The U.S. this week sanctioned the Cognitive Design Production Center, a subsidiary of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise, an entity tied to the Russian government, for interfering in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the Cognitive Design Production Center planned influence operations to “incite socio-political tensions” among the U.S. electors in the lead-up to the elections, and the Center for Geopolitical Expertise helped create and circulate deepfakes and disinformation about candidates in the general election. OFAC also sanctioned Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin, the organization’s director.
The incoming Trump administration should launch a “comprehensive review of supply chain and technology control policies,” including export controls and outbound investment restrictions, to determine whether they’re being used effectively, the Information Technology Industry Council said in a December report. It specifically called on the new administration to examine existing export controls on advanced semiconductors and equipment along with “technology transaction reviews on AI and quantum” to make sure they’re “bolstering national security.”
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Ocean carriers must begin filing annual export strategies and policies with the Federal Maritime Commission starting March 1 as part of a broader effort by the FMC to better regulate carriers that unfairly refuse vessel or cargo space to exporters.
The Automated Export System on Jan. 1 will begin rejecting filings of shipments controlled under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI if they don’t include a valid State Department commodity jurisdiction determination number, the Census Bureau said this week. Census is also putting in place new AES codes to address a “workaround” used by some exporters to ship Foreign Military Sales (FMS) items that aren’t described on the USML.
A New York-based aviation parts supplier will pay $22,172 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control to settle Russia-related sanctions violations it allegedly committed in early 2024. The company, SkyGeek Logistics, made shipments and attempted refunds to two United Arab Emirates companies that had been sanctioned for supplying equipment and technology to Russia, OFAC said.
Companies subject to the Treasury Department’s paused beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements are in a “state of bewilderment” after the Corporate Transparency Act rules were temporarily reinstated earlier this month only for them to be quickly placed back under a nationwide injunction last week (see 2412270046), Holland & Knight said in a Dec. 27 client alert. For now, the law firm said there “appears to be a set path forward and a reprieve from imminent compliance obligations” under the rules, which would have required most companies to submit BOI reports to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in January as part of a government initiative to prevent sanctioned parties and others from hiding assets in the U.S.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week published the third quarterly update of its boycott requester list, a list of entities that have asked other companies to boycott goods from certain countries in violation of the Export Administration Regulations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 30 released quarterly reports on certain licensing activities for Iran and Sudan, covering the period from October 2022 through September 2024. The reports provide licensing statistics for exports of agricultural goods, medicine and medical devices to both countries as required by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000.
Space industry associations and companies largely welcomed a recent State Department proposal to modernize U.S. space-related export controls, although they asked for several clarifications, fewer export control guardrails and an extended timeline to allow space firms to update their compliance programs.