The Congressional Research Service released a report Oct. 18 on with updates on U.S. sanctions on Turkey, Turkey’s military purchases from Russia, the potential for new sanctions and other possible U.S. options as Turkey’s military occupies northern Syria. The report details possible outcomes as Congress tries to impose its own set of sanctions on Turkey after the administration said it would lift sanctions in exchange for a ceasefire in Syria (see 1910180060).
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:
Singapore signed a free trade deal with the Eurasian Economic Union that will reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers while increasing customs cooperation, “respect for intellectual property rights and e-commerce protocols,” according to an Oct. 17 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The agreement will eliminate or reduce duties on 90 percent of Singapore’s exports to the EAEU -- which includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia -- and will increase to 97 percent “over a 10-year period,” the report said. Duties will be reduced on “mineral fuels, oils and their distillates, prepared foodstuffs, machinery and mechanical equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and precision instruments,” the HKTDC said. The deal will also eliminate tariffs on nearly all exports from EAEU to Singapore, the report said. The two sides also agreed to improved customs procedures, including “24 hours customs clearances, with priority items approved within four hours,” the report said.
Two stalwart Republican supporters of the president joined with three Democratic senators to say that Congress is united in a push to levy sanctions on Turkey for its invasion of Syria.
In the Oct. 9 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 30 - Oct. 4 in case they were missed.
The Department of Commerce banned export privileges for a man who was convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act in 2018, Commerce said in a Sept. 30 notice. Commerce said the man, Eldar Rezvanov, illegally exported items on the U.S. Munitions List to Russia, including seven fully assembled firearms, 10 firearm stocks, 130 fully assembled lower receivers, 133 firearm frames, 158 firearm barrels, 266 firearm slides, 435 functional firearm parts and 966 magazines. Rezvanov was sentenced to 46 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 fine, and was placed on the State Department’s Debarred List. Commerce revoked Rezvanov’s export privileges for 10 years from his July 24, 2018, conviction.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Russian people, entities and other actors for trying to influence the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, Treasury said in a Sept. 30 press release. The sanctions also increase pressure on Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a previously designated Russian businessman, by sanctioning three of his planes, a yacht and employees of the Internet Research Agency (IRA), which Prigozhin funds, Treasury said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned one entity, three people and five ships for evading U.S. sanctions and delivering jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria, Treasury said Sept. 26.
In the Sept. 23 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
China and Russia signed several trade-related agreements when the two sides met in Russia last week, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a Sept. 19 press release. The two countries signed a “number of pragmatic cooperation documents” to expand trade and “voice support for the multilateral trading system,” China said, according to an unofficial translation. The two sides said they support the World Trade Organization and announced their intention to ratify an “upcoming ‘China-Eurasia Economic Union Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement,’” China said.