployment of Fall 2024.”
The Group of 7 nations and other U.S. allies should explore ways to seize frozen Russian assets and use that money to help Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week.
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The European Commission recently issued updated guidance for a requirement that will soon force EU exporters to insert clauses in their contracts that bar reexports of certain sensitive goods to Russia. The document offers guidance on how EU companies should comply with the “no reexport to Russia” clause, how it impacts contracts already in place, how the EU plans to enforce the requirement, what the clause’s wording should include, and more.