The Bureau of Industry and Security added 24 entities to its Entity List and revised five existing entries, the agency said in a notice. The new entries include companies in China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, the notice said, and revised entries for entities in France, Iran, Lebanon, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The new entries include China-based Wuhan IRCEN Technology, as well as several other companies in Iran and Pakistan that BIS said threaten U.S. national security. The changes take effect March 16, but all shipments now requiring a license as a result of this rule that were on dock for loading or aboard a carrier to a port as of that date may proceed to their destinations under the previous eligibility, BIS said.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
The Commerce Department is still considering placing export controls on Gate-All-Around Field Effect Transistor (GAAFET) technology, despite withdrawing the rule from the Office of Management and Budget last month (see 2002130033), said Hillary Hess, the Bureau of Industry and Security’s director of regulatory policy. The rule was expected to be one of six controls issued by Commerce early this year (see 1912160032) as part of the agency’s effort to control emerging technologies.
The annual report on Russia's compliance with World Trade Organization standards echoed much of last year's report (see 1902050029). The U.S. exported $6.7 billion in goods to Russia in 2018, with aircraft, machinery and vehicles as the most common exports. That is nearly 29% less than was exported 10 years ago. It has complied with its tariff commitments, but has numerous non-tariff barriers, the U.S. Trade Representative's report said.
The Commerce Department issued a correction to its final rule that revised the country groups for Russia and Yemen under the Export Administration Regulations (see 2002210031), the agency said in a notice. The notice corrects the rule to “provide an instruction” to remove Yemen from Country Group B, which was the intention of the rule.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 24-28 in case you missed them.
Europe completed the first transactions under INSTEX, the European payment system designed to allow countries to trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions, according to a Feb. 26 news release from the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. During a recent meeting, the commission, which includes representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran, also said it added four more European countries as “new shareholders” in INSTEX and expects more to join. “Participants welcomed positive developments in the processing of first transactions by INSTEX,” the news release said. The news release did not name the new shareholders.
The United Nations Security Council renewed sanctions on people and entities threatening peace and security in Yemen for one year, according to a Feb. 25 notice. The sanctions were renewed with 13 UN members voting in favor and two abstentions: China and Russia. The sanctions also impose an arms embargo on militias in the region loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The State Department announced sanctions on 13 entities and people based in China, Iraq, Russia and Turkey under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, the agency said in a Feb. 25 news release. The sanctions target people and companies that support Iran’s missile program. The State Department said the designations are “two-year discretionary sanctions” and block all U.S. government procurement, government assistance and exports related to the people and companies.
The Trump administration should sanction Russia for interference in the 2020 presidential election, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said in a Feb. 24 letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The three senators urged the administration to sanction anyone responsible for the interference or for providing “material or financial support” to those responsible. “It is long past time” for the administration to enact sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the letter said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security revised the country groups for Russia and Yemen under the Export Administration Regulations (see 2001090040), BIS said in a notice. The changes increase license restrictions for both countries and are part of a larger effort within BIS that involves a “comprehensive review” of all country groups to better align with the administration's foreign policy concerns. All shipments now requiring a license as a result of this rule that were on dock for loading or aboard a carrier to a port as of Feb. 24 may proceed to their destinations under the previous eligibility, BIS said. Shipments that have not been exported, re-exported or transferred by March 25 will require a license.