DOJ-Commerce Department Disruptive Technology Strike Force senior officials traveled to Ukraine last week to speak with Ukrainian officials about Russia-related export enforcement and ways the two sides can better share information. The delegation -- which included Matthew Axelrod, Commerce’s top export enforcement official, and Matthew Olsen, the head of DOJ’s National Security Division -- spoke about efforts to “stop the flow of sensitive technologies to aid the Russian war machine,” the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a readout of the meetings.
The Commerce Department should add China-affiliated public security bureaus and others to the Entity List for their involvement in a “mass DNA collection project” in Tibet, chairs of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China said in a letter this month to the Biden administration. They said Chinese officials in Tibet have likely purchased DNA kits and replacement parts from American biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific and are using those products for “political identification,” racial profiling and other “egregious” human rights abuses.
Although Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML doesn’t expect the new U.S. export controls on China to have a “material effect” on the firm's financial outlook for 2023, it's preparing for the new rules to restrict more sales of its chipmaking equipment.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine changed export compliance dramatically, said Howard Mendelsohn, chief client officer for Kharon, "where the onus is on industry like it’s never been before to sort of find a way to be proactive." Mendelsohn, whose firm provides risk intelligence to businesses, spoke at an OCR Services trade compliance conference Oct. 17 in Bethesda, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C. He said exporters have to be proactive on blocking reports and applying for licenses, and importers have to find another supplier.
The German government is establishing a new agency to combat "internationally organized financial crime," dubbed the Federal Office to Combat Financial Crime, according to an unofficial translation. The agency will be an amalgamation of various different agencies' expertise, including analysis from the Financial Intelligence Unit, criminal investigations and supervision. The agency is expected to be established in 2024 and operational in 2025. The mandate of the agency will be to crack down on illegal financial flows via money laundering and sanctions evasion.
Russia has amassed over 150,000 surplus shipping containers due to the large increase in goods coming from China but a much lower number leaving the country, an analysis from German trading platform Container xChange found. The excess containers are causing headaches for Russian rail depots.
Dealmakers are hoping for more certainty when the Treasury Department finalizes regulations for its August executive order on outbound investment restrictions, which may force companies to make difficult investment decisions without assurances that their deals won’t be later unwound.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list ethylphenidate, a central nervous system stimulant, under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice published Sept. 22. “If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possess) or propose to handle ethylphenidate.” Comments are due by Nov. 21.
Leaders of the World Trade Organization said during the group's annual forum that the WTO should be involved in coordinating clean steel standards and trade policies that encourage decarbonization in steelmaking.
A newly released Europol report, "The Other Side of the Coin: An Analysis of Financial and Economic Crime," looks into the threats posed by financial crimes and sanctions evasion linked to organized crime. The report reviews "drivers of today's financial and economic crimes"; money laundering, criminal finances and corruption; the "world of frauds"; intellectual property crime; and more.