The State Department labeled the Balochistan Liberation Army a Foreign Terrorist Organization and added several aliases to its existing entry as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (see 1907020042), it said in Federal Register notices released this week. The additional aliases are Majeed Brigade, Fateh Squad and Zephyr Intelligence Research and Analysis Bureau. The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated its sanctions entry for the group to reflect the change.
Pacific Biosciences of California, an American biotechnology firm, said it recently informed the Bureau of Industry and Security about possible export violations involving China.
Semiconductor companies Nvidia and AMD are expected to pay the U.S. government a portion of the profits they earn from selling certain controlled chips to China, an arrangement that has sparked concerns and questions among exporters, lawmakers and former government officials.
U.S. companies shouldn’t rush to start business with Syria despite the Trump administration lifting some sanctions, said Daniel Schneiderman, a former Pentagon official who oversaw Afghanistan policy.
U.S. export controls have so far helped American chip companies maintain technological dominance over Chinese ones, a technology policy expert said this week, which suggests the Trump administration should rethink its decision to allow sales of H20 chips to China (see 2507150013).
An active-duty service member of the U.S. Army was charged with trying to send national defense information to a foreign adversary and trying to export controlled technical data, DOJ announced Aug. 6. Taylor Lee, stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, allegedly tried to send information on the M1A2 Abrams tank, an "armored fighting vehicle used by the U.S. military" and combat operations to the Russian military.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said Aug. 7 that she plans to “redouble” her efforts to enact a bill to sanction officials who undermine democracy in the Republic of Georgia.
The U.N. Security Council on Aug. 5 added an alias to the sanctions entry for Sabawi Ibrahim al-Tikriti, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. and others for his ties to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The alias is Bashar al-Nasiri.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 18 entities and people for helping the Iranian government evade sanctions, including financial companies, information technology firms and other businesses providing Iran with banking services or supplying it with advanced surveillance technologies.
The head of a tech policy nonprofit urged the leaders of three congressional committees Aug. 7 to hold a hearing to examine the “large-scale smuggling” of advanced American AI chips into China in violation of U.S. export controls.