Lawmakers are expected to vote this week on a bill from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would sanction companies associated with the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline to punish Russia for threatening to further invade Ukraine. But an alternative bill from Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., could instead impose a host of broad economic penalties against Russia’s banking sector and various government officials.
The Bureau of Industry and Security delayed the effective date of its new export controls over certain cybersecurity items (see 2110200036) after receiving requests from industry, the agency said in a notice released Jan. 11. The controls, which were scheduled to take effect Jan. 19, were delayed for 45 days and will now take effect March 7.
Two additional U.S. lawmakers said they are concerned Airbnb lists more than a dozen homes for rent on land owned by a sanctioned paramilitary Chinese entity and asked the company to remove the listings (see 2112070062). Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and James McGovern, D-Mass., the two leaders of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, asked Arbnb to ensure none of its rental homes is located on property owned by U.S.-sanctioned entities and to “remove such listings if they are discovered.”
The U.S. and the EU this week announced a coordinated set of sanctions against Nicaragua for the country’s “fraudulent” presidential elections that have kept the Daniel Ortega regime in power. The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned six Nicaraguan government and military officials, and the EU sanctioned seven officials and three government entities. The U.S. and the EU announced the sanctions Jan. 10.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new frequently asked question to address how certain “loans, contracts, or other agreements” are treated under its Belarus, Ukraine/Russia and Venezuela sanctions programs. The FAQ, issued Jan. 7, outlines how OFAC views modifications to “pre-existing loans, contracts, or other agreements to replace London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) as the reference rate.” The agency said any loans or contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate and are “modified to replace such benchmark reference rate” won’t be treated as new debt for OFAC sanctions purposes, “so long as no other material terms of the loan, contract, or agreement are modified.”
If not properly tailored, export controls on brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies could stifle U.S. competitiveness and slow academic research, tech companies and universities told the Bureau of Industry and Security in comments released this month. While some commenters said certain narrow, multilateral controls may be feasible, others said BIS should avoid controls altogether to avoid impeding U.S. innovation.
The State Department is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice released Jan. 7. The new amounts, which include higher maximum penalties for violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Arms Export Control Act, will apply only to penalties assessed on or after Jan. 10, the agency said.
The Census Bureau will make several changes to the Automated Export System to accommodate the Commerce Department’s new Authorized Cybersecurity Exports (ACE) license exception, Census said in a Jan. 7 email. Among the changes, the agency will add new Export Control Classification Numbers 4A005 and 4D004 and will create new License Code C64 for the ACE exception.
In their first official statements at the Bureau of Industry and Security, the agency’s two newest export control officials singled out China and Russia and said they plan to prioritize enforcement work involving human rights.
China is likely to increase its use of economic and trade restrictions, specifically export controls, to penalize U.S. and EU companies that act against its interests, two security and economics experts said. While China hasn’t “extensively” used its newly established export control or sanctions regimes, its recently issued export control white paper and other rhetoric suggest it won't hesitate to soon use those powers more broadly, the experts said.