Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Sept. 3 that the Bureau of Industry and Security is failing to stem the flow of U.S.-made advanced computing chips to China and must take additional steps to stop the “semiconductor leakage.”
The U.K. updated the general license under its Russian sanctions regime that authorizes certain imports of Russian diamonds processed in third countries. The license previously only allowed the import of diamonds equal to or larger than one carat that haven't been located in Russia at any time since March 1. The U.K. updated the license to permit the import of diamonds that haven't been located in Russia since Sept. 1 and are smaller than one carat but larger than or equal to one-half carat.
The U.K. added three people and one entity to its Iran sanctions regime Sept. 2, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The individuals are Abdolfatah Ahvazian, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hamid Fazeli, and Behnam Shahriyari. IRGC Quds Force Unit 700 was listed for activity meant to "cause the destabilisation of the United Kingdom or any other country," OFSI said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a correction to a June final rule that introduced new export controls and expanded existing restrictions against Russia and Belarus (see 2406120036). The correction fixes a typo.
The State Department is working on a final rule that would amend restrictions against Cyprus under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 29, could build on steps the State Department has taken to relax export restrictions for certain defense goods and services involving the country (see 2309130028).
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that could remove export licensing requirements for certain spacecraft and related items destined to Australia, Canada and the U.K. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 30.
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The U.K. this week suspended a range of export licenses for Israel that it said are being used to ship items to the Israeli military, though members of Parliament pushed the government to impose a broader ban, including an arms embargo.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., criticized the Biden administration last week for its recent use of sanctions against Israelis, saying the practice undercuts an ally fighting a war against terrorism and emboldens enemies of Israel and the U.S. Rubio said Israel’s judicial system “is fully capable of prosecuting crimes committed within its borders” and that the administration should stop inserting itself into such matters. His comments, which he made in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, came two days after the U.S. sanctioned an Israeli non-governmental organization and an Israeli person for contributing to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank (see 2408280023).
A financial software company recently disclosed to the Office of Foreign Assets Control that it may have violated U.S. sanctions by allowing its services to be used by customers in restricted countries.