The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Feb. 29 updated a general license that authorizes certain transactions with Venezuela’s flagship airline. General License 45B, which replaced License 45A, updated and removed language relating to the types of transactions that are authorized with Venezuela’s Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos, also known as Conviasa.
Companies should continue to see more Chinese additions to the U.S. Entity List this year, although Russia sanctions likely will continue to dominate the government’s time and resources, trade lawyers said this week.
The State Department fined Boeing $51 million after the company allegedly violated a range of U.S. export controls, including license requirements for exports to China and Russia. The violations, which Boeing voluntarily disclosed, included illegal exports to foreign employees and contractors working in more than 15 countries; a trade compliance specialist fabricating an export license to illegally ship defense items abroad; and violations of the terms and conditions of other export licenses, among other things.
Neena Shenai, former senior legal director and chief counsel for global trade at medical technology giant Medtronic, has joined WilmerHale as a partner in the international trade, investment and market access practice group, the firm announced. Shenai's practice will center on economic sanctions, export controls and issues pertaining to global market navigation, the firm said. Before joining Medtronic, Shenai also worked as trade counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee during 2011-15.
The EU General Court last week rejected Belarusian nitrogen compound producer Grodno Azot's application for delisting from the EU's sanctions regime on Belarus.
The Agriculture Trade Caucus asked the administration to negotiate market-access trade agreements, saying it needs "to proactively engage and secure enforceable, high-standard agreements with our trading partners to ensure our farmers and ranchers can compete globally on a level playing field."
Australia this week sanctioned seven Russian prison officials responsible for the “mistreatment” of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in the prison earlier this month. Australia's foreign affairs ministry said it used its Magnitsky-style human rights sanctions authority to impose the designations (see 2112220008 and 2203290005).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned the Guatemala-based Los Pochos Drug Trafficking Organization, three of its members and four affiliated companies for their involvement in trafficking cocaine to the U.S.
The U.S. needs a more measured and analytics-driven approach to sanctions, export controls and other economic statecraft tools, said Daleep Singh, President Joe Biden’s incoming deputy national security adviser for international economics. He warned about the risks of relying too heavily on new, large-scale sanctions against China and called on the U.S. to create a formal doctrine to guide its use of trade restrictions.
The U.S. may need new industry advisory committees to help it implement and maintain its semiconductor export controls against China, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a recent report.