The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a determination that will prohibit certain shipping services related to Russian oil, and said it will soon announce a price cap on Russian fuel alongside its G-7 partners. The agency also issued a guidance outlining how it plans to implement the price cap -- including compliance requirements for U.S. service providers -- and three related general licenses.
Russia is set to abide by a new deal, brokered by the U.N., allowing Ukrainian grain and other farm products to be exported via the Black Sea, Bloomberg reported Nov. 15. Russia will let the deal renew after it expires Nov. 19, individuals familiar with the situation told Bloomberg, though they didn't specify whether Russia would look to add new conditions in return for the extension. Turkey and the U.N. brokered the original 120-day deal allowing Ukraine to resume its seaborne exports from its ports after Russia's invasion. The new accord would enact a 120-day extension unless one of the parties pulls out or modifies it, Bloomberg said. The U.N. said it will help ensure unimpeded exports of Russian food and fertilizers.
The State Department plans to soon issue new export compliance guidance and has made progress updating its Part 130 process, senior agency official Mike Miller said. Miller, speaking during the Defense Trade Advisory Group plenary last week, also said the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is working more closely with the Commerce Department on end-use checks, and said the agency has seen an uptick in violations involving illegal exports of technical data.
The U.K. on Oct. 29 amended its Russian sanctions regime to prohibit the import and acquisition of liquefied natural gas and gold jewelry, the Department for International Trade said. The amendment also extends the existing restrictions on the import of gold to include gold processed in a third country and expands the list of revenue-generating goods to goods falling under commodity codes 2208 and 2303. The move further bans the provision of technical assistance, financial services and funds and brokering services relating to the goods. The measures took effect Oct. 29, except for the provision relating to liquefied natural gas, which takes effect Jan. 1.
Five Russian nationals and two oil traders were charged in a 12-count indictment unsealed Oct. 19 for their role in a global procurement, smuggling and money laundering network, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced. The Russian nationals are Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, Timofey Telegin and Sergey Tulyakov. The oil traders are Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce and Juan Carlos Soto. The oil traders allegedly brokered illegal oil deals for a Venezuelan state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, as part of the scheme.
The Airforwarders Association and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America say tax money is needed to underpin the air cargo industry, because of "substantial revenue shortfalls" at airports. "Because of the lagging financials, airports will be allocating the monies of the Infrastructure Act to passengers, security, and safety, leaving insufficient funds to sustain air cargo operations," the groups said Oct. 18.
The State Department is seeking public comments on four information collections overseen by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. One deals with approval requests for its manufacturing license agreements, technical assistance agreements and other agreements; another involves the maintenance of records by DDTC registrants; a third involves the annual brokering report; and the last relates to the agency’s “Brokering Prior Approval” license. Comments are due Dec. 19.
The Federal Maritime Commission should exclude non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCC) from the scope of a rule that could define a set of factors the commission will consider when determining whether a carrier is violating certain shipping regulations, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said. The group stressed that it supports the rule if it helps to hold ocean common carriers accountable, including in situations in which they unfairly refuse space to U.S. exporters.
Groups of European countries not in the EU aligned themselves with three of the bloc's recent sanctions moves, the European Council announced. On Oct. 6, the council barred individuals and entities from providing technical assistance, brokering services, financing or insurance to any third country ships carrying Russian oil above the price cap. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway aligned with the decision, the council said Oct. 13.
CORONADO, Calif. – The Federal Maritime Commission needs industry input into key provisions of its newly announced detention and demurrage proposed rule (see 2210070079), and in particular on a provision limiting charges only to parties that have a contractual relationship, said Lucille Marvin, FMC managing director, during a panel discussion Oct. 8 at the Western Cargo Conference.