A bipartisan group of 14 senators urged USDA this week to modernize its process for collecting information on foreign investment in U.S. farmland.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license this week authorizing certain transactions involving Hong Kong-based VPower Finance Security, a company sanctioned by OFAC in June for its role in a scheme to transport Russian gold and convert it into other currencies. General License 102 authorizes transactions that are “ordinarily incident and necessary to the transportation, delivery, or storage of currency; cash processing services; or maintenance" of ATMS within Hong Kong involving VPower. Those transactions are authorized through 12:01 a.m. EST Nov. 12.
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Canada is considering new measures to strengthen its export controls, tariffs and other trade-related enforcement powers as it analyzes whether it has tools powerful enough to protect against threats to its economic and national security.
Silvaco Group, a California-based company that provides software solutions for semiconductor design, received a cautionary letter from the Office of Foreign Assets Control after disclosing possible sanctions violations involving Russia.
Russian-German national Arthur Petrov was extradited to the U.S., making his initial appearance in court Aug. 9 for allegedly committing export control violations, smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering, DOJ announced. Extradited from Cyprus, Petrov was charged for his part in a scheme to ship more than $225,000 worth of U.S.-sourced microelectronics to companies supplying weapons to the Russian military.
The State Department is seeking public comments on four information collections from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the agency said in a notice this week. The collections deal with export licenses for unclassified defense articles and related unclassified technical data; license applications for temporary imports of unclassified defense articles; applications for temporary export of unclassified defense articles; and applications to amend those export or temporary import licenses.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 12 again extended a general license that continues to delay an exemption that would authorize certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. General License 5P, which replaced GL 5O, now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after Nov. 12. The previous license was set to allow those transactions to occur on or after Aug. 13.
The Biden administration is “reviewing closely” the requirements of new laws authorizing sanctions on Iranian oil and “will ensure the rigorous implementation of their provisions” as they take effect, a State Department official recently told a lawmaker.
A new set of export controls on U.S. persons activities and other transactions could require “dramatic expansions” to some companies’ internal compliance programs, Akin Gump said this month, including additional compliance training, end-user certifications and greater due diligence of suppliers and customers.